Non Pareil: In Praise of Phyllis

LET others from the town retire,
And in the fields seek new delight ;
My Phillis does such joys inspire,
No other objects please my sight.

In Her alone I find whate'er
Beauties a country-landscape grace ;
No shades so lovely as Her hair.
Nor plain so sweet as is Her face.

Lilies and roses there combine,
More beauteous than in flow'ry field ;
Transparent is Her skin, so fine.
To this each crystal stream must yield.

Her voice more sweet than warbling sound,
Tho' sung by nightingale or lark.
Her eyes such lustre dart around,
Compar'd to them the sun is dark.

Both light and vital heat they give,
Cherish'd by Them my love takes root.
From Her kind looks does life receive.
Grows a fair plant ; bears flow'rs, and fruit.

Such fruit, I ween, did once deceive
The common parent of mankind ;
And made transgress our mother Eve :
Poison it's core, tho' fair it's rind.

Yet so delicious is it's taste,
I cannot from the bait abstain,
But to th' inchanting pleasure haste,
Tho' I were sure 'twou'd end in pain.