The Apparition
- When by thy scorn, O murd'ress, I am dead,
- And that thou think'st thee free
- From all solicitation from me,
- Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
- And thee, feigned vestal, in worse arms shall see;
- Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
- And he, whose thou art then, being tired before,
- Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
- Thou call'st for more,
- And in false sleep will from thee shrink,
- And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
- Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie
- A verier ghost than I.
- What I will say I will not tell thee now,
- Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent,
- I'd rather thou shouldst painfully repent
- Than by my threat'nings rest still innocent.
From: Songs and Sonnets, 1633.
- --oOo-- -