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Home  »  The Oxford Book of English Verse  »  136. Blow, blow, thou Winter Wind

Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.

William Shakespeare. 1564–1616

136. Blow, blow, thou Winter Wind

BLOW, blow, thou winter wind, 
Thou art not so unkind 
  As man’s ingratitude; 
Thy tooth is not so keen, 
Because thou art not seen,         5
  Although thy breath be rude. 
Heigh ho! sing, heigh ho! unto the green holly: 
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: 
        Then heigh ho, the holly! 
        This life is most jolly.  10
 
      Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, 
      That dost not bite so nigh 
        As benefits forgot: 
      Though thou the waters warp, 
      Thy sting is not so sharp  15
        As friend remember’d not. 
Heigh ho! sing, heigh ho! unto the green holly: 
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: 
        Then heigh ho, the holly! 
        This life is most jolly.  20