Poems on Several Occasions (Broome)/The Coy. An Ode

by William Broome

Fleuron from 'Poems on Several Occasions' by William Broome, 2nd edition published in 1739

 

The Coy.

An ODE.

I.
Love is a noble rich Repast,
But seldom should the Lover taste;
When the kind Fair no more restrains,
The Glutton surfeits, and disdains.

II.
To move the Nymph he Tears bestows,
He vainly sighs, he falsely vows;
The Tears deceive, the Vows betray,
He conquers, and contemns the Prey.

III.
Thus Ammon's Son with fierce Delight
Smil'd at the Terrours of the Fight;
The Thoughts of Conquest charm'd his Eyes,
He conquer'd, and he wept the Prize.

IV.
Love, like a Prospect, with delight
Sweetly deceives the distant Sight,
Where the tir'd Travellers survey,
O'er hanging Rocks, a dang'rous Way.

V.
Ye Fair that would victorious prove,
Seem but half Kind, when most you love;
Damon pursues if Cælia flies,
But when her Love is born, his dies.

VI.
Had Danäe the young, the fair,
Been free, and unconfin'd as Air;
Free from the Guards, and brazen Tow'r,
She'd ne'er been worth a Golden Show'r.

 

Endpiece from 'Poems on Several Occasions' by William Broome (1739, 2nd edition)