| WHY didst thou promise such a beauteous day | |
| And make me travel forth without my cloak, | |
| To let base clouds o’ertake me in my way, | |
| Hiding thy bravery in their rotten smoke? | |
| ’Tis not enough that through the cloud thou break, | 5 |
| To dry the rain on my storm-beaten face, | |
| For no man well of such a salve can speak | |
| That heals the wound and cures not the disgrace: | |
| Nor can thy shame give physic to my grief; | |
| Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss: | 10 |
| The offender’s sorrow lends but weak relief | |
| To him that bears the strong offence’s cross. | |
| Ah! but those tears are pearl which thy love sheds, | |
| And they are rich and ransom all ill deeds. |