ODE TO CHLOE by CHARLES COTTON

I

FALSE One, farewell, thou hast releast
The fire, imprison'd in my breast,
Your beauties make not half the show
They did a year or two ago;
For now I find,
The beauties those fair walls enshrin'd,
Foul, and deform'd appear,
Ah! where
In woman is a spotless mind?

II

I would not now take up thine eyes,
But in revenge to tyrannize;
Nor should'st thou make me blot my skin
With the black thou wear'st within;
If thou would'st meet,
As brides do, in the nuptial sheet,
I would not kiss, nor play;
But say,
Thou nothing hast that can be sweet.

III

I was betray'd, by that fair sign,
To entertainment cold within;
But found that fine built fabric lin'd,
With so ill contriv'd a mind,
That now I must
For ever (Chloe) leave to trust
The face that so beguiles
With smiles;
Falsehood's a charm to love, or lust.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...