The speaker urges a woman to cover her dark, bright hair, as if its glow could betray both of them. He calls it a “smouldering sunken fire”—lovely but dangerous, with a power she herself may not fully understand. He contrasts the calm consciousness of her eyes and the careful smile on her lips with the hair’s pure, unthinking beauty and “hid flame.” The repetition of “take care” and “bind up” gives the lines an anxious, almost incantatory rhythm. There is admiration here, but also fear and restraint: the speaker feels desire rising, and he tries to check it before it disturbs the quiet of the night. The mood is hushed, intense, and a little obsessive, as if beauty itself is too much to leave uncovered.
Take Care, Take Care — Summary
Bind up, bind up your dark bright hair And hide the smouldering sunken fire. Let it be held no more than fair, Nor yourself guess how rare, how rare Its movement, colour and deep fire.
Your eyes they have their consciousness, Your lips their grave reflective smile, Your hands their cunning for distress: Your hair has only beauteousness And hid flame for its only guile.
That glowing hair on shoulders white Is pride past sum: take care, take care! Even to dream of wish'd delight Too much perturbs the ebb of night-- Bind up, bind up your burning hair!