Poem by Alexander Brome

A Wife

1.

SInce thou'rt condemn'd to wed a thing,
And that same thing must be a she;
And that same she to thee must cling
For term of life of her and thee;
I'll tell thee what this thing shall bee.

2.

I would not have her virtuous,
For such a wife I ne'er did see;
And 'tis a madness to suppose
What never was, nor e'er shall bee;
To seem so is enough to thee.

3.

Do not desire she should be wise,
Yet let her have a waggish wit;
No circumventing subtilties,
But pretty slights to please and hit,
And make us laugh at her, or it.

4.

Nor must thou have one very just,
Lest she repay thee in thy kind;
And yet she must be true to trust;
Or if to sport she has a mind,
Let her be sure to keep thee blind.

5.

One part of valour let her have;
Not to return but suffer ill,
To her own passion be no slave
But to thy law's obedient still,
And unto thine submit her will.

6.

Be thou content she have a tongue,
That's active so it be not lowd;
And so she be straight-limb'd and young,
Though not with beauty much endow'd,
No matter, so she be but proud.

7.

Tir'd she should be, not satisfi'd,
But alwaies tempting thee for more,
So cunningly she bee n't espy'd.
Let her act all parts like a whore,
So she bee n't one, I'ld ask no more.

8.

But above all things, let her be
Short liv'd and rich, no strong-dock'd Jone,
That dares to live till 53,
Find this wife, if thou must have one;
But there's no wife so good as none.

1. To his Mistress (LAdy you'l wonder when you see)
2. The Damosel
3. On the Queens Arrival
4. On the Kings Return
5. The Satyr of Money

Thomas Overbury A Wife ("Each woman is a briefe of womankind")

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