| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | III. Thy Beauty Fades | | By Jones Very (1813–1880) |
| | | THY BEAUTY fades, and with it too my love, | |
| For ’t was the selfsame stalk that bore its flower; | |
| Soft fell the rain, and breaking from above | |
| The sun looked out upon our nuptial hour; | |
| And I had thought forever by thy side | 5 |
| With bursting buds of hope in youth to dwell; | |
| But one by one Time strewed thy petals wide, | |
| And every hope’s wan look a grief can tell: | |
| For I had thoughtless lived beneath his sway, | |
| Who like a tyrant dealeth with us all, | 10 |
| Crowning each rose, though rooted on decay, | |
| With charms that shall the spirit’s love enthrall, | |
| And for a season turn the soul’s pure eyes | |
| From virtue’s changeless bloom, that time and death defies. | | | | |
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