To Celia

Ben Jonson

Drink to me, only, with thine eyes,
  And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
  And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise,
  Doth ask a drink divine:
But might I of Jove's nectar sup,
  I would not change for thine.

I sent thee, late, a rosy wreath,
  Not so much honouring thee,
As giving it a hope, that there
  It could not withered be.
But thou thereon didst only breathe,
  And sent'st back to me:
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
  Not of itself, but thee.

Commentary

A love poem for St. Valentine’s Day…

There’s a fine line between the romantic and the sentimental, and in ‘To Celia’, Jonson strays perilously close. Fortunately, he doesn’t cross it, and that’s what makes this lyric the classic that it is.

— Thomas

Minstrels Links

There’s a Jonson biography and critical appraisal accompanying the charming ‘Gypsy Songs’, at poem #313


The Wondering Minstrels, poem #340 · 13 February 2000

Poem selected by Abraham Thomas

Fair use