Why doth the ear so tempt the voice That cunningly divides the air? Why doth the palate buy the choice Delights o' th' sea, to enrich her fare? As soon as I my ear obey, The echo's lost even with the breath; And when the sewer takes away, I'm left with no more taste than death. Be curious in pursuit of eyes To procreate new loves with thine; Satiety makes sense despise What superstition thought divine. Quick fancy! how it mocks delight! As we conceive, things are not such; The glowworm is as warm as bright, Till the deceitful flame we touch. When I have sold my heart to lust, And bought repentance with a kiss, I find the malice of my dust, That told me hell contained a bliss. The rose yields her sweet blandishment Lost in the fold of lovers' wreaths; The violet enchants the scent, When early in the spring she breathes. But winter comes, and makes each flower Shrink from the pillow where it grows, Or an intruding cold hath power To scorn the perfume of the rose. Our senses, like false glasses, show Smooth beauty, where brows wrinkled are, And makes the cozen'd fancy glow; Chaste virtue's only true and fair. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BALLAD OF HELL by JOHN DAVIDSON AN APRIL MORNING by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH A NOVEL OF HIGH LIFE by THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY ECHOES OF SPRING: 7 by MATHILDE BLIND A BUDDING MORROW by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN DESERTED FARMS by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON |