| John Donne (1572–1631). The Poems of John Donne. 1896. | | | | Letters to Several Personages | | To M[r]. C[hristopher] B[rooke] |
| | | THY friend, whom thy deserts to thee enchain, | |
| Urged by this unexcusable occasion, | |
| Thee and the saint of his affection | |
| Leaving behind, doth of both wants complain. | |
| And let the love I bear to both sustain | 5 |
| No blot nor maim by this division; | |
| Strong is this love which ties our hearts in one, | |
| And strong that love pursued with amorous pain. | |
| But though besides thyself 1 I leave behind | |
| Heaven’s liberal, and the thrice 2 fair sun, | 10 |
| Going to where starved winter 3 aye doth won, | |
| Yet Love’s hot fires, which martyr my sad mind, | |
| Do send forth scalding sighs, which have the art | |
| To melt all ice, but that which walls her heart. | |
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