Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A DIALOGUE UPON DEATH; PHILLIS AND DAMON, by WILLIAM HAMMOND


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A DIALOGUE UPON DEATH; PHILLIS AND DAMON, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Damon, amidst the blisses, we
Last Line: Change thus may whet chaste appetites.
Subject(s): Death; Dead, The


PHIL.

DAMON, amidst the blisses, we
In joint affections fully prove,
Doth it not sometimes trouble thee,
To think that death must part our love?

DAM.

Though sweets concentrate in thy arms,
And that alone I revel there,
A willing prisoner to those charms;
Love cannot teach me death to fear.

PHIL.

Say of these sweets I should beguile
Thy taste by my inconstancy,
And on thy rival Thyrsis smile,
Would not the loss work grief in thee?

DAM.

Oh, nothing more; for here to be,
Is hell, and thy embraces lack;
Yet is it Heaven even without thee
To die; then only art thou black.

PHIL.

Then only art thou black, my dear,
When death shall blast thy vital light;
Whilst I in life's bright day appear,
Thou sleep'st forgot in death's sad night.

DAM.

Thou art thick-sighted; couldst thou see
Far off, the other side of death
Would such a prospect open thee,
As thou must needs be sick of breath.

PHIL.

How can that be, when sense doth keep
The door of pleasure? That destroy'd,
The soul, if it survive, must sleep,
Senseless, of delectation void.

DAM.

Sense is the door of such delight
As beasts receive; through which, alas,
Since Nature's nothing but a sight,
More enemies than friends do pass:
Nor is the soul less capable,
But naked doth her object prove
More truly; as more sensible
Is this fair hand stript of its glove.

PHIL.

My Damon sure hath surfeited
Of Phillis, and would fain get hence;
Yet mannerly he veils his dead
Love under a divine pretence.

DAM.

Whilst I am flesh, thou need'st not fear
Of love in my warm breath a dearth;
For, since affections earthly are,
They must love thee, the fairest earth.

PHIL.

If thou receive a certain good
Of pleasure in enjoying me,
'Tis wisdom then to period
Thy wishes in a certainty.

DAM.

Joys reap'd on earth, like grasped air,
Away even in enjoyment fly;
Certain are only such as bear
The stamp of immortality.

PHIL.

Shall we for hope of future bliss
The good of present love neglect?
Who will a wren possesst dismiss,
A flying eagle to expect?

DAM.

Who use not here the heavenly way,
And in desire of thither go,
Will at their death uncertain stray,
Losing themselves in endless woe.

PHIL.

Since death such hazards wait upon,
I'll unfrequent Love's vain delight,
And wing my contemplation
For pre-acquaintance with that height.

DAM.

Come then, let's feed our flocks above
On Sion's hill; so will delights
Grow fresher in the vale of Love;
Change thus may whet chaste appetites.





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