 | Poems on Affairs of State |  |
On a Blush.
Written by a Lady.
Can my own Blood betray me to Disgrace,
Fill me with Shame, then triumph in my Face?
Thou base Deserter of my better Part,
That hast so long inhabited my Heart,
To leave thy dearest native Mansion-Seat
Unguarded and expos'd to Love and Fate;
Had you but kept the Place, no room had bin
For any Damon to have sally'd in:
But while in Pomp you in my Cheeks were set,
He the Possession of my Heart did get.
Now you, my treach'rous Wanderer, may stay,
And new Confusion to my Heart convey:
You've Bus'ness now of Consequence to tell,
But see the gentle Tale you manage well;
Appear not you in all your furious Flame,
And you may give a Charm as well as Fame.
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The very Truth I charge thee to conceal.
If secret Joys from Damon's Sight arise,
You I suppose will tell it at my Eyes.
I could forgive you too, did you proceed
From real Cause, or some inglorious Deed:
I would be still asham'd of doing ill,
And Compensation make by blushing still:
But e'en in Innocence you're still my Foe,
And what I do not, or I would not know,
Still in my Face a seeming Guilt you show.
And while it pleases you to take these Airs,
I am abandon'd to a thousand Fears.
Shame and Confusion dwell upon my Face,
While ev'ry one their different Censures pass:
Fie Damon! 'twas a treach'rous Coward's part
To seize an empty and unguarded Heart.
You watch the Sentinel abroad, and then
Surprize his Box e'er he come back agen.
Come on Lucinda, Trick for Trick say I,
Since he's got in, there keep him till he die.
There is no Blood you say; then stop it close,
Let none return, and I'll engage he goes:
For without Blood he can no more live there
Than Sparrows in Boyle's Glasses without Air.
And if henceforth your Blood should upward move,
Say 'tis for Joy and Triumph, not for Love.
| Poems on Affairs of State | |