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I'LL NEVER LOVE THEE MORE

My dear and only Love, I pray
That little world of thee
Be govern'd by no other sway
Than purest monarchy;
For if confusion have a part
(Which virtuous souls abhor),
And hold a synod in thine heart,
I'll never love thee more.

Like Alexander I will reign,
And I will reign alone;

My thoughts did evermore disdain
A rival on my throne.

He either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,

That dares not put it to the touch,
To gain or lose it all.

And in the empire of thine heart,
Where I should solely be,

If others do pretend a part
Or dare to vie with me,
Or if Committees thou erect,
And go on such a score,
I'll laugh and sing at thy neglect,
And never love thee more.

But if thou wilt prove faithful then,
And constant of thy word,
I'll make thee glorious by my pen
And famous by my sword;

I'll serve thee in such noble ways
Was never heard before;

I'll crown and deck thee all with bays,
And love thee more and more.

James Graham, Marquis of Montrose

ABSENCE

Absence, hear thou this protestation
Against thy strength,

Distance, and length;

Do what thou canst for alteration:
For hearts of truest mettle

Absence doth join, and Time doth settle.

Who loves a mistress of such quality,
His mind hath found

Affection's ground

Beyond time, place, and all mortality.
To hearts that cannot vary

Absence is present, Time doth tarry.

By absence this good means I gain,
That I can catch her,

Where none can watch her,

In some close corner of my

brain :

There I embrace and kiss her;

And so I both enjoy and miss her.

John Donne

IN ABSENCE

All that thou art not, makes not up the sum
Of what thou art, beloved, unto me:
All other voices, wanting thine, are dumb;
All vision, in thine absence, vacancy.

John Banister Tabb

O, FAIN WOULD I

O, fain would I, before I die,
Bequeath to thee a legacy,

That thou may'st say, when I am gone,
None had my heart but thee alone!
Had I as many hearts as hairs,
As many lives as lovers' fears,
As many lives as years have hours,
They all and only should be yours!

Dearest, before you condescend
To entertain a bosom-friend,
Be sure you know your servant well
Before your liberty you sell:

For love's a fire in young and old,

'Tis sometimes hot and sometimes cold,

And now you know that, when they please,
They can be sick of love's disease.

Then wisely choose a friend that may

Last for an age, and not a day,

Who loves thee not for lip or eye,

But for thy mutual sympathy!

Let such a friend thy heart engage,
For he will comfort thee in age,
And kiss thy wrinkled, furrowed brow
With as much joy as I do now.

Anon

BLOW, BLOW, THOU WINTER WIND

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

Thou art not so unkind

As man's ingratitude;

Thy tooth is not so keen

Because thou art not seen,

Although thy breath be rude.

Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,

Thou dost not bite so nigh

As benefits forgot:

Though thou the waters warp,

Thy sting is not so sharp

As friend remember'd not.

Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:

Then, heigh ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.

William Shakespeare

I DID BUT LOOK

I did but look and love awhile,
'Twas but for one half-hour:
Then to resist I had no will,
And now I have no power.

To sigh, and wish, is all my ease:
Sighs, which do heat impart
Enough to melt the coldest ice,
Yet cannot warm your heart.

O! would your pity give my heart

One corner of your breast,

'Twould learn of yours the winning art,

And quickly steal the rest!

Thomas Otway.

SUCH A STARVED BANK OF MOSS

Such a starved bank of moss

Till, that May-morn,

Blue ran the flash across :

Violets were born!

Sky what a scowl of cloud,
Till, near and far,

Ray on ray split the shroud:
Splendid, a star!

World-how it walled about

Life with disgrace,

Till God's own smile came out:
That was thy face!

Robert Browning

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