231. Change should breed Change

William Drummond, of Hawthornden. 1585-1649


    NEW doth the sun appear,
    The mountains' snows decay,
Crown'd with frail flowers forth comes the baby year.
    My soul, time posts away;
    And thou yet in that frost
    Which flower and fruit hath lost,
As if all here immortal were, dost stay.
    For shame! thy powers awake,
Look to that Heaven which never night makes black,
And there at that immortal sun's bright rays,
Deck thee with flowers which fear not rage of days!

The Oxford Book of English Verse, HTML edition