English poem
To CHLOE, on a Charge of Inconstancy
by John Cunningham (1501–1591)
How can Chloe think it strange, Time should make a lover change?
Time brings all things to an end, Courage can't the blow defend. See the proud aspiring oak, Falls beneath the fatal stroke: If on Beauty's cheek he preys, Straight the rosy bloom decays: Joy puts out his lambent fires, And at Time's approach—expires.
How can Chloe think it strange, Time should make a lover change?