Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ANACREON'S ODE by HENRY LAWES

First Line: I LONG TO SING THE SIEGE OF TROY
Last Line: TIS DUMB TO ALL BUT LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Subject(s): LOVE;
I LONG to sing the siege of Troy;
Or Thebes which Cadmus reared so high;
But though with hand and voice I strove,
My lute will sound nothing but love,
I changed the strings, but 'twould not do't;
At last I took another lute;
And then I tried to sing the praise
Of all-performing Hercules.
But when I sung Alcides' name,
My lute resounds love, love again.
Then farewell, all ye Grecian peers,
And all true Trojan cavaliers;
Nor gods nor men my lute can move;
'Tis dumb to all but love, love, love.



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