Thomas Humphry Ward, ed. The English Poets. 1880–1918.rnVol. II. The Seventeenth Century: Ben Jonson to Dryden

William Habington (1605–1654)

To Castara, in a Trance

FORSAKE me not so soon; Castara, stay,

And as I break the prison of my clay

I ’ll fill the canvas with my expiring breath,

And sail with thee o’er the vast main of Death.

Some cherubin thus, as we pass, shall play:

‘Go, happy twins of love!’—the courteous sea

Shall smooth her wrinkled brow; the winds shall sleep,

Or only whisper music to the deep;

Every ungentle rock shall melt away,

The sirens sing to please, not to betray;

The indulgent sky shall smile; each starry quire

Contend, which shall afford the brighter fire.

While Love, the pilot, steers his course so even

Ne’er to cast anchor till we reach at Heaven.