Sephestia's Lullaby

Robert Greene 1558 (Tombland) – 1592 (London)



WEEP not, my wanton, smile upon my knee;
When thou art old there 's grief enough for thee.
   Mother's wag, pretty boy,
   Father's sorrow, father's joy;
   When thy father first did see
   Such a boy by him and me,
   He was glad, I was woe;
   Fortune changed made him so,
   When he left his pretty boy,
   Last his sorrow, first his joy.
Weep not, my wanton, smile upon my knee;
When thou art old there 's grief enough for thee.
   Streaming tears that never stint,
   Like pearl-drops from a flint,
   Fell by course from his eyes,
   That one another's place supplies;
   Thus he grieved in every part,
   Tears of blood fell from his heart,
   When he left his pretty boy,
   Father's sorrow, father's joy.
Weep not, my wanton, smile upon my knee;
When thou art old there 's grief enough for thee.
   The wanton smiled, father wept,
   Mother cried, baby leapt;
   More he crow'd, more we cried,
   Nature could not sorrow hide:
   He must go, he must kiss
   Child and mother, baby bliss,
   For he left his pretty boy,
   Father's sorrow, father's joy.
Weep not, my wanton, smile upon my knee,
When thou art old there 's grief enough for thee.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:03 min read
36

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAbBaaccBbAAddeeffBBAAgghhiibBAA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,160
Words 203
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 32

Robert Greene

Robert Greene was an English author popular in his day, and now best known for a posthumous pamphlet attributed to him, Greene's Groats-Worth of Witte, bought with a million of Repentance, widely believed to contain an attack on William Shakespeare. more…

All Robert Greene poems | Robert Greene Books

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