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A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

Dearest, Do Not You Delay Me

John Fletcher

Dearest, do not you delay me,
Since, thou knowest, I must be gone;
Wind and tide, ’tis thought, doth stay me,
But ’tis wind that must be blown
    From that breath, whose native smell
    Indian odours far excel.

Oh, then speak, thou fairest fair!
Kill not him that vows to serve thee;
But perfume this neighboring air,
Else dull silence, sure, will sterve me:
    ’Tis a word that’s quickly spoken,
    Which being restrained, a heart is broken.
Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Comedies and Tragedies | 1647
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