Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry.
Volume III. Sorrow and Consolation. 1904. | | | | III. Adversity | | Lines: “My prime of youth is but a frost of cares” | | Chidiock Tichborne (1563–1586) |
| | | | [Written in the Tower, the night before his probably unjust execution for treason] |
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MY prime of youth is but a frost of cares, | |
| My feast of joy is but a dish of pain, | |
| My crop of corn is but a field of tares, | |
| And all my goodes is but vain hope of gain. | |
| The day is fled, and yet I saw no sun; | 5 |
| And now I live, and now my life is done! | |
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| My spring is past, and yet it hath not sprung, | |
| The fruit is dead, and yet the leaves are green, | |
| My youth is past, and yet I am but young, | |
| I saw the world, and yet I was not seen. | 10 |
| My thread is cut, and yet it is not spun; | |
| And now I live, and now my life is done! | |
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| I sought for death and found it in the wombe, | |
| I lookt for life, and yet it was a shade, | |
| I trade the ground, and knew it was my tombe, | 15 |
| And now I die, and now I am but made. | |
| The glass is full, and yet my glass is run; | |
| And now I live, and now my life is done! | | | |
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