On My First Son
by Ben Jonson (1616) — a poem card from Justes Mots
A father's farewell to his lost boy, calling him the best thing he ever made.
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy,
My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy;
Seven years th' wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
O, could I lose all father now. For why
Will man lament the state he should envy?
To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's rage,
And, if no other misery, yet age?…