The Marriage Vow

The altar, "tis of death! for their are laid The sacrifice of all youths sweetest hopes.
It is a dreadful thing fow womens lip
To swear the heart away; yet know that heart
Annuls thevow while speaking, and shrinks back
From the dark future that it dare not face.
The service read above the open grave
Is far less terrible than that which seals
The vow that binds the victim, not the will:
For in the grave is rest. -L.E.L.


Wedlock=Deadlock... in the 19th century and even today, the freedom of women is revoked after their marriage vows, and marriage is literally death to the independence of a woman.