| John Donne (1572–1631). The Poems of John Donne. 1896. | | | | Songs and Sonnets | | The Apparition |
| | | WHEN by thy scorn, O murd’ress, I am dead, | |
| And that thou think’st 1 thee free | |
| From all solicitation from me, | |
| Then shall my ghost come to thy bed, | |
| And thee, feign’d vestal, in worse arms shall see: | 5 |
| Then thy sick taper will begin to wink, | |
| And he, whose thou art then, 2 being tired before, | |
| Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think | |
| Thou call’st for more, | |
| And, in false sleep, will from thee 3 shrink: | 10 |
| And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou | |
| Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie | |
| A verier ghost than I. | |
| What I will say, I will not tell thee now, | |
| Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent, | 15 |
| I’d rather thou shouldst painfully repent, | |
| Than by my threatenings rest still innocent. | |
| | | Note 1. l. 2. 1669, thou shalt think [back] | | Note 2. l. 7. 1669 omits then [back] | | Note 3. l. 10. 1635, in false sleep, from thee. 1669, in a false sleep, even from thee [back] | | |
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