A Devout Lover
1605-1635
I HAVE a mistress, for perfections rare
In every eye, but in my thoughts most fair.
Like tapers on the altar shine her eyes;
Her breath is the perfume of sacrifice;
And wheresoe'er my fancy would begin,
Still her perfection lets religion in.
We sit and talk, and kiss away the hours
As chastely as the morning dews kiss flowers:
I touch her, like my beads, with devout care,
And come unto my courtship as my prayer.
DayPoems Poem No. 299
<a href="http://www.daypoems.net/poems/299.html">A Devout Lover by Thomas Randolph</a>
The DayPoems Poetry Collection, www.daypoems.net
Timothy Bovee, editor
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