Love

The Tomb

by Thomas Stanley 1625–1678

Love

When, cruel fair one, I am slain
By thy disdain,
And, as a trophy of thy scorn,
To some old tomb am borne,
Thy fetters must their power bequeath
To those of Death;
Nor can thy flame immortal burn,
Like monumental fires within an urn;
Thus freed from thy proud empire, I shall prove
There is more liberty in Death than Love.

And when forsaken Lovers come,
To see my tomb,
Take heed thou mix not with the crowd
And (as a Victor) proud
To view the spoils thy beauty made
Press near my shade,
Lest thy too cruel breath or name
Should fan my ashes back into a flame,
And thou, devour'd by this revengeful fire,
His sacrifice, who died as thine, expire.

MLA

Stanley, Thomas. “The Tomb.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/stanley/30/.

Chicago

Stanley, Thomas. “The Tomb.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/stanley/30/.

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