Thomas Carew Poems

A collection of select Thomas Carew famous poems that were written by Thomas Carew or written about the poet by other famous poets. PoetrySoup is a comprehensive educational resource of the greatest poems and poets on history.

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Epitaph for Maria Wentworth

by Thomas Carew
 And here the precious dust is laid; 
Whose purely-temper'd clay was made 
So fine that it the guest betray'd. 

Else the soul grew so fast within, 
It broke the outward shell of sin, 
And so was hatch'd a cherubin. 

In height, it soar'd to God above; 
In depth, it did to knowledge move, 
And spread in breadth to general...Read more of this...

Know Celia Since Thou Art So Proud

by Thomas Carew
 Know, Celia, since thou art so proud,
'Twas I that gave thee thy renown.
Thou hadst in the forgotten crowd
Of common beauties lived unknown
Had not my verse extolled thy name,
And with it imped the wings of Fame.

That killing power is none of thine;
I gave it to thy voice and eyes.
Thy sweets, thy graces, all are mine;
Thou art my star, shin'st in...Read more of this...

My Mistress Commanding Me to Return Her Letters

by Thomas Carew
 SO grieves th' adventurous merchant, when he throws 
All the long toil'd-for treasure his ship stows 
Into the angry main, to save from wrack 
Himself and men, as I grieve to give back 
These letters : yet so powerful is your sway 
As if you bid me die, I must obey. 
Go then, blest papers, you shall kiss those...Read more of this...

Secrecy Protested

by Thomas Carew
 FEAR not, dear love, that I'll reveal 
Those hours of pleasure we two steal ; 
No eye shall see, nor yet the sun 
Descry, what thou and I have done.
No ear shall hear our love, but we 
Silent as the night will be ;
The god of love himself (whose dart 
Did first wound mine and then thy heart), 
Shall...Read more of this...

Another

by Thomas Carew
 THIS little vault, this narrow room, 
Of Love and Beauty is the tomb; 
The dawning beam, that 'gan to clear 
Our clouded sky, lies darken'd here, 
For ever set to us: by Death 
Sent to enflame the World Beneath. 
'Twas but a bud, yet did contain 
More sweetness than shall spring again; 
A budding Star, that might have grown...Read more of this...

An Elegy upon the Death of the Dean of St. Pauls Dr. John

by Thomas Carew
 Can we not force from widow'd poetry, 
Now thou art dead (great Donne) one elegy 
To crown thy hearse? Why yet dare we not trust, 
Though with unkneaded dough-bak'd prose, thy dust, 
Such as th' unscissor'd churchman from the flower 
Of fading rhetoric, short-liv'd as his hour, 
Dry as the sand that measures it, should lay 
Upon thy ashes,...Read more of this...

Disdain Returned

by Thomas Carew
 He that loves a rosy cheek, 
Or a coral lip admires, 
Or from starlike eyes doth seek 
Fuel to maintain his fires; 
As old Time makes these decay, 
So his flames must waste away. 

But a smooth and steadfast mind, 
Gentle thoughts and calm desires, 
Hearts with equal love combined, 
Kindle never-dying fires. 
Where these are not, I despise...Read more of this...

A prayer to the Wind

by Thomas Carew
 Go thou gentle whispering wind,
Bear this sigh; and if thou find
Where my cruel fair doth rest,
Cast it in her snowy breast,
So, enflam'd by my desire,
It may set her heart a-fire.
Those sweet kisses thou shalt gain,
Will reward thee for thy pain:
Boldly light upon her lip,
There suck odours, and thence skip
To her bosom; lastly fall
Down, and wander over all:
Range about those...Read more of this...

Epitaph On the Lady Mary Villiers

by Thomas Carew
 THE Lady Mary Villiers lies 
Under this stone; with weeping eyes 
The parents that first gave her birth, 
And their sad friends, laid her in earth. 
If any of them, Reader, were 
Known unto thee, shed a tear; 
Or if thyself possess a gem 
As dear to thee, as this to them, 
Though a stranger to this place, 
Bewail...Read more of this...

To A. L. Persuasions to Love

by Thomas Carew
 THINK not, 'cause men flattering say
You're fresh as April, sweet as May,
Bright as is the morning star,
That you are so ; or, though you are,
Be not therefore proud, and deem
All men unworthy your esteem :
For, being so, you lose the pleasure
Of being fair, since that rich treasure
Of rare beauty and sweet feature
Was bestow'd on you by nature
To be enjoy'd...Read more of this...

Lips and Eyes

by Thomas Carew
 IN Celia's face a question did arise,
Which were more beautiful, her lips or eyes ? 
“ We,” said the eyes, “send forth those pointed darts 
Which pierce the hardest adamantine hearts.” 
“ From us,” repli'd the lips, “proceed those blisses 
Which lovers reap by kind words and sweet kisses.” 
Then wept the eyes, and from their springs did pour...Read more of this...

Ask Me No More

by Thomas Carew
 Ask me no more where Jove bestows,
When June is past, the fading rose;
For in your beauty's orient deep
These flowers, as in their causes, sleep.

Ask me no more whither do stray
The golden atoms of the day;
For in pure love heaven did prepare
Those powders to enrich your hair.

Ask me no more whither doth haste
The nightingale when May is past;
For in your...Read more of this...

Song: Eternity of Love Protested

by Thomas Carew
 How ill doth he deserve a lover's name, 
Whose pale weak flame 
Cannot retain 
His heat, in spite of absence or disdain; 
But doth at once, like paper set on fire, 
Burn and expire; 
True love can never change his seat, 
Nor did her ever love, that could retreat. 

That noble flame which my breast keeps alive 
Shall still...Read more of this...

Celia Beeding To the Surgeon

by Thomas Carew
 Fond man, that canst believe her blood
Will from those purple channels flow;
Or that the pure untainted flood
Can any foul distemper know;
Or that thy weak steel can incise
The crystal case wherein it lies:

Know, her quick blood, proud of his seat,
Runs dancing through her azure veins;
Whose harmony no cold nor heat
Disturbs, whose hue no tincture stains:
And the hard rock wherein it...Read more of this...

He That Loves A Rosy Cheek

by Thomas Carew
 He that loves a rosy cheek,
Or a coral lip admires,
Or from star-like eyes doth seek
Fuel to maintain his fires:
As old Time makes these decay,
So his flames must waste away.

But a smooth and steadfast mind,
Gentle thoughts, and calm desires,
Hearts with equal love combined,
Kindle never-dying fires:
Where these are not, I despise
Lovely cheeks or lips or eyes....Read more of this...

A Divine Mistress

by Thomas Carew
 In Nature's pieces still I see
Some error that might mended be;
Something my wish could still remove,
Alter or add; but my fair love
Was fram'd by hands far more divine,
For she hath every beauteous line:
Yet I had been far happier,
Had Nature, that made me, made her.
Then likeness might (that love creates)
Have made her love what now she hates;
Yet I confess I...Read more of this...

A Song: When June is Past the Fading Rose

by Thomas Carew
 Ask me no more where Jove bestows, 
When June is past, the fading rose; 
For in your beauty's orient deep 
These flowers as in their causes, sleep. 

Ask me no more whither doth stray 
The golden atoms of the day; 
For in pure love heaven did prepare 
Those powders to enrich your hair. 

Ask me no more whither doth...Read more of this...

A Song

by Thomas Carew
 Ask me no more where Jove bestows, 
When June is past, the fading rose; 
For in your beauty's orient deep 
These flowers, as in their causes, sleep. 

Ask me no more whither doth stray 
The golden atoms of the day; 
For in pure love heaven did prepare 
Those powders to enrich your hair. 

Ask me no more whither doth...Read more of this...

Song. A Beautiful Mistress

by Thomas Carew
 IF when the sun at noon displays
His brighter rays, 
Thou but appear, 
He then, all pale with shame and fear,
Quencheth his light,
Hides his dark brow, flies from thy sight,
And grows more dim,
Compared to thee, than stars to him.
If thou but show thy face again,
When darkness doth at midnight reign,
The darkness flies, and light is hurl'd
Round about the silent world...Read more of this...

Song. Good Counsel to a Young Maid

by Thomas Carew
 GAZE not on thy beauty's pride, 
Tender maid, in the false tide 
That from lovers' eyes doth slide. 
Let thy faithful crystal show 
How thy colours come and go : 
Beauty takes a foil from woe. 

Love, that in those smooth streams lies 
Under pity's fair disguise, 
Will thy melting heart surprise. 

Nets of passion's finest thread, 
Snaring poems,...Read more of this...

Persuasions to Joy a Song

by Thomas Carew
 IF the quick spirits in your eye 
Now languish and anon must die; 
If every sweet and every grace 
Must fly from that forsaken face; 
 Then, Celia, let us reap our joys 
 Ere Time such goodly fruit destroys. 

Or if that golden fleece must grow 
For ever free from aged snow; 
If those bright suns must know...Read more of this...

A Cruel Mistress

by Thomas Carew
 We read of kings and gods that kindly took 
A pitcher fill'd with water from the brook ; 
But I have daily tender'd without thanks 
Rivers of tears that overflow their banks. 
A slaughter'd bull will appease angry Jove, 
A horse the Sun, a lamb the god of love, 
But she disdains the spotless sacrifice 
Of a pure heart,...Read more of this...

I Do Not Love Thee For That Fair

by Thomas Carew
 I do not love thee for that fair
Rich fan of thy most curious hair;
Though the wires thereof be drawn
Finer than threads of lawn,
And are softer than the leaves
On which the subtle spider weaves.

I do not love thee for those flowers
Growing on thy cheeks, love's bowers;
Though such cunning them hath spread,
None can paint them white and red:
Love's golden arrows thence...Read more of this...

Song. Murdering Beauty

by Thomas Carew
 I'LL gaze no more on her bewitching face, 
Since ruin harbours there in every place ; 
For my enchanted soul alike she drowns 
With calms and tempests of her smiles and frowns. 
I’ll love no more those cruel eyes of hers, 
Which, pleased or anger’d, still are murderers : 
For if she dart, like lightning, through the air 
Her...Read more of this...

To My Inconstant Mistress

by Thomas Carew
 When thou, poor excommunicate
From all the joys of love, shalt see
The full reward and glorious fate
Which my strong faith shall purchase me,
Then curse thine own inconstancy.

A fairer hand than thine shall cure
That heart which thy false oaths did wound;
And to my soul a soul more pure
Than thine shall by Love's hand be bound,
And both with equal glory crowned.

Then shalt...Read more of this...

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