Robert Herrick

To Anthea, Who May Command Him Anything

Bid me to live, and I will live
     Thy Protestant to be;
Or bid me love, and I will give
     A loving heart to thee.

A heart as soft, a heart as kind,
     A heart as sound and free,
As in the whole world thou canst find,
     That heart I'll give to thee.
 
Bid that heart stay, and it will stay,
     To honor thy decrees;
Or bid it languish quite away,
     And 't shall do so for thee.
 
Bid me to weep, and I will weep,
     While I have eyes to see;
And, having none, yet I will keep
     A heart to weep for thee.

Bid me despair and I'll despair,
     Under that cypress tree;
Or bid me die, and I will dare
     E'en death, to die for thee.
 
Thou art my life, my love, my heart,
     The very eyes of me;
And hast command of every part,
     To live and die for thee.