John Donne (1573-1631). Four Sonnets: IV. "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee." Henry Charles Beeching, ed. 1903. Lyra Sacra: A Book of Religious Verse

Verse > Anthologies > Henry Charles Beeching, ed. > Lyra Sacra

Henry Charles Beeching, ed. (1859–1919). Lyra Sacra: A Book of Religious Verse. 1903.

Four Sonnets: IV. “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee”

By John Donne (1573–1631)


DEATH, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death! nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy picture be,	5
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow;
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou’rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;	10
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke. Why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally;
And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die!