Emerson Friendship

[Digitalctn]

Hey you'll

I'm putting together a Birthday card and wanted to quote Emerson Friendship essay and wanted a second opinion from someone out there: What was the Emerson really saying in his Friendship below?

A ruddy drop of manly blood
The surging sea outweighs,
The world uncertain comes and goes,
The lover rooted stays.
I fancied he was fled,
And, after many a year,
....

I want to tell a friend how much she means to me, but don't want to be sexual and this seems rather strong but on point.

Thank you kindly for any assistance.

[mono]

Hello, Digitalctn, welcome to the forum. :)

A ruddy drop of manly blood
The surging sea outweighs,
The world uncertain comes and goes,
The lover rooted stays.
I fancied he was fled,
And, after many a year,
One must not necessarily consider these lines sexual in the least, even with the word 'lover' commonly found in romantic (and/or Romantic) poetry. In only analyzing these few lines, I will proceed line-to-line.
In the first two lines, Emerson basically speaks that a small amount of human blood can weigh heavier than the seas (not literally, but metaphorically, as we will see in following lines). The next two lines ('The world uncertain . . . rooted stays') focuses on the constantly changing and uncertain nature of the world, but how love (including the love in friendship) stays absolute, strong, and certain. The last two lines of your quote, I dread to say, do not make a lot of sense without their following lines. In case you feel interested, the whole poem:

Friendship

A ruddy drop of manly blood
The surging sea outweighs,
The world uncertain comes and goes;
The lover rooted stays.
I fancied he was fled,—
And, after many a year,
Glowed unexhausted kindliness,
Like daily sunrise there.
My careful heart was free again,
O friend, my bosom said,
Through thee alone the sky is arched,
Through thee the rose is red;
All things through thee take nobler form,
And look beyond the earth,
The mill-round of our fate appears
A sun-path in thy worth.
Me too thy nobleness had taught
To master my despair;
The fountains of my hidden life
Are through thy friendship fair.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Good luck! ;)

[chunkykangaroo]

Hey I was wondering what the quote in Friendship meant by Emerson?