Venus and Adonis (Modern)
Peer Reviewed
¶"You hurt my hand with wringing. Let us part
¶And leave this idle theme, this bootless chat.
¶Remove your siege from my unyielding heart;
¶To love's alarms it will not ope the gate.
425_Dismiss your vows, your feignèd tears, your flatt'ry;
¶_For where a heart is hard they make no batt'ry."
¶"What canst thou talk?" quoth she. "Hast thou a tongue?
¶O, would thou hadst not, or I had no hearing.
¶Thy mermaid's voice hath done me double wrong.
430I had my load before, now pressed with bearing,
¶_Melodious discord, heavenly tune harsh sounding,
¶_Ears' deep sweet music, and heart's deep sore wounding.
¶"Had I no eyes but ears, my ears would love
¶That inward beauty and invisible;
435Or were I deaf, thy outward parts would move
¶Each part in me that were but sensible.
¶_Though neither eyes nor ears, to hear nor see,
¶_Yet should I be in love by touching thee.
