William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Elizabethan Verse. 1907.
FideleWilliam Shakespeare (15641616)
F
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.
Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan:
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee,
Quiet consummation have;
And renownèd be thy grave!