O CRUEL thou, while yet the best Is thine of Beauty's fair bequest, When that thy pride shall have a fall, Thy locks decrease to none at all; When pale hath grown thy rosy cheek, And dull become thy glance, and weak— Whene'er thou gazest in the glass, Then shalt thou, sighing, say: "Alas! Why, when my heart was young and gay Lacked I the wisdom of to-day? Or, now that faltering is my step, Why have I lost my pristine pep?" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOROTHY'S DOWER by PHOEBE CARY THE MAN WITH THE HOE'; A REPLY by JOHN VANCE CHENEY LULLABY OF A LOVER by GEORGE GASCOIGNE AS KINGFISHERS CATCH FIRE by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS SONNET: ADDRESSED TO HAYDON (1) by JOHN KEATS TO GIOVANNI DA PISTOIA ON THE PAINTING OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL, 1509 by MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI PSALM 120 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE |