To His Mistress
by John Wilmot |
Why dost thou shade thy lovely face? O why
Does that eclipsing hand of thine deny
The sunshine of the Sun's enlivening eye?
Without thy light what light remains in me?
Thou art my life; my way, my light's in thee;
I live, I move, and by thy beams I see.
Thou art my life--if thou but turn away
My life's a thousand deaths. Thou art my way--
Without thee, Love, I travel not but stray.
My light thou art--without thy glorious sight
My eyes are darken'd with eternal night.
My Love, thou art my way, my life, my light.
.....from To His Mistress by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-80)
