Venus and Adonis (Modern)
Peer Reviewed
¶"'Tis true, 'tis true; thus was Adonis slain.
¶He ran upon the boar with his sharp spear,
¶Who did not whet his teeth at him again,
¶But by a kiss thought to persuade him there;
1115_And, nuzzling in his flank the loving swine,
¶_Sheathed unaware the tusk in his soft groin.
¶"Had I been toothed like him, I must confess,
¶With kissing him I should have killed him first;
¶But he is dead, and never did he bless
1120My youth with his, the more am I accurst."
¶_With this she falleth in the place she stood
¶_And stains her face with his congealèd blood.
¶She looks upon his lips, and they are pale;
¶She takes him by the hand, and that is cold;
1125She whispers in his ears a heavy tale,
¶As if they heard the woeful words she told;
¶_She lifts the coffer-lids that close his eyes,
¶_Where, lo, two lamps burnt out in darkness lies;
