The Apparition (Donne)
The Apparition, by John Donne (1572-1631)
When by thy scorn, O murd’ress, I am dead,
And that thou thinkst thee free
From all solicitation from me,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
And thee, feign’d vestal, in worse arms shall see :
Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
And he, whose thou art then, being tired before,
Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
Thou call’st for more,
And, in false sleep, will from thee shrink :
And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie,
A verier ghost than I.
What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
Lest that preserve thee ; and since my love is spent,
I’d rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
Than by my threatenings rest still innocent.
NOTES:
Line 3 — Solicitation means pleading.
Line 5 — Vestal means virgin.
Line 6 — A taper is a candle.
Line 11 — Aspens are tall pale trees, also known as poplars, so the “murd’ress” addressed in the poem is pale with fear.
Line 12 — Quicksilver is another word for mercury.
Line 13 — Verier means truer, more truly.