To His Mistress
Ernest Christopher Dowson 1867 – 1900
There comes an end to summer,
To spring showers and hoar rime;
His mumming to each mummer
Has somewhere end in time,
And since life ends and laughter,
And leaves fall and tears dry,
Who shall call love immortal,
When all that is must die?
Nay, sweet, let's leave unspoken
The vows the fates gainsay,
For all vows made are broken,
We love but while we may.
Let's kiss when kissing pleases,
And part when kisses pall,
Perchance, this time to-morrow,
We shall not love at all.
You ask my love completest,
As strong next year as now,
The devil take you, sweetest,
Ere I make aught such vow.
Life is a masque that changes,
A fig for constancy!
No love at all were better,
Than love which is not free.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 49 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABACXC DXDBXXXX EFEFXGAG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 680 |
Words | 133 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"To His Mistress" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/12821/to-his-mistress>.
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