English poem
To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Muse Not That by Thy Mind Thy Body Is Led
by John Donne
Muse not that by thy mind thy body is led: For by thy mind, my mind’s distempered. So thy care lives long, for I bearing part It eats not only thine, but my swoll’n heart. And when it gives us intermission We take new hearts for it to feed upon. But as a lay man’s genius doth control Body and mind; the Muse being the soul’s soul Of poets, that methinks should ease our anguish, Although our bodies wither and minds languish. Wright then, that my griefs which thine got may be Cured by thy charming sovereign melody.
More by John Donne
- To Mr. I. L.: Of That Short Roll of Friends Writ in My Heart
- To Mr. Rowland Woodward: If, as Mine Is, Thy Life a Slumber Be
- To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Kindly I Envy Thy Song’s Perfection
- To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Like One Who in Her Third Widowhood Doth Profess
- To Mr. Rowland Woodward: Zealously My Muse Doth Salute All Thee
- To Mr. Samuel Brooke
- To Mr. Thomas Woodward: All Hail, Sweet Poet, More Full of More Strong Fire
- To Mr. Thomas Woodward: At Once from Hence My Lines and I Depart