A Lover's Complaint
by William Shakespeare — a poem card from Justes Mots
A Shakespearean narrative poem depicting a abandoned woman's anguished lament as she destroys mementos of a false lover—letters, rings, and tokens. The poem captures the psychological dissolution of heartbreak through vivid imagery of tears, torn papers, and scattered gifts. It serves as a profound meditation on betrayal and the destructive power of romantic loss, suitable for those processing deep emotional pain.
From off a hill whose concave womb reworded
A plaintful story from a sistering vale,
My spirits to attend this double voice accorded,
And down I laid to list the sad-tuned tale;
Ere long espied a fickle maid full pale,
Tearing of papers, breaking rings a-twain,
Storming her world with sorrow's wind and rain.
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Themes: sympathy · grief · love · reflection