Time & Brevity

The Hour-Glass

by Ben Jonson 1572-1637

From Underwoods (1640)

Time & Brevity

Consider this small dust, here, in the glass,
By atoms mov'd:
Could you believe, that this the body was
Of one that lov'd;
And in his mistress' flame, playing like a fly,
Was turn'd to cinders by her eye:
Yes; and in death, as life unblest,
To have 't exprest,
Ev'n ashes of lovers find no rest.

✦ ✦ ✦

Underwoods, Miscellaneous Poems, no. 6.

MLA

Jonson, Ben. “The Hour-Glass.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/jonson/203/.

Chicago

Jonson, Ben. “The Hour-Glass.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/jonson/203/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

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