On my first son – Ben Jonson (1573-1637)
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy.
My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy.
Seven years thou wert lent to me, and thee I pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
O could I lose all father now! For why
Will man lament the state he should envy,
To have so soon ‘scaped world’s and flesh’s rage,
And if no other misery, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and asked, say, “Here doth lie
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry,”
For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such
As what he loves may never like too much.
