Do not, I beg, force me to choose
Not when I have so much to lose
I will gladly simply obey
Tell me to leave, tell me to stay
But please do not make me decide
We’re way beyond mere paltry pride

I need you to give a command
I’ll comply with any demand
But do not so cruelly require
Of me that I somehow desire
This great, austere, forbidding cross
Do not ask me to want the loss

But oh! How far are we from love
How awful! Forgive me, my dove
Heed now, dear heart, my broken voice
Desire, it will follow the choice
Comfort cannot come before it
I choose the cross, beg, implore it