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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
LOVE SONGS: 9. A SIGH FROM OXFORD, by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Go, and if thou chance to find Last Line: His sighs did waft him over. Alternate Author Name(s): Browne, William Of Tavistock Subject(s): Love | |||
GO, and if thou chance to find That is southwards bent a wind, Take it upon any hire, But be sure it do not tire: If with love-sighs mix'd it be Be secure 'twill carry thee; Spur it on, and make more haste, Than the fleet that went out last; Do not stay to curl a rill, Cleanse a corn, or drive a mill; Nor to crisp a lock, or turn it: Thou hast fire, and so may'st burn it. For thy lodging do not come In a bagpipe or a drum: In the belly of some lute That hath struck Apollo mute; Or a gentle lady's ear, That might dream, whilst thou art there, Of such vows as thou dost carry, There for one night thou may'st tarry; Whisper there thy message to her; And if she have any wooer, In her sleep perhaps she may Speak what she denies the day, And instruct thee to reply To my Cælia more than I. For thy lodging, the next day, Do not thankless go away; Give the lute a test of air, That a poet's sigh lay there; And inform it with a soul Of so high divine control, That whoever hears it next Shall be with a Muse perplex'd; And a lawyer shall rehearse His demurs and pleas in verse. In the Lady's Lab'rinth leave Not a sound that may deceive; Drive it thence; and after see Thou there leave some part of thee, By which she may well descry Any lover's forgery: For it never will admit Ought that is not true as it. When that office thou hast done, And the lady lastly won, Let the air thou left'st the girl, Turn a drop, and then a pearl; Which I wish that she should wear For a pendant in her ear; And its virtue still shall be, To detect all flattery. Could I give each monarch such, None would say I sigh'd too much. When thy largess thou hast given, (My best sigh next that for heaven) Make not any longer stay; Kiss thine hostess, and away. If thou meet, as thou dost stir, Any Sigh a passenger, Stand upon thy guard, and be Jealous of a robbery; For the Sighs that travel now Bear not so much truth as thou; Those may rob thee to supply That defect of constancy Which their masters left to be Fill'd by what was stol'n from thee: Yet adventure, for in sooth Few dare meddle now with truth; 'Tis a coin that will not pay For their meat or horses' hay; 'Tis cried down, and such a coin As no great thief will purloin. Petty foot-Sighs thou may'st meet, From the Counter or the Fleet To a wife or mistress sent, That her lover's means hath spent, Of such ones beware, for those, Much spent on their masters' woes, May want of that store which thou Carriest to my Cælia now: And so rob thee, and then spend thee, So as I did ne'er intend thee; With dishonour thou shalt move To beg an alms, not get a love. Shun them, for they have no ruth, And know that few are hang'd for truth: Nay, the laws have been more brief To jail that theft, more than a thief; The Hue and Cry will not go post For the worth which thou hast lost. Yet for Faith and Truth betray'd Countries heretofore have paid. Wary be, and fearing loss, Like those of the Rosy-Cross, Be not seen, but hie thee on Like an inspiration; And as air, ascending higher, Turns to drops, or else to fire: So when thou art nearer come To my star, and to thy home, If thou meet a Sigh, which she Hath but coldly sent to me, Kiss it, for thy warmer air Will dissolve into a tear; As the steam of roses will At the cold top of a still: Nor shalt thou be lost; her eyes Have Apollo's faculties; Their fair rays will work amain, And turn thee to a Sigh again. What thou art yet closely shroud, Rise up like a fleecy cloud; And as thou dost so aspire To her element of fire, (Which afar its forces dart, And exhal'd thee from my heart,) Make thine own shape, just as we Fashion clouds by phantasy; Be a Cupid, be a Heart Wounded, and her rays the dart; Have a chasma too, and there Only let our vows appear: Lastly, I would wish thee be Such a cloud resembling me, That Ixion-like she might Clasp thee with his appetite; Yet more temperate and chaste, And whilst thou art so embrac'd, And afforded some sweet sips, From her Muse-inspiring lips, Vanish! and then slip by art Through those rubies to her heart. Wind it round, and let it be Thoughtless of all earth but me; Grow acquainted with that air, Which doth to her heart repair; And so temper and so blisse it, And so fan it, and so kiss it, That the new-born rose may be Not so truly chaste as she. With that Regent, from that hour, Leiger lie Ambassador: Keep our truce unbroke, prefer All the suits I send to her: Get dispatches, that may stand With the good of either hand; So that thou be bold and true, Never fear what may ensue; For there is no policy Like to that of honesty. Get into her minion thought, Howsoever dearly bought; And procure that she dispense To transport some kisses thence: These are rarities and dear, For like hers I meet none here. This thy charge is; then begone With thy full commission: Make her mine, and clear all doubts; Kill each jealousy that sprouts; Keep the honour of thy place; Let no other Sigh disgrace Thy just worth, and never sit To her, though [s]he bribe for it. And when I shall call thee home, To send another in thy room; Leave these thoughts for agents there: First, I think her pure and chaste, As the ice congealed last; Next, as iron (though it glows) Never melts but once, and flows; So her love will only be Fluent once, and that to me: Lastly, as the glowworm's might Never kindled other light, I believe that fire which sheHaply shows in loving me, Never will encourage man, (Though her love's meridian Heat him to it) once to dare To mention love, though unaware; Much less fire a Sigh that may Incorporate with my fair ray. I have read of two erewhile, Enemies burnt in one pile; That their flames would never kiss, But made a several pyramis. Let all Sighs that come to thee, By thy love enlighten'd be; If they join and make one flame, Be secure from me they came. If they separate, beware, There is craft that would ensnare; Mine are rarefied and just; Truth and love: the others lust. With this charge, farewell, and try What must be my destiny: Woo, secure her; plead thy due; This Sigh is not so long as true: And whoever shall incline To send another after mine, Though he have more cunning far Than the Juggler Gondomar, All his sleights, and all his faults, Hollowness of heart, and halts; By thy chaster fire will all Be so wrought diaphanal; She shall look through them, and see How much he comes short of me: Then my Sigh shall be approv'd, And kiss that heart whom I have lov'd. X. A HAPLESS shepherd on a day Yode to St. Michael's Mount, And spent more tears upon the way Than all the sands could count. Full was the sea, so were the eyes Of this unhappy lover, Yet without oar or wind in skies, His sighs did waft him over. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE INVENTION OF LOVE by MATTHEA HARVEY TWO VIEWS OF BUSON by ROBERT HASS A LOVE FOR FOUR VOICES: HOMAGE TO FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN by ANTHONY HECHT AN OFFERING FOR PATRICIA by ANTHONY HECHT LATE AFTERNOON: THE ONSLAUGHT OF LOVE by ANTHONY HECHT A SWEETENING ALL AROUND ME AS IT FALLS by JANE HIRSHFIELD EPITAPH: IN OBITUM M.S. XO MAIJ, 1614 by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) |
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