THRENOS
by William Shakespeare
Beauty, truth, and
rarity,
Grace in all simplicity,
Here enclosed in cinders lie.
Death is now the phoenix'
nest
And the turtle's loyal breast
To eternity doth rest,
Leaving no posterity:
'Twas not their infirmity,
It was married chastity.
Truth may seem, but
cannot be:
Beauty brag, but 'tis not she;
Truth and beauty buried be.
To this urn let those
repair
That are either true or fair
For these dead birds sigh
a prayer. |