Add one more likeness (which I'm sure you can) Then shall the world my noble ruin see, Some pity and some envy me; And let me and my sun beget a man! Then she herself, the mighty she, Shall grace my funerals with this truth; "'Twas only love destroy'd the gentle youth!" MY PICTURE, presence will such vigour give, (Your presence, which makes all things live!) And absence so much alter me, This will the substance, I the shadow, be. THE MONOPOLY. W, HAT mines of sulphur in my breast do lie, That feed th' eternal burnings of my heart! Not Etna flames more fierce or constantly, The sounding shop of Vulcan's smoky art; Vulcan his shop has placed there. And Cupid's forge is set-up here. Here all those arrows' mortal heads are made, That fly so thick unseen through yielding air; | The Cyclops here, which labour at the trade, Are Jealousy, Fear, Sadness, and Despair, Ah, cruel god! and why to me Gave you this curs'd monopoly? I have the trouble, not the gains, of it: When from your well-wrought cabinet you take it, Give me but the disposal of one dart, And your bright looks awake it, Ah! be not frighted if you see Who then shall but my picture's picture be. THE CONCEALMENT, No; to what purpose should I speak? No, wretched heart! swell till you break. And, to say truth, 'twere pity that she should. As silent as they will be there : Since that lov'd hand this mortal wound does give, May a chance-medley, and no murder, be, 'Tis nobler much for me, that I The censuring world will ne'er refrain To fall by her not loving, than her hate. And then (I'll ask no other benefit) Deep into her bosom would I strike the dart, th' heart, They flutter still about, inconstantly: Curse on thy goodness, whom we find Vain god! who women dost thyself adore! Thy broken arrows 'twixt that sex and ours THE DISTANCE, I'VE followed thee a year, at least, And never stopp'd myself to rest; To stars, which govern them above ; In vain, alas! in vain I strive She in it mends her pace as much as I. Hearts by Love strangely shuffled are, That there can never meet a pair! Tamelier than worms are lovers slain! The wounded heart ne'er turns to wound again, THE INCREASE. I THOUGHT, I'll swear, I could have lov'd no more Than I had done before; LOVE'S VISIBILITY...LOOKING ON HIS MISTRESS. But you as easily might account, Till to the top of numbers you amount, As cast up my love's score. Ten thousand millions was the sum ; Millions of endless millions are to come. I'm sure her beauties cannot greater grow; Why should my love do so? A real cause at first did move ; But mine own fancy now drives on my love, With shadows from itself that flow. My love, as we in numbers see, By cyphers is increas'd eternally. So the new-made and untry'd spheres above Took their first, turn from th' hand of Jove; But are, since that beginning, found By their own forms to move for ever round. All violent motions short do prove; But, by the length, 'tis plain to see That love's a motion natural to me, LOVE'S VISIBILITY. WITH much of pain, and all the art I knew, Have I endeavour'd hitherto To hide my love, and yet all will not do. By hiding it, to teach that skill to me. That something like it they have shown; Love of himself left there a part, When through it he past into the heart. Or if by chance the face betray not it, But keep the secret wisely, yet, Like drunkenness, into the tongue 'twill get. LOOKING ON, AND DISCOURSING To look on Heaven with mighty gulphs between As her hard soul's aversion from my love. RESOLVED TO LOVE, I WONDER What the grave and wise Think of all us that love; Whether our pretty fooleries Their mirth or anger move: 117 They understand not breath that words does want Our sighs to them are insignificant. One of them saw me, th' other day, Touch the dear hand which I admire ; My soul was melting straight away, And dropt before the fire: This silly wise-man, who pretends to know, Ask'd why I look'd so pale, and trembled so? Another, from my mistress' door Saw me with eyes all wat'ry come; Nor could the hidden cause explore, But thought some smoke was in the room! Such ignorance from unwounded learning came; He knew tears made by smoke, but not by flame, If learn'd in other things you be, And have in love no skill, For God's sake keep your arts from me; Study or action others may embrace; My love's my business, and my books her face, These are but trifles, I confess, Which me, weak mortal! move; Nor is your busy seriousness Less trifling than my love: The wisest king, who from his sacred breast MY FATE Go bid the needle his dear North forsake, To which with trembling reverence it does bend; Go bid the stones a journey upwards make; Go bid th'ambitious flame no more ascend: And, when these false to their old motions prove, Then shall I cease thee, thee alone, to love. The fast-link'd chain of everlasting Fate Does nothing tie more strong than me to you; My fixt love hangs not on your love or hate, But will be still the saine, whate'er you do: You cannot kill my love with your disdain: Wound it you may, and make it live in pain. Me, mine example, let the Stoics use, Their sad and cruel doctrine to maintain; Let all predestinators me produce, Who struggle with eternal bonds in vain: This fire I'm born to-but 'tis she must tell, Whether 't be beams of Heaven or flames of Hell You, who men's fortunes in their faces read, To find out mine, look not, alas! on me; But mark her face, and all the features heed; For only there is writ my destiny: Or, if stars show it, gaze not on the skies But study the astrology of her eyes, If thou find there kind and propitious rays, What Mars or Saturn threaten I'll not fear; I well believe the fate of mortal days Is writ in Heaven; but oh, my heaven is there. What can men learn from stars they scarce can see? Two great lights rule the world, and her two me; THE HEART-BREAKING. Ir gave a piteous groan, and so it broke; I thought that this some remedy might prove; In all still liv'd, and still it stung in all. Feels the whole pain of all my heart; Lives with that torment which the whole did kill. THE USURPATION. THOU 'adst to my soul no title or pretence; Till I had given myself to thee; Fond tyrant! I'll depose thee from thy throne; Such outrages must not admitted be In an elective monarchy. Part of my heart by gift did to thee fall; Nay more; thou mak'st me worship thee, Since first mine eyes I gave to you. Thou all my joys and all my hopes dust claim; Thou dost devour, unless thy stamp it bear: As men in Hell are from diseases free, Alas, alas! 1hope in vain My conquer'd soul from out thine hands to gain; Since all the natives there thou 'ast overthrown, And planted garrisons of thine own. MAIDENHEAD. THOU worst estate ev'n of the sex that's worst ; T' attend the weakness of our birth! A thing God thought for mankind so unfit, Art always scorch'd with hot desires, And fear'st the day's discovering eye! No wonder 'tis at all that thou should'st be Such tedious and unpleasant company, Who liv'st so melancholily! Thou thing of subtile, slippery kind, Which women lose, and yet no man can find! Although I think thou never found wilt be, Yet I'm resolv'd to search for thee; Yet things well worth his toil he gains; [walls; Thee, than a porter is his door. In vain to honour they pretend, Who guard themselves with ramparts and with Them only Fame the truly valiant calls, Who can an open breach defend. Of thy quick loss can be no doubt, Within so hated, and so lov'd without. IMPOSSIBILITIES. Oft Earth and Hell against them strive; And a good end at last does give : At last, just men and lovers always thrive. As stars (not powerful else) when they conjoin, Change, as they please, the world's estate; So thy heart in conjunction with mine Shall our own fortunes regulate; And to our stars themselves prescribe a fate. "Twould grieve me much to find some bold ro Through spite of our worst enemies, thy friends; As was the amorous youth's o'er Helle's sea: To let thy beams shine on me from afar ; SILENCE. CURSE on this tongue, that has my heart betray'd, Since 'tis a thing might dangerous grow, Since 'tis for me to lose my life more fit, My helpless story hear; That in my breast does reign; No, 'twill ne'er heal; my love will never die, A river, ere it meet the sea, Unless it join and mix with thee: If any end or stop of it be found, We know the flood runs still, though under ground. THE DISSEMBLER. UNHURT, untouch'd, did I complain, I thought, I'll swear, an handsome lye Had been no sin at all in poetry; But now I suffer an arrest, Darts, and wounds, and fame, and heat, From fifteen years, to fifty's space, They all victorious be. Love, thou 'rt a devil, if I may call thee one Colour, or shape, good limbs, or face, In motion or in speech a grace; If all fail, yet 'tis woman-kind; And I'm so weak, the pistol need not be Double or treble charg'd to murder me. If tall, the name of Proper slays; If fair, she 's pleasant as the light; If low, her prettiness does please; If black, what lover loves not night? If yellow-hair'd, I love, lest it should be Th' excuse to others for not loving me. The fat, like plenty, fills my heart; The lean, with love makes me too so: If straight, her body's Cupid's dart To me; if crooked, 'tis his bow: Nay, age itself does me to rage incline, And strength to women gives, as well as wine. Just half as large as Charity My richly-landed Love's become; And, judg'd aright, is Constancy, Though it take up a larger room: Him, who loves always one, why should they call More constant than the man loves always all? Thus with unwearied wings. I flee Through all Love's gardens and his fields; And, like the wise, industrious bee, No weed but honey to me yields! Honey still spent this diligence still supplies, Though I return not home with laden thighs. My soul at first indeed did prove Of pretty strength against a dart, Till I this habit got of love; But my consum'd and wasted neart, Once burnt to tinder with a strong desire, Since that, by every spark is set on fire. THE CONSTANT. GREAT and wise conqueror, who, where'er Thou com'st, dost fortify, and settle thers! Who canst defend as well as get, Had thy charming strength been less, Close, narrow chain, yet soft and kind Which does not force, but guide, our liberty! HER NAME. WITH more than Jewish reverence as yet When will our love be nam'd, and we possess Nor, till the happy nuptial Muse be seen, Thick as the flowers in meadows lie, If any critic doubt that they be mine, To represent thee by; Adam (God's nomenclator) could not frame WEEPING. SEE where she sits, and in what comely wise Drops tears more fair than others' eyes! Ah, charming maid! let not Ill-fortune see Nor know the beauty of thy tears; For she 'll still come to dress herself in thee. In every drop, methinks, her eye. Like a Narcissus does appear, Whilst in his flood the lovely boy did gaze. Ne'er yet did I behold such glorious weather, As this sun-shine and rain together. Pray Heaven her forehead, that pure hill of snow, (For some such fountain we must find, To waters of so fair a kind) Melt not, to feed that beauteous stream below! Ah, mighty Love! that it were inward heat Which made this precious limbeck sweat! But what, alas! ah, what does it avail, That she weeps tears so wondrous cold, DISCRETION. DISCREET! what means this word discreet? A curse on all discretion! This barbarous term you will not meet In all Love's lexicon. Jointure, portion, gold, estate, Houses, household-stuff, or land, (The low conveniences of Fate) Are Greek no lovers understand. The two first things it does remove Will, without grief or pain, Themselves their port to gain. As well might martyrs, who do choose THE WAITING-MAID. Tuy Maid! ah! find some nobler theme Whereon thy doubts to place; Nor by a low suspect blaspheme Alas! she makes thee shine so fair, So exquisitely bright, That her dim lamp must disappear Before thy potent light. Three hours each morn in dressing thee And make that beauty tyranny, That 's else a civil government, |