Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO MR. DAVENANT FOR ABSENCE, by JOHN SUCKLING


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO MR. DAVENANT FOR ABSENCE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Wonder not, if I stay not here
Last Line: Drinks wine I' th' very height o' th' fever.
Subject(s): Absence; Davenant, Sir William (1606-1668); Separation; Isolation


WONDER not, if I stay not here:
Hurt lovers, like to wounded deer,
Must shift the place; for standing still
Leaves too much time to know our ill:
Where there is a traitor eye,
That lets in from th' enemy
All that may supplant an heart,
'Tis time the chief should use some art:
Who parts the object from the sense,
Wisely cuts off intelligence.
Oh, how quickly men must die,
Should they stand all love's battery!
Persinda's eyes great mischief do:
So do, we know, the cannon too;
But men are safe at distance still:
Where they reach not, they cannot kill.
Love is a fit, and soon is past;
Ill diet only makes it last:
Who is still looking, gazing ever,
Drinks wine i' th' very height o' th' fever.





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