Explore "The Prohibition" by John Donne on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Take heed of loving me; / At least remember, I forbade it thee; / Not that I shall repair my unthrifty waste / Of breath and blood, upon thy sighs and tears, / By being to thee then what to me thou wast; / But so great joy our life at once outwears. / Then, lest thy love by my death frustrate be, / If thou love me, take heed of loving me.
Take heed of hating me, / Or too much triumph in the victory; / Not that I shall be mine own officer, / And hate with hate again retaliate; / But thou wilt lose the style of conqueror, / If I, thy conquest, perish by thy hate. / Then, lest my being nothing lessen thee, / If thou hate me, take heed of hating me.
Yet love and hate me too; / So these extremes shall ne'er their office do; / Love me, that I may die the gentler way; / Hate me, because thy love's too great for me; / Or let these two, themselves, not me, decay; / So shall I live thy stage, not triumph be. / Lest thou thy love and hate, and me undo, / O let me live, yet love and hate me too.