456. To Anthea who may command him Anything by Robert Herrick
b"R Herrick read by Classic Poetry Aloud:\\nhttp://www.classicpoetryaloud.com/\\n\\nGiving voice to the poetry of the past.\\n\\n---------------------------------------------\\n\\nTo Anthea, who may command him Anything\\nby Robert Herrick (1591 \\u2013 1674)\\n\\nBid me to live, and I will live\\n Thy Protestant to be;\\nOr bid me love, and I will give\\n A loving heart to thee.\\n\\nA heart as soft, a heart as kind,\\n A heart as sound and free\\nAs in the whole world thou canst find,\\n That heart I'll give to thee.\\n\\nBid that heart stay, and it will stay\\n To honour thy decree:\\nOr bid it languish quite away,\\n And 't shall do so for thee.\\n\\nBid me to weep, and I will weep\\n While I have eyes to see:\\nAnd, having none, yet will I keep\\n A heart to weep for thee.\\n\\nBid me despair, and I'll despair\\n Under that cypress-tree:\\nOr bid me die, and I will dare\\n E'en death to die for thee.\\n\\nThou art my life, my love my heart,\\n The very eyes of me:\\nAnd hast command of every part\\n To live and die for thee.\\n\\n \\n\\nFirst aired: 20 February 2008\\n\\nFor hundreds more poetry readings, visit the Classic Poetry Aloud index.\\n\\nReading \\xa9 Classic Poetry Aloud 2009"