Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ON DEATH, by PIERRE DE RONSARD


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON DEATH, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Means death so much? Is it so great an ill
Last Line: He that escapes desire, at last is free.
Subject(s): Birth; Death; Desire; Love; Child Birth; Midwifery; Dead, The


MEANS death so much? Is it so great an ill
As most men think? . . . Birth was not painbestead,
And we shall feel no pain when we are dead.
Let be! What birth began, death must fulfil.

"But thou shalt cease to be!" What then? . . . The chill
That leaves our bodies hueless, cold, and dread,
Ends feeling too. The fateful Spinner's thread
Once broken, there's no longing, wish, nor will.

"Thou shalt not eat." I shall have no desire
Toward meat or drink. The body by such fare
Lengthens its life and our dependency;

The spirit needs them not. "But love, the fire
Of joy, shall fail thee." And I shall not care.
He that escapes desire, at last is free.





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