Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET, by RICHARD LOVELACE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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First Line: When I by thy fair shape did swear
Last Line: Than swearing to a saint that proves untrue.
Subject(s): Oaths


WHEN I by thy fair shape did swear,
And mingled with each vow a tear,
I lov'd, I lov'd thee best,
I swore as I profess'd;
For all the while you lasted warm and pure,
My oaths too did endure;
But once turn'd faithless to thyself, and old,
They then with thee incessantly grew cold.

I swore myself thy sacrifice
By th' ebon bows that guard thine eyes,
Which now are alter'd white;
And by the glorious light
Of both those stars, of which, their spheres bereft,
Only the jelly 's left.
Then, changed thus, no more I'm bound to you,
Than swearing to a saint that proves untrue.





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