The Minor Poems of Joseph Beaumont ... Edited from the autograph manuscript with introduction and notes by Eloise Robinson |
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The Alarm
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 | The Minor Poems of Joseph Beaumont |  |
446
The Alarm
June 10.
1
Twas fairly done, Mortalitie,To give a warning peece before the fight.
And heer my Thanks I render thee
For that Alarm thou gavest me last night.
And yet thou cunning art, who by
Weaknes thy strength on me dost try.
2
By this light skirmish I am taughtWhat to expect when thou dost charge me home.
So kindely that distemper wrought
Upon my heart, that she hath reaped from
My bodies sicknes, such a crop
Of health, as cheers her into hope.
3
Into fair hope that I shall dareTo meet thy main battalia, & quit
The vain & most ignoble fear
Of Deaths assault; whom I desire to set
Upon me in the open feild,
That so I may with honor yeild.
447
4
For yeild I must, & will; nor needDeath any subtile ambush lay for me:
I have no plot to run, & lead
That fate a dance which cannot shunned be.
Yet by Surrender, might I choose,
Not by Surprize, my Life I'd loose.
| The Minor Poems of Joseph Beaumont | |