Charmed and enchanted so
As to withstand the blow
O f o v e r t h r o w ;
Nor shall the seas,
Or o u t r a g e s
Of storms, o’erbear
What we uprear;
Tho’ kingdoms fall,
This pillar never shall
Decline or waste at all;
But stand for ever by his own
Firm and well-fixed foundation.
Cold as paddocks though they be,Here I lift them up to thee,For a benison to fallOn our meat, and on us all.Amen.
Thaw’d are the snows; and now the lusty SpringGives to each mead a neat enamelling;The palms put forth their gems, and every treeNow swaggers in her leafy gallantry.The while the Daulian minstrel sweetly singsWith warbling notes her Terean sufferings.–What gentle winds perspire! as if hereNever had been the northern plundererTo strip the trees and fields,…
And when I see that other dressOf flowers set in comeliness;When I behold another graceIn the ascent of curious lace,Which, like a pinnacle, doth shewThe top, and the top-gallant too;Then, when I see thy tresses boundInto an oval, square, or round,And knit in knots far more than I.Can tell by tongue, or True-love tie;Next, when…
For old religion’s sake,Saint Ben to aid me.Make the way smooth for me,When I, thy Herrick,Honouring thee, on my kneeOffer my lyric.Candles I’ll give to thee,And a new altar,And thou, Saint Ben, shalt beWrit in my psalter.
For what other reason is’t,But to shew thee how in partThou my pretty captive art?But thy bond-slave is my heart;‘Tis but silk that bindeth thee,Knap the thread and thou art free;But ’tis otherwise with me;I am bound, and fast bound so,That from thee I cannot go;If I could, I would not so.
