| John Donne (1572–1631). The Poems of John Donne. 1896. | | | | Songs and Sonnets | | The Sun Rising |
| | | BUSY old fool, unruly Sun, | |
| Why dost thou thus, | |
| Through windows, and through curtains, call on us? 1 | |
| Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run? | |
| Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide | 5 |
| Late school-boys and sour 2 prentices, | |
| Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride, | |
| Call country ants to harvest offices; | |
| Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, | |
| Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time. | 10 |
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| Thy beams so reverend, and strong | |
| Why shouldst thou think? | |
| I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink, | |
| But that I would not lose her sight so long. 3 | |
| If her eyes have not blinded thine, | 15 |
| Look, and to-morrow late tell me, | |
| Whether both th’ Indias of spice and mine | |
| Be where thou left’st them, 4 or lie here with me. | |
| Ask for those kings whom thou saw’st yesterday, | |
| And thou shall hear, “All here in one bed lay.” | 20 |
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| She’s all states, and all princes I; | |
| Nothing else is; | |
| Princes do but play us; compared to this, | |
| All honour’s mimic, all wealth alchemy. | |
| Thou, Sun, art half as happy as we, | 25 |
| In that the world’s contracted thus; | |
| Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be | |
| To warm the world, that’s done in warming us. | |
| Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere; | |
| This bed thy centre is, these walls thy sphere. | 30 |
| | | Note 1. l. 3. 1669. look on us [back] | | Note 2. l. 6. 1669, or sour [back] | Note 3. l. 11. 1635| | Thy beams so reverend, and strong |
| Dost thou not think |
| I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink, |
| But that I would not lose her sight so long? |
| | Note 4. l. 18. 1635, left them [back] | | |
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