WRONG not, sweet empress of my heart,
The merit of true passion,
With thinking that he feels no smart,
That sues for no compassion.
Silence in love bewrays more woe
Than words, though ne'er so witty:
A beggar that is dumb, you know,
May challenge double pity.
Then wrong not, dearest to my heart,
My true, though secret passion;
He smarteth most that hides his smart,
And sues for no compassion.
More verses by Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Silent Lover I
- Sestina Otiosa
- On Being Challenged To Write An Epigram In The Manner Of Herrick
- Stans Puer Ad Mensam
- A Literature Lesson. Sir Patrick Spens In The Eighteenth Century Manner