As often-times the too resplendent sun Hurries the pallid and reluctant moon Back to her sombre cave, ere she hath won A single ballad from the nightingale So doth thy Beauty make my lips to fail And all my sweetest singing out of tune And as at dawn across the level mead On wings impetuous some wind will come And with its too harsh kisses break the reed Which was its only instrument of song So my too stormy passions work me wrong And for excess of Love my Love is dumb But surely into Thee mine eyes did show Why I am silent, and my lute unstrong Else it were better we should part and go Thou to some lips of sweeter melody And I to nurse the barren memory Of unkissed kisses and songs never sung