Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day, And make me travel forth without my cloak, To let base clouds o'ertake me in my way, Hiding thy bravery in their rotten smoke? 'Tis not enough that through the cloud thou break, To dry the rain on my storm-beaten face, For no man well of such a salve can speak That heals the wound and cures not the disgrace: Nor can thy shame give physic to my grief; Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss: The offender's sorrow lends but weak relief To him that bears the strong offence's cross. Ah! but those tears are pearl which thy love sheds, And they are rich and ransom all ill deeds. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MY SENSES DO NOT DECEIVE ME by MARIANNE MOORE VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS by GREGORY I LINES FOR THE HOUR by HAMILTON FISH ARMSTRONG JAMESON'S RIDE by ALFRED AUSTIN INVITES POETS AND HISTORIANS TO WRITE IN CYNTHIA'S PRAISE by PHILIP AYRES FANTASIA IN E MINOR by ELIZABETH BUSH TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 4. PHILOLAUS TO DIOCLES by EDWARD CARPENTER |