That thou art blamed shall not be thy defect, For slander's mark was ever yet the fair; The ornament of beauty is suspect, A crow that flies in heaven's sweetest air. So thou be good, slander doth but approve Thy worth the greater, being woo'd of time; For canker vice the sweetest buds doth love, And thou present'st a pure unstained prime. Thou hast pass'd by the ambush of young days, Either not assail'd or victor being charged; Yet this thy praise cannot be so thy praise, To tie up envy evermore enlarged: If some suspect of ill mask'd not thy show, Then thou alone kingdoms of hearts shouldst owe. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DIVINA COMMEDIA (INTRODUCTORY POEMS): 1 by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 28. AS-BAZIR by EDWIN ARNOLD STANZAS ON THE DEATH OF THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE by BERNARD BARTON CAGNES; ON THE RIVIERA by MATHILDE BLIND HINC LACHRIMAE; OR THE AUTHOR TO AURORA: 44 by WILLIAM BOSWORTH |