Katherine Philips(1632–1664)
Epitaph
On Her Son H. P. at St. Syth's ChurchWhere
Her Body Also Lies Interred
W h a t o n E a r t h d e s e r v e s o u r t r u s t ?
Y o u t h a n d b e a u t y b o t h a r e d u s t .
L o n g w e g a t h e r i n g a r e w i t h p a i n ,
W h a t o n e m o m e n t c a l l s a g a i n .
S e v e n y e a r s c h i l d l e s s m a r r i a g e p a s t ,
A s o n , a s o n i s b o r n a t l a s t ;
S o e x a c t l y l i m b e d 1 a n d f a i r ,
F u l l o f g o o d s p i r i t s , m i e n , a n d a i r , 2
A s a l o n g l i f e p r o m i s e d ,
Yet, in less than six weeks dead.
T o o p r o m i s i n g , t o o g r e a t a m i n d
I n s o s m a l l r o o m t o b e c o n f i n e d :
T h e r e f o r e , f i t i n H e a v e n t o d w e l l ,
H e q u i c k l y b r o k e t h e p r i s o n s h e l l .
So the subtle alchimist, 3
C a n ' t w i t h H e r m e s ' s e a l 4 r e s i s t
T h e p o w e r f u l s p i r i t ' s s u b t l e r f l i g h t ,
B u t t ' w i l l b i d h i m l o n g g o o d n i g h t .
S o t h e S u n i f i t a r i s e
Half so glorious as his eyes,
L i k e t h i s i n f a n t , t a k e s a s h r o u d ,
B u r i e d i n a m o r n i n g c l o u d .
1667