Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO ELINDA, THAT LATELY I HAVE NOT WRITTEN, by RICHARD LOVELACE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO ELINDA, THAT LATELY I HAVE NOT WRITTEN, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: If in me anger, or disdain
Last Line: But anch'rites pray in tears and sweat.


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.





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