Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AMYNTOR'S GROVE, HIS CHLORIS, ARIGO, AND GRATIANA, by RICHARD LOVELACE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AMYNTOR'S GROVE, HIS CHLORIS, ARIGO, AND GRATIANA, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: It was amyntor's grove, that chloris
Last Line: Till th' scythe is snatch'd away from time.


IT was Amyntor's grove, that Chloris
For ever echoes and her glories;
Chloris, the gentlest shepherdess
That ever lawns and lambs did bless;
Her breath, like to the whispering wind,
Was calm as thought, sweet as her mind;
Her lips like coral gates kept in
The perfume and the pearl within;
Her eyes a double-flaming torch
That always shine, and never scorch:
Herself the heav'n in which did meet
The all of bright, of fair and sweet.

Here was I brought with that delight
That separated souls take flight;
And when my reason call'd my sense
Back somewhat from this excellence,
That I could see, I did begin
T' observe the curious ordering
Of every room, where 't 's hard to know
Which most excels in scent or show:
Arabian gums do breathe here forth,
And th' East 's come over to the North;
The winds have brought their hire of sweet,
To see Amyntor Chloris greet;
Balm and nard, and each perfume
To bless this pair chafe and consume;
And th' phœnix, see! already fries,
Her nest a fire in Chloris' eyes!

Next the great and powerful hand
Beckons my thoughts unto a stand
Of Titian, Raphael, Giorgione,
Whose art ev'n Nature hath outdone;
For if weak Nature only can
Intend, not perfect, what is man,
These certainly we must prefer,
Who mended what she wrought and her;
And sure the shadows of those rare
And kind incomparable fair
Are livelier, nobler company
Than if they could or speak or see:
For these I ask, without a tush
Can kiss or touch, without a blush,
And we are taught that substance is,
If unenjoy'd, but th' shade of bliss.

Now every saint clearly divine
Is clos'd so in her several shrine;
The gems so rarely, richly set,
For them we love the cabinet;
So intricately plac'd withal,
As if th' embroidered the wall,
So that the pictures seem'd to be
But one continu'd tapestry.

After this travel of mine eyes,
We sate, and piti'd deities;
We bound our loose hair with the vine,
The poppy and the eglantine;
One swell'd an oriental bowl
Full, as a grateful, loyal soul
To Chloris. Chloris! Hear, oh hear!
'Tis pledg'd above in ev'ry sphere.

Now straight the Indians' richest prize
Is kindled a glad sacrifice;
Clouds are sent up on wings of thyme,
Amber, pom'granates, jessamine,
And through our earthen conduits soar
Higher than altars fum'd before.

So drench'd we our oppressing cares,
And chok'd the wide jaws of our fears;
Whilst ravish'd thus we did devise
If this were not a paradise
In all except these harmless sins,
Behold! flew in two cherubins,
Clear as the sky from whence they came,
And brighter than the sacred flame:
The boy adorn'd with modesty,
Yet armed so with majesty,
That if the Thunderer again
His eagle sends, she stoops in vain.
Besides his innocence he took
A sword and casket, and did look
Like Love in arms; he wrote but five,
Yet spake eighteen; each Grace did strive,
And twenty Cupids thronged forth,
Who first should show his prettier worth.

But oh the nymph! did you e'er know
Carnation mingled with snow?
Or have you seen the lightning shroud,
And straight break through th' opposing cloud?
So ran her blood, such was its hue,
So through her veil her bright hair flew,
And yet its glory did appear
But thin, because her eyes were near.

Blooming boy and blossoming maid,
May your fair sprigs be ne'er betray'd
To eating worm or fouler storm;
No serpent lurk to do them harm;
No sharp frost cut, no north-wind tear
The verdure of that fragrant hair;
But may the sun and gentle weather,
When you are both grown ripe together,
Load you with fruit, such as your father
From you with all the joys doth gather:
And may you, when one branch is dead,
Graft such another in its stead,
Lasting thus ever in your prime,
Till th' scythe is snatch'd away from Time.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net