[Oh, that joy so soon should waste!]
by Ben Jonson


OH, that joy so soon should waste!
    Or so sweet a bliss
    As a kiss
Might not forever last!
So sugared, so melting, so soft, so delicious!
    The dew that lies on roses
When morn herself discloses,
    Is not so precious.
Oh, rather than I would it smother,
Were I to taste such another,
    It should be my wishing
    That I might die kissing.




Titian. The Three Ages of Man. [detail] 1511/12
Titian. The Three Ages of Man [det.], 1512.
Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland.

Source:
Poetry of the English Renaissance 1509-1660.
J. William Hebel and Hoyt H. Hudson, eds.
New York: F. S. Crofts & Co., 1941. 514.
Backto Works of Ben Jonson

Created by Anniina Jokinen on May 7, 1999.
Copyright ©1999 Anniina Jokinen. All Rights Reserved.