Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
V. Cautions and Complaints“Give me more love or more disdain”
Thomas Carew (1595?–1639?)G
The torrid or the frozen zone
Brings equal ease unto my pain;
The temperate affords me none;
Either extreme, of love or hate,
Is sweeter than a calm estate.
Like Danaë in a golden shower,
I swim in pleasure; if it prove
Disdain, that torrent will devour
My vulture hopes; and he ’s possessed
Of heaven that ’s but from hell released;
Then crown my joys, or cure my pain;
Give me more love or more disdain.