John Donne Selected Poems-5
Here more than in their books may lawyers find,
If mixture it of fear, shame, honour have ;
When thou knewst what I dreamt, when thou knewst when
Hither I come to seek the spring,
And how posterity shall know it too ;
May of their occupation find the grounds ;
We for Loves clergy only are instruments ;
DEAR love, for nothing less than thee
And for the cause, honour, or conscience give ;
Twere wholesomer for me that winter did
But mixd of all stuffs, vexing soul, or sense,
And though each spring do add to love new heat,
Gentle love deeds, as blossoms on a bough,
Who doth not fling away the shell?
ILL tell thee now (dear love) what thou shalt do
LOVES GROWTH.
For they are all concentric unto thee ;
And that this place may thoroughly be thought
Thought his pain and shame would be lesser,
Are sun, moon, or stars by law forbidden
Kill, and dissect me, Love ; for this
So they deserve nor blame, nor praise.
But rising makes me doubt, that now
Those like so many spheres but one heaven make,
As I had thought it was,
Then some wee might hate, and some choose ;
This book, as long-lived as the elements,
But if this medicine, love, which cures all sorrow
But to mark when and where the dark eclipses be?
Give me thy weakness, make me blind,
For all are false, that taste not just like mine.
For this Love is enraged with me,
In this thy book, such will there something see,
In both they do excel
When this book is made thus,
Mines in the earth, than quarries were before.
That sees, how Love this grace to us affords,
Vicissitude, and season, as the gwww.99lib.netrass ;
Something which they may see and use ;
Here statesmen—or of them, they which can read—
Rackd carcasses make ill anatomies.
To take a latitude
Small towns which stand stiff, till great shot
From loves awakened root do bud out now.
Faiths infirmity, they choose
And take my tears, which are loves wine,
Or, loth so to amuse
My dream thou brokest not, but continuedst it.
But absence tries how long this love will be ;
Not to dream all my dream, lets act the rest.
Coming and staying showd thee, thee,
I must confess, it could not choose but be
I do not sue from thee to draw
Her who from Pindar could allure,
Made women either good or bad,
GOOD we must love, and must hate ill,
Or as the worlds form, this all-gravèd tome
And that a grave frost did forbid
At their brightest, but to conclude
Love, let me never know that this
And when he hath the kernel eat,
As we shall find our fancy bent.
Make me a mandrake, so I may grow here,
Bad doth itself, and others waste ;
He that but tastes, he that devours,
And he that leaves all, doth as well ;
THE DREAM.
And try your mistress tears at home,
Enforce them, by wars law condition not ;
As in the firmament
Endure, nor yet leave loving, Love, let me
But that I may not this disgrace
To falsify a tear, or sigh, or vow ;
To all whom loves subliming fire invades,
For, though mind be the heaven, where love doth sit,
Though they new lovers choose ;
Must learn by my being cut up and torn,
Thus vent thy thoughts ; abroad Ill study thee,
That love is weak where fears as strong as he ;
Whose http://www.99lib.netweakness none doth, or dares tell ;
Their souls exhaled with what they do not see ;
But there are things indifferent,
Let me not know that others know
There the faith of any ground
Such in Loves warfare is my case ;
Learning were safe ; in this our universe,
Love抯 not so pure, and abstract as they use
And knewst my thoughts beyond an angels art,
These trees to laugh and mock me to my face ;
Good is as visible as green,
I may not article for grace,
If then at first wise Nature had
Benight the glory of this place,
Some senseless piece of this place be ;
VALEDICTION TO HIS BOOK.
Yet kills not ; if I must example be
If, as in water stirrd more circles be
Receive such balms as else cure every thing.
Methinks I lied all winter, when I swore
Tis not all spirit, pure and brave,
Profane, to think thee any thing but thee.
Would for a given soul give something too.
One might but one man know ;
Are birds divorced or are they chidden
Perchance as torches, which must ready be,
Having put Love at last to show this face.
Both ways, as thou and thine, in eyes and mind ;
Therefore thou wakedst me wisely ; yet
Sun, or stars, are fitliest viewd
To make dreams truths, and fables histories ;
No winter shall abate this spring抯 increase.
Of old or new love, himself being false or weak,
BLASTED with sighs, and surrounded with tears,
Love sometimes would contemplate, sometimes do.
If thou give nothing, yet thou rt just,
But one, and then another prove,
Stars by the sun are not enlarged, but shown,
Forsake him who on them relies ;
To make, to keep,九九藏书网 to use, to be these his records.
COMMUNITY.
As lightning, or a tapers light,
My love was infinite, if spring make it more.
For reason, much too strong for fantasy.
In cypher writ, or new made idiom ;
Will dream that hope again, but else would die.
A thousand it possess,
Who the present govern well,
O perverse sex, where none is true but she,
Love, and their art, alike it deadly wounds,
Here Loves divines—since all divinity
But as all else, being elemented too,
Love by the spring is grown ;
Deserts with cities, and make more
And can convert manna to gall ;
Torture against thine own end is ;
To say, which have no mistress but their Muse ;
LOVES EXCHANGE.
But doth waste with greediness.
Vandals and Goths invade us,
Who eer riggd fair ships to lie in harbours,
Good is not good, unless
Yet I thought thee
New taxes, and remit them not in peace,
Nor can you more judge womens thoughts by tears,
Would I have broke this happy dream ;
But O ! self-traitor, I do bring
Both by what titles mistresses are ours,
If they were good it would be seen ;
Because I would not thy first motions trust ;
And thence a law did grow,
Men light and put out, so thou dealst with me ;
Changed loves are but changed sorts of meat ;
Thine eyes, and not thy noise waked me ;
And of the sun his active vigour borrow,
Because it doth endure
Beauty a convenient type may be to figure it.
Or built fair houses, set trees, and arbours,
Only to lock up, or else to let them fall?
Sibyls glory, and obscure
How great love is, presence best trial makes,
Than by her shadow what she wears.
Only I have nothing, which gave more,
As princes do in times of action get
CONFINED LOVE.
That she knows my paines, lest that so
Is love or wonder—may find all they seek,
For ill is ill, and good good still ;
Give th art of rhyming, huntsmanship, or play,
Chimeras vain as they or their prerogative.
And how prerogative these states devours,
TWICKENHAM GARDEN.
Study our manuscripts, those myriads
Who, though from heart and eyes,
Which wee may neither hate, nor love,
But are other creatures so?
But am, alas ! by being lowly, lower.
If on womankind he might his anger wreak ;
As in the Bible some can find out alchemy.
And at mine eyes, and at mine ears,
Some man unworthy to be possessor
And her, through whose help Lucan is not lame,
A non obstante on natures law ;
Can call vowd men from cloisters, dead from tombs,
Transferrd from Love himself, to womankind ;
To anger destiny, as she doth us ;
But we are made worse than those.
It was a theme
Alas ! hearts do not in eyes shine,
The spider Love, which transubstantiates all,
And not to seek lands, or not to deal with all?
With more, not only be no quintessence,
Except that he Loves minion were.
They exact great subsidies,
That we may neither love, nor hate,
LOVE, any devil else but you
—For thou lovest truth—an angel, at first sight ;
And melt both poles at once, and store
How thine may out-endure
But when I saw thou sawst my heart,
Rule and example found ;
Enter these arms, for since thou thoughtst it best,
Of longitudes, what other way have we,
Thou art so true that thoughts of thee suffice
Thou camest to kindle, gost to come ; then I
To smile where they list, or lend away their light?
Should again the ravenous
And change th idolatry of any land,
To future rebels, if th unborn
Schools might learn sciences, spheres music, angels verse.
How I shall stay, though she eloign me thus,
For them which were their own before ;
This face, by which he could command
At court your fellows every day
As he removes far off, that great heights takes ;
And her, whose book (they say) Homer did find, and name.
True paradise, I have the serpent brought.
I SCARCE believe my love to be so pure
Beasts do no jointures lose
Excess of joy would wake me, and camest then,
No schismatic will dare to wound,
If they leave their mate, or lie abroad a night?
Whos therefore true, because her truth kills me.
Or a stone fountain weeping out my year.
I ask no dispensation now,
Produced by one, love such additions take,
And yet no greater, but more eminent,
This face, which, wheresoeer it comes,
In thee and thine ; none should forswear
Of letters, which have past twixt thee and me ;
But since she did them so create,
Is love, or, that love childish is ;
And to all eyes itself betrays.
But they are ours as fruits are ours ;
Whether abstract spiritual love they like,
These are prerogatives, they inhere
Hither with crystal phials, lovers, come,
Thou art not thou.
A tender shame make me mine own new woe.
Thence write our annals, and in them will be
Only this rests, all all may use.
If they were bad, they could not last ;
If to consider what tis, one proceed.