Love

To Anthea, who may command him any thing.

by Robert Herrick 1591–1674

From Hesperides (1648)

Love

BId me to live, and I will live
Thy Protestant to be:
Or bid me love, and I will give
A loving heart to thee.

A heart as soft, a heart as kind,
A heart as sound and free,
As in the whole world thou canst find,
That heart Ile give to thee.

Bid that heart stay, and it will stay,
To honour thy Decree:
Or bid it languish quite away,
And't shall doe so for thee.

Bid me to weep, and I will weep,
While I have eyes to see:
And having none, yet I will keep
A heart to weep for thee.

Bid me despaire, and Ile despaire,
Under that Cypresse tree:
Or bid me die, and I will dare
E'en Death, to die for thee.

Thou art my life, my love, my heart,
The very eyes of me:
And hast command of every part,
To live and die for thee.

MLA

Herrick, Robert. “To Anthea, who may command him any thing.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/herrick/269/.

Chicago

Herrick, Robert. “To Anthea, who may command him any thing.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/herrick/269/.

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