Aphra Behn. "The Caution."

THE CAUTION.
from The Lover's Watch (1686)
by Aphra Behn

My Damon, if your heart be kind,
Do not too long with beauty stay;
For there are certain moments when the mind
Is hurried by the force of charms away.
In Fate a minute critical there lies,
That waits on love, and takes you by surprise.

A lover pleased with constancy,
Lives still as if the maid he loved were by:
As if his actions were in view,
As if his steps she did pursue;
Or that his very soul she knew.
Take heed; for though I am not present there,
My love, my Genius waits you everywhere.

Restoration Verse, 1660-1715. William Kerr, ed.
London: Macmillan, 1930. 157.