TO MR. DAVENANT FOR ABSENCE by JOHN SUCKLING

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.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...