Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

“ Doth company displease?
It doth in many one.
Where would Desire then choose to be?
He loves to muse alone.
What feedeth most thy sight?
To gaze on beauty still.
Whom find’st thou most thy foe?
Disdain of my good will.
Will ever age or death
Bring thee unto decay?
No, no, Desire both lives and dies
A thousand times a day.
Then, Fond Desire, farewell;
Thou art no mate for me;
I should be loath, methinks, to dwell
With such a one as thee.
This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”