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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ODE by PIERRE DE RONSARD

First Line: COME, DARLING, SEE AN' IF THE ROSE
Last Line: WILL TARNISH ALL YOUR LOVELINESS.

COME, darling, see an' if the rose,
Which did to the sun's dawn disclose
Its purple robe all freshly blown,
Has not at hour of Vespers lost
Its painted dress, its beauty's boast,
And its complexion like your own.

Behold! alas! in how brief space,
Darling, it has upon the place
Let all its beauties pale and fade.
Stern stepdame Nature, we must chide,
Since such a flower may only bide
From morning until even shade.

Then, if you trust me, darling, while
Your tender age doth bloom and smile
In its new fresh, unsullied dress,
Gather, oh gather now your youth,
Since (as this flower) age, void of ruth,
Will tarnish all your loveliness.



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