TOO much good luck no less than misery May kill a man condemned to mortal pain, If, lost to hope and chilled in every vein, A sudden pardon comes to set him free. Thus thy unwonted kindness shown to me Amid the gloom where only sad thoughts reign, With too much rapture bringing light again, Threatens my life more than that agony. Good news and bad may bear the self-same knife; And death may follow both upon their flight; For hearts that shrink or swell, alike will break. Let then thy beauty, to preserve my life, Temper the source of this supreme delight, Lest joy so poignant slay a soul so weak. (@3John Addington Symonds@1) | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PROTESTATION by THOMAS CAREW PANDOSTO, THE TRIUMPH OF TIME: IN PRAISE OF HIS BEST-BELOVED FAWNIA by ROBERT GREENE THE HAYSTACK IN THE FLOODS by WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) IN BATTLE by ABUL HASAN OF BADAJOZ |