The Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics/Book 1/Poem 9
ix
PRESENT IN ABSENCE
Absence, hear thou my protestation Against thy strength Distance, and length; Do what thou canst for alteration: For hearts of truest mettle Absence doth join, and Time doth settle.
Who loves a mistress of such quality, He soon hath found Affection’s ground Beyond time, place, and all mortality. To hearts that cannot vary Absence is Presence, Time doth tarry.
By absence this good means I gain, That I can catch her, Where none can watch her, In some close comer of my brain: There I embrace and kiss her; And so I both enjoy and miss her. Anon.