THOU joyest, fond boy, to be by many loved, To have thy beauty of most dames approved; For this dost thou thy native worth disguise And playest the sycophant t'observe their eyes; Thy glass thou counsellest more to adorn thy skin, That first should school thee to be fair within. 'Tis childish to be caught with pearl or amber, And woman-like too much to cloy the chamber; Youths is should the fields affect, heat their rough steeds, Their hardened nerves to fit for better deeds. Is't not more joy strongholds to force with swords Than women's weakness take with looks or words? Men that do noble things all purchase glory: One man for one brave act have proved a story: But if that one ten thousand dames o'ercame, Who would record it, if not to his shame? 'Tis far more conquest with one to live true Than every hour to triumph lord of new. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CONTRA MORTEM: THE SUN by HAYDEN CARRUTH SPOKEN AT A CASTLE GATE by DONALD (GRADY) DAVIDSON THOUGHTS OF A TINY PIG by DAVID IGNATOW UNDER THE CEDARCROFT CHESTNUT by SIDNEY LANIER SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: EPILOGUE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE STORY OF THE ASHES AND THE FLAME by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE UNDERGRADUATE KILLED IN BATTLE; OXFORD, 1915 by GEORGE SANTAYANA |