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Home  »  The Oxford Book of English Verse  »  293. Ingrateful Beauty threatened

Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.

Thomas Carew. 1595?–1639?

293. Ingrateful Beauty threatened

KNOW, Celia, since thou art so proud, 
  ‘Twas I that gave thee thy renown. 
Thou hadst in the forgotten crowd 
  Of common beauties lived unknown, 
Had not my verse extoll’d thy name,         5
And with it imp’d the wings of Fame. 
 
That killing power is none of thine; 
  I gave it to thy voice and eyes; 
Thy sweets, thy graces, all are mine; 
  Thou art my star, shin’st in my skies;  10
Then dart not from thy borrow’d sphere 
Lightning on him that fix’d thee there. 
 
Tempt me with such affrights no more, 
  Lest what I made I uncreate; 
Let fools thy mystic form adore,  15
  I know thee in thy mortal state. 
Wise poets, that wrapt Truth in tales, 
Knew her themselves through all her veils. 
 
GLOSS:  imp’d] grafted with new feathers.