I quote the second for its lyric charm, even though the melody is ruthlessly broken, All the breath and the bloom of the year in the bag of one bee: All the wonder and wealth of the mine in the heart of one gem: In the core of one pearl all the shade and the shine of the sea: Breath and bloom, shade and shine,--wonder, wealth, and -- how far above them-- Truth, that's brighter than gem, Trust, that's purer than pearl,-- Brightest truth, purest trust in the universe--all were for me In the kiss of one girl.
The next two poems are knit to this and to _Now_ by the strong emotion of earthly love, of the senses as well as of the spirit, for one woman; but they differ in the period at which they were written.

The first, _A Pearl--A Girl_, recalls that part of the poem _By the Fireside_, when one look, one word, opened the infinite world of love to Browning.

If written when he was young, it has been revised in after life.
A simple ring with a single stone To the vulgar eye no stone of price: Whisper the right word, that alone-- Forth starts a sprite, like fire from ice, And lo, you are lord (says an Eastern scroll) Of heaven and earth, lord whole and sole Through the power in a pearl.
A woman ('tis I this time that say) With little the world counts worthy praise Utter the true word--out and away Escapes her soul: I am wrapt in blaze, Creation's lord, of heaven and earth Lord whole and sole--by a minute's birth-- Through the love in a girl! The second--_Speculative_--also describes a moment of love-longing, but has the characteristics of his later poetry.

It may be of the same date as the book, or not much earlier.

It may be of his later manhood, of the time when he lost his wife.