Poems (Holford)/To a Friend with a Ring
ADDRESSED TO A FRIEND,
WITH A RING.
Nay, pretty Gertrude, do not fear me
Kind Friendship's easy chain am I,
No fickle tyrant bids thee wear me,
My bondage ne'er shall force a sigh;
Kind Friendship's easy chain am I,
No fickle tyrant bids thee wear me,
My bondage ne'er shall force a sigh;
Then let me clasp thy taper finger,
In me no treacherous fetter fear,
I will but ask thy thoughts to linger
Upon the friend who plac'd me there.
In me no treacherous fetter fear,
I will but ask thy thoughts to linger
Upon the friend who plac'd me there.
Oh scorn not then a pledge so tender,
But let me deck thy snowy hand,
Till I, my envied post surrender,
And yield to Hymen's mystic band;
But let me deck thy snowy hand,
Till I, my envied post surrender,
And yield to Hymen's mystic band;
And when to Love's imperious token
My transient triumph I resign,
Oh! may'st thou never wish it broken,
And be its weight as light as mine!
My transient triumph I resign,
Oh! may'st thou never wish it broken,
And be its weight as light as mine!