The Apparition

WHEN by thy scorn, O murd’ress, I am dead,

And that thou think’st thee free

From all solicitation from me,

Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,

And thee, feign’d vestal, in worse arms shall see:

Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,

And he, whose thou art then, being tired before,

Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think

Thou call’st for more,

And, in false sleep, will from thee shrink:

And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou

Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie

A verier ghost than I.

What I will say, I will not tell thee now,

Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent,

I’d rather thou shouldst painfully repent,

Than by my threatenings rest still innocent.