MY love hath vowed he will forsake me, And I am already sped; Far other promise he did make me When he had my maidenhead. If such danger be in playing And sport must to earnest turn, I will go no more a-maying. Had I foreseen what is ensued, And what now with pain I prove, Unhappy then I had eschewed This unkind event of love: Maids foreknow their own undoing, But fear naught till all is done, When a man alone is wooing. Dissembling wretch, to gain thy pleasure, What didst thou not vow and swear? So didst thou rob me of the treasure Which so long I held so dear. Now thou provest to me a stranger: Such is the vile guise of men When a woman is in danger. That heart is nearest to misfortune That will trust a feigned tongue; When flatt'ring men our loves importune They intend us deepest wrong. If this shame of love's betraying But this once I cleanly shun, I will go no more a-maying. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN HARDWOOD GROVES by ROBERT FROST THE LAST LEAF by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES IN MEMORIAM A.H.H.: 54 by ALFRED TENNYSON ON THE GRASSHOPPER by ANACREON THE TALENTS by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE THE JOLLY COMPANY by RUPERT BROOKE |