"How can'st thou, cruel Soul, thus let me stand, / Barr'd out of Doors, whilst others do command / The choicest Room within thy yielding Breast, / Lodgings too good for such destructive Guests."
— Keach, Benjamin (1640-1704)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. D. by Christopher Hussey [etc.]
Date
1679
Metaphor
"How can'st thou, cruel Soul, thus let me stand, / Barr'd out of Doors, whilst others do command / The choicest Room within thy yielding Breast, / Lodgings too good for such destructive Guests."
Metaphor in Context
Soul! Harken to me or thou art undone,
I cannot leave thee thus, nor yet be gone,
I see thy state; thy state I pity too,
Thy treacherous Lovers seek thine overthrow.
It is in vain for me to ask thy Love,
Until thou breakst with them, and dost remove
Thy Heart from those that thy Affections have,
Who to vile Lusts thy Faculties inslave.
What dost thou think I can have in mine Eye?
What self-advantage will accrew thereby?
What gain I, if thou grantest my request?
All that I beg's thy greatest Interest.
I ever happy was, and so shall be,
Although at present thus distrest for Thee.
How can'st thou, cruel Soul, thus let me stand,
Barr'd out of Doors, whilst others do command
The choicest Room within thy yielding Breast,
Lodgings too good for such destructive Guests.
Believe me, poisonous Toads and Serpents lurk
Within thine Arms, which will thy ruin work:
Those Lovers which thou keep'st so close within
Are Murderers. Trust not that Monster SIN,
Nor any of his Hellish Company;
For though no harm thou dost at present spy,
But wantonly presum'st to sport and play,
And canst not see the fatal snares they lay:
Soul! o'pe the Door, and I'le discover all
The secret Plots, devised for thy fall;
Or, push the Window back, let in some light,
And I will shew thee a most dismal fight:
Thy self I'le shew thee, which couldst thou behold,
Thou'dst see thou art undone, betray'd and sold
To slavery, from whence there's no Redemption,
Torments, from wch ther's not the least exemption.
Then wake, look now, behold thy wretched plight,
Or straight thou r't seized with eternal Night.
I cannot leave thee thus, nor yet be gone,
I see thy state; thy state I pity too,
Thy treacherous Lovers seek thine overthrow.
It is in vain for me to ask thy Love,
Until thou breakst with them, and dost remove
Thy Heart from those that thy Affections have,
Who to vile Lusts thy Faculties inslave.
What dost thou think I can have in mine Eye?
What self-advantage will accrew thereby?
What gain I, if thou grantest my request?
All that I beg's thy greatest Interest.
I ever happy was, and so shall be,
Although at present thus distrest for Thee.
How can'st thou, cruel Soul, thus let me stand,
Barr'd out of Doors, whilst others do command
The choicest Room within thy yielding Breast,
Lodgings too good for such destructive Guests.
Believe me, poisonous Toads and Serpents lurk
Within thine Arms, which will thy ruin work:
Those Lovers which thou keep'st so close within
Are Murderers. Trust not that Monster SIN,
Nor any of his Hellish Company;
For though no harm thou dost at present spy,
But wantonly presum'st to sport and play,
And canst not see the fatal snares they lay:
Soul! o'pe the Door, and I'le discover all
The secret Plots, devised for thy fall;
Or, push the Window back, let in some light,
And I will shew thee a most dismal fight:
Thy self I'le shew thee, which couldst thou behold,
Thou'dst see thou art undone, betray'd and sold
To slavery, from whence there's no Redemption,
Torments, from wch ther's not the least exemption.
Then wake, look now, behold thy wretched plight,
Or straight thou r't seized with eternal Night.
Provenance
Searching "breast" and "rooms" in HDIS (Poetry)
Date of Entry
08/30/2005
