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Return

By John Wilmot

Topics: classic

Absent from thee, I languish still; Then ask me not, When I return? The straying fool twill plainly kill To wish all day, all night to mourn. Dear, from thine arms then let me fly, That my fantastic mind may prove The torments it deserves to try, That tears my fixd heart from my love. When, wearied with a world of woe, To thy safe bosom I retire, Where love, and peace, and truth does flow, May I contented there expire! Lest, once more wandering from that heaven, I fall on some base heart unblest; Faithless to thee, false, unforgiven, And lose my everlasting rest.

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"Absent from thee, I languish still;..."

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Author:John Wilmot

"Absent from thee, I languish still;..." by John Wilmot

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

John Wilmot

About John Wilmot

John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647–1680), was an English poet and courtier known for his satirical and libertine verse. His poems—including "A Satire Against Reason and Mankind" and "The Imperfect Enjoyment"—combine intellectual brilliance with provocative honesty.

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