Ode

ABSENCE, hear thou my protestation

        Against thy strength,

        Distance and length:

Do what thou canst for alteration,

    For hearts of truest mettle

    Absence doth join, and time doth settle.

Who loves a mistress of such quality,

        He soon hath found

        Affection's Ground

Beyond time, place, and all mortality.

    To hearts that cannot vary

    Absence is present, time doth tarry.

My senses want their outward motions

        Which now within

        Reason doth win,

Redoubled in her secret notions:

    Like rich men that take pleasure

    More in hiding than handling treasure.

By absence this good means I gain,

        That I can catch her,

        Where none can watch her,

In some close corner of my brain:

    There I embrace and kiss her,

    And so I both enjoy and miss her.

John Hoskins