My Sweetest Lesbia
Thomas Campion 1567 – 1620
My sweetest Lesbia, let us live and love,
And though the sager sort our deeds reprove,
Let us not weigh them. Heaven's great lamps do dive
Into their west, and straight again revive,
But soon as once set is our little light,
Then must we sleep one ever-during night.
If all would lead their lives in love like me,
Then bloody swords and armor should not be;
No drum nor trumpet peaceful sleeps should move,
Unless alarm came from the camp of love.
But fools do live, and waste their little light,
And seek with pain their ever-during night.
When timely death my life and fortune ends,
Let not my hearse be vexed with mourning friends,
But let all lovers, rich in triumph, come
And with sweet pastimes grace my happy tomb;
And Lesbia, close up thou my little light,
And crown with love my ever-during night.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 22, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 141 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBCC DDXACC EEXXCC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 797 |
Words | 149 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
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"My Sweetest Lesbia" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/36146/my-sweetest-lesbia>.
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