Sonnet, To Astrophil

To foolish school boys' play is love allied, Like trewand lads that leave their books and chores And scrounge for jagged stones on strange seashores To watch the ripples burst, swell out, subside. With words I pelt her watery bed of pride, Each stone a gem to try her love once more, Disprove the ancient lie of Vestal lore That passions writ in water short abide. Yet Nature spiteth man, Invention's slave, And proves his rings of wit will ne'er live long; The weight of love will vanish 'neath the wave, If wanton Venus rules the poet's song. Thus me She drowns with falsity so cruel And runs to trap the next unknowing fool.