Sonnet I



Dost see how unregarded now
        That piece of beauty passes?
There was a time when I did vow
        To that alone;
    But mark the fate of faces;
The red and white works now no more on me
Than if it could not charm, or I not see.

And yet the face continues good,
        And I have still desires,
Am still the selfsame flesh and blood,
        As apt to melt
    And suffer from those fires;
Oh some kind pow'r unriddle where it lies,
Whether my heart be faulty, or her eyes?

She ev'ry day her man does kill,
        And I as often die;
Neither her power then, nor my will
        Can question'd be.
    What is the mystery?
Sure beauty's empires, like to greater states,
Have certain periods set, and hidden fates.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

40 sec read
130

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAXBCC XDXXDEE FXFCCGG
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 709
Words 132
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7

Sir John Suckling

Sir John Suckling was an English poet and one prominent figure among those renowned for careless gaiety wit and all the accomplishments of a Cavalier poet and also the inventor of the card game cribbage He is best known for his poem Ballad Upon a Wedding more…

All Sir John Suckling poems | Sir John Suckling Books

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