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" I am two fools, I know,
For loving, and for saying so
In whining poetry;
But where's that wiseman, that would not be I,
If she would not deny?
Then as th' earth's inward narrow crooked lanes
Do purge sea water's fretful salt away,
I thought, if I could draw my pains
Through rhyme's vexation, I should them allay.
Grief brought to numbers cannot be so fierce,
For he tames it, that fetters it in verse. "

John Donne , Selected Poems


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John Donne quote : I am two fools, I know, <br />For loving, and for saying so <br />In whining poetry; <br />But where's that wiseman, that would not be I, <br />If she would not deny? <br />Then as th' earth's inward narrow crooked lanes <br />Do purge sea water's fretful salt away, <br />I thought, if I could draw my pains <br />Through rhyme's vexation, I should them allay. <br />Grief brought to numbers cannot be so fierce, <br />For he tames it, that fetters it in verse.