Poems (Holford)/To a Friend with a Ring
ADDRESSED TO A FRIEND,WITH A RING.
Nay, pretty Gertrude, do not fear meKind 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 lingerUpon 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;
And when to Love's imperious tokenMy transient triumph I resign,Oh! may'st thou never wish it broken,And be its weight as light as mine!