Reply to Robert Herrick

WHY I gaze at my wrist,
Where thou has't tied this silken twist,
I know, for, I am yours;
Your desparate captive, my poor heart.
You say, your heart too, my bond-slave is.
But, nay...I say.
For, this silk that bindeth me,
So soft and vulnerable to the eye...
But before my eyes, I see it turn
Into bricks, mortar and steel...
to build a cage to keep me tame,
Where you are master and I am slave.
so, dear, allow me to knap the thread
And, what can i do but walk alone and free...
into wilderness, into lonelines...
where we can never be...
together...


Original Poem

Robert Herrick
The Bracelet: To Julia

WHY I tie about thy wrist,
Julia, this silken twist;
For what other reason is 't
But to show thee how, in part,
Thou my pretty captive art?
But thy bond-slave is my heart:
'Tis but silk that bindeth thee,
Knap the thread and thou art free;
But 'tis otherwise with me:
—I am bound and fast bound, so
That from thee I cannot go;
If I could, I would not so.