My Prime of Youth Is But a Frost of Cares

Chidiock Tichborne 1558 (Southampton) – 1586



My prime of youth is but a frost of cares,
My feast of joy is but a dish of pain,
My crop of corn is but a field of tares,
And all my good is but vain hope of gain.
The day is gone and I yet I saw no sun,
And now I live, and now my life is done.

The spring is past, and yet it hath not sprung,
The fruit is dead, and yet the leaves are green,
My youth is gone, and yet I am but young,
I saw the world, and yet I was not seen,
My thread is cut, and yet it was not spun,
And now I live, and now my life is done.

I sought my death and found it in my womb,
I look't for life and saw it was a shade,
I trode the earth and knew it was my tomb,
And now I die, and now I am but made.
The glass is full, and now the glass is run,
And now I live, and now my life is done.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

55 sec read
91

Quick analysis:

Scheme ababcC dedecC fgfgcC
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 769
Words 183
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6

Chidiock Tichborne

Chidiock Tichborne is an English conspirator and poet. more…

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