| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Elizabethan Verse. 1907. | | | | The Message | | By John Donne (1572–1631) |
| | | SEND home my long-stray’d eyes to me, | |
| Which, oh! too long have dwelt on thee; | |
| But if there they have learnt such ill, | |
| Such forced fashions | |
| And false passions, | 5 |
| That they be | |
| Made by thee | |
| Fit for no good sight, keep them still. | |
| |
| Send home my harmless heart again, | |
| Which no unworthy thought could stain; | 10 |
| But if it be taught by thine | |
| To make jestings | |
| Of protestings, | |
| And break both | |
| Word and oath, | 15 |
| Keep it still, ’tis none of mine. | |
| |
| Yet send me back my heart and eyes, | |
| That I may know and see thy lies, | |
| And may laugh and joy when thou | |
| Art in anguish, | 20 |
| And dost languish | |
| For some one | |
| That will none, | |
| Or prove as false as thou dost now. | | | | |
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