IF in me anger, or disdain In you, or both, made me refrain From th' noble intercourse of verse, That only virtuous thoughts rehearse; Then, chaste Ellinda, might you fear The sacred vows that I did swear. But if alone some pious thought Me to an inward sadness brought; Thinking to breathe your soul too well, My tongue was charmed with that spell, And left it (since there was no room To voice your worth enough) strook dumb. So then this silence doth reveal No thought of negligence, but zeal; For, as in adoration, This is love's true devotion: Children and fools the words repeat, But anch'rites pray in tears and sweat. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BIGLOW PAPERS: 6. THE PIOUS EDITOR'S CREED by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL STELLA'S BIRTHDAY, 1726-7 by JONATHAN SWIFT THE FOUR SEASONS by PHILIP AYRES TWO SONNETS: 1. CHRIST AND LOVE'S ROSE-CROWN by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) EUCALYPTUS TREES by SISTER BENEDICTION THE FALCON by GRACE UPDEGRAFF BERGEN |