 | Poems upon several Occasions |  |
121
THE PRECAUTION. In Irregular STANZA'S.
I
Whither, my Heart, do You your Flight prepare?Make You a Visit to the Matchless Fair?
Thither the Heedless Wanton flies,
Ambitious to be ruin'd by Her Eyes:
To meet their Shafts Impatient Lovers run,
And proudly All contend to be undone.
II
Well—since You will be gone,—to Madness gazeOn the Transcendent Glories of Her Face;
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Her Snowy Bosom, and Her Icy Heart:
Thro' all the various Regions move,
And wander o're that Beauteous World of Love.
III
But O! I caution Thee, avoid with CareThe flowing Tresses of Her Auborn Hair.
The Braided Locks in which Fair Venus shone,
When She the Vegetable Gold had won,
Were form'd by no such Curious Art,
Nor could She with such Charms surprize the Heart.
IV
The Curls in full Perfection shine,Form'd, like the World, by Hands Divine.
Strings, like Her Hair, imperceptibly small
Unite the Parts of this Enormous Ball:
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The Frame's disjointed, and the World must die.
V
Love in each winding Maze in Ambush lies,To make our wand'ring Hearts his Prize,
All are with Artful Ruin set,
Each Ring's a Gin, and every Curl's a Net.
Then I advise Thee to beware,
Fond Heart, I caution Thee avoid the Snare;
Once fetter'd, all thy weak Attempts are vain,
A Heart so lost will ne're return again.
| Poems upon several Occasions | |