RIVALS
Of all the torments, all the cares,
With which our lives are cursed;
Of all the plagues a lover bears,
Sure rivals are the worst!
By partners in each other kind
Afflictions easier grow;
In love alone we hate to find
Companions of our woe.
Sylvia, for all the pangs you see
Are laboring in my breast,
I beg not you would favor me,
Would you but slight the rest!
How great soe'er your rigors are,
With them alone I'll cope;
I can endure my own despair,
But not another's hope.
William Walsh [1663-1708]
"I LATELY VOWED, BUT 'TWAS IN HASTE"
I lately vowed, but 'twas in haste,
That I no more would court
The joys which seem when they are past
As dull as they are short.
I oft to hate my mistress swear,
But soon my weakness find:
I make my oaths when she's severe,
But break them when she's kind.
John Oldmixon [1673-1742]