Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AN EPITAPH UPON MISTRESS I.T., by THOMAS RANDOLPH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AN EPITAPH UPON MISTRESS I.T., by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Reader, if thou hast a tear
Last Line: She robb'd not earth to add to heaven.
Subject(s): Epitaphs


READER, if thou hast a tear,
Thou canst not choose but pay it here.
Here lies modesty, meekness, zeal,
Goodness, piety, and (to tell
Her worth at once) one that had shown
All virtues that her sex could own,
Nor dare my praise too lavish be,
Lest her dust blush, for so would she.
Hast thou beheld in the spring's bowers
Tender buds break to bring forth flowers?
So to keep virtue's stock, pale Death
Took her to give her infant breath.
Thus her accounts were all made even,
She robb'd not earth to add to heaven.





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