The Poetical Works of the Right Hon. George Granville, Lord Lansdowne/52

by George Granville

CORINNA.

Corinna in the bloom of youth
Was coy to ev’ry lover;
Regardleſs of the tend’reſt truth,
No ſoft complaint could move her.

Mankind was hers: all at her feet5
Lay proſtrate and adoring;
The witty, handſome, rich, and great,
In vain alike imploring.

But now, grown old, ſhe would repair
Her loſs of time and pleaſure,10
With willing eyes and wanton air
Inviting ev’ry gazer.

But love ’s a ſummer-flow’r, that dies
With the firſt weather’s changing;
The lover like the ſwallow flies,15
From ſun to ſun ſtill ranging.

Mira! let this example move
Your fooliſh heart to reaſon:
Youth is the proper time for love,
And age is virtue’s ſeaſon.20