| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Elizabethan Verse. 1907. | | | | O Fly, My Soul | | By James Shirley (1596–1666) |
| | From “The Imposture,” Act II. Scene 3 |
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O FLY, my soul! What hangs upon | |
| Thy drooping wings, | |
| And weighs them down | |
| With love of gaudy mortal things? | |
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| The Sun is now i’ the east: each shade | 5 |
| As he doth rise | |
| Is shorter made, | |
| That earth may lessen to our eyes. | |
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| O be not careless then and play | |
| Until the Star of Peace | 10 |
| Hide all his beams in dark recess! | |
| Poor pilgrims needs must lose their way, | |
| When all the shadows do increase. | | | |
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