Song: Go and catch a falling star

John Donne

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Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.

If thou be'st born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee,
Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear,
No where
Lives a woman true, and fair.

If thou find'st one, let me know,
Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet;
Though she were true, when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be
False, ere I come, to two, or three.

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Comments1
  • alannapilpel85

    Just got done with a John Donne piece. Not gonna lie, wasn't completely feeling it. His style is a bit ancient for me, the language isn't really modern. I kinda get the vibe he's going for, trying to show how deceptive life and love can be, but it doesn't really hit home for me. I've read better. However, poetry is subjective so someone else might find this great. Shouldn't stop anyone from checking his work out.