Sonnet XLVI. If he be dead in whom no heart remains

Giles Fletcher (1586?–1623)

IF he be dead in whom no heart remains,

Or lifeless be in whom no life is found;

If he do pine, that never comfort gains;

And be distressed that hath his deadly wound:

Then must I die, whose heart elsewhere is clad;

And lifeless pass the greedy worms to feed:

Then must I pine, that never comfort had;

And be distressed, whose wound with tears doth bleed.

Which if I do, why do I not wax cold?

Why rest I not like one that wants a heart?

Why move I still like him that life doth hold;

And sense enjoy both of my joy and smart?

Like NIOBE Queen, which, made a stone, did weep:

LICIA my heart, dead and alive, doth keep.