To Catharine
I’ll love thee as long as I live,
Whate’er thy condition may be;
All else but my life would I give,
That thou wast as partial to me.
I love thee because thou art fair,
And fancy no other beside;
I languish thy pleasures to share,
Whatever my life may betide.
I’ll love thee when youth’s vital beam
Grows dim on the visage of cares;
And trace back on time’s rapid stream,
Thy beauty when sinking in years.
Though nature no longer is gay,
With blooms which the simple adore,
Let virtue forbid me to say,
That Cath’rine is lovely no more.
