A Madrigal
William Shakespeare · 1609
Public domain
From The Golden Treasury, selected by Francis Turner Palgrave. William Shakespeare. The text is free of copyright in the United States. This copy is the poem, without the Project Gutenberg header.
Crabbed Age and Youth
Cannot live together:
Youth is full of pleasance,
Age is full of care;
Youth like summer morn,
Age like winter weather;
Youth like summer brave,
Age like winter bare:
Youth is full of sport,
Age's breath is short,
Youth is nimble, Age is lame:
Youth is hot and bold,
Age is weak and cold;
Youth is wild, and Age is tame:--
Age, I do abhor thee,
Youth, I do adore thee;
O! my Love, my Love is young!
Age, I do defy thee--
O, sweet shepherd, hie thee,
For methinks thou stay'st too long.