Love

To Coelia (When Coelia must my old day set)

by Charles Cotton 1630–1687

From Poems on Several Occasions (1689)

Love

When Coelia must my old day set,
And my young morning rise
In beams of joy so bright as yet
Ne'er bless'd a Lovers eye,
My State is more advanc'd, than when
I first attempted thee;
I su'd to be a Servant then,
But now to be made Free.

I've serv'd my time Faithfull and True,
Expecting to be plac'd,
In happy Freedom, as my due,
To all the Joys thou hast:
Ill Husbandry in Love is such
A Scandal to Love's pow'r,
We ought not to mispend so much
As one poor short-liv'd hour.

Yet think not (Sweet) I'm weary grown,
That I pretend such haste,
Since none to surfeit e'er was known,
Before he had a taste;
My Infant Love could humbly wait,
When young it scarce knew how
To plead; but, grown to Man's estate,
He is impatient now.

MLA

Cotton, Charles. “To Coelia (When Coelia must my old day set).” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/cotton/4/.

Chicago

Cotton, Charles. “To Coelia (When Coelia must my old day set).” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/cotton/4/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Charles Cotton