English poem
Had I a heart
by Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (1751–1816)
Had I a heart for falsehood fram’d, I ne’er could injure you; For tho’ your tongue no promise claim’d, Your charms would make me true. To you no soul shall bear deceit, No stranger offer wrong; But friends in all the ag’d you’ll meet; And lovers in the young.
But when they learn that you have blest Another with your heart: They’ll bid aspiring passion rest, and act a brother’s part. Then, lady, dread not here deceit, Nor fear to suffer wrong, For friends in the ag’d you’ll meet, And brothers in the young.