The speaker describes a woman’s love that is fully aware of her partner’s shortcomings—his indecision, his caution—yet deliberately stores them away like old, faded, rain-streaked clothes. Rather than deny these flaws, she accepts them and urges that they be left alone. What outweighs them, she insists, are his prouder qualities: a determined will, a nervous alertness, gentleness toward animals, a quiet, wide humor like moonlight on moving water, and a tenderness too deep to be captured in any single word. The mood is one of mature, reflective acceptance. It does not idealize love; instead, it shows love as a kind of honest appraisal, where real faults are acknowledged but deliberately set beside deeper virtues, and the speaker finds the balance worth keeping.
Appraisal — Summary
Never think she loves him wholly, Never believe her love is blind, All his faults are locked securely In a closet of her mind; All his indecisions folded Like old flags that time has faded, Limp and streaked with rain, And his cautiousness like garments Frayed and thin, with many a stain-- Let them be, oh let them be, There is treasure to outweigh them, His proud will that sharply stirred, Climbs as surely as the tide, Senses strained too taut to sleep, Gentleness to beast and bird, Humor flickering hushed and wide As the moon on moving water, And a tenderness too deep To be gathered in a word.