by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)
Among the myrtles as I walk'd
Language: English
[Among]1 the myrtles as I walk'd Love and my sighs thus intertalk'd: Tell me, said I, in deep distress, Where I may find my Shepherdess? --Thou fool, said Love, know'st thou not this? In every thing that's sweet she is. In yond' carnation go and seek, There thou shalt find her lip and cheek; In that enamell'd pansy by, There thou shalt have her curious eye; In bloom of peach and rose's bud, There waves the streamer of her blood. --'Tis true, said I; and thereupon I went to pluck them one by one, To make of parts an union; But on a sudden all were gone. At which I stopp'd; Said Love, these be The true resemblances of thee; For as these flowers, thy joys must die; And in the turning of an eye; And all thy hopes of her must wither, Like those short sweets here knit together.
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View original text (without footnotes)1 H. Lawes: "Amidst"; further changes may exist not noted.
Authorship:
- by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674), "Mrs Eliz: Wheeler, under the Name of the Lost Shepherdess" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Henry Lawes (c1595 - 1662), "Love's sweet repose" [voice and continuo] [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-01-24
Line count: 22
Word count: 150