Collected English Verse — Samuel Daniel. b. 1562, d. 1619 (Part 3 of 3)

Let others sing of Knights and Paladines
In agàd accents and untimely words,
Paint shadows in imaginary lines,
Which well the reach of their high wit records:
But I must sing of thee, and those fair eyes
Authentic shall my verse in time to come;
When yet th’ unborn shall say, Lo, where she lies!
Whose beauty made him speak, that else was dumb!
These are the arcs, the trophies I erect,
That fortify thy name against old age;
And these thy sacred virtues must protect
Against the Dark, and Time’s consuming rage.
    Though th’ error of my youth in them appear,
    Suffice, they show I lived, and loved thee dear.