An Address To Calista, Taken From Life

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Title:     An Address To Calista, Taken From Life
Author: James Parkerson [More Titles by Parkerson]

Calista, tho’ you waft a smile,
And blithsome still appear;
It does not censure ought beguile,
Or stop the stifled tear.

Its levity your conduct sway,
And tarnish much your name;
Too much her dictates you obey,
The prudent must you blame.

A married woman never can,
Meet in a secret place;
An artful gay and single man,
And not incur disgrace.

Censure you long have borne it’s true,
At that you can’t complain;
That fiend will harass you anew,
If you transgress again.

Ne’er listen to each tale of love,
The Siren fain would tell;
Chaste to your husband ever prove,
Lothario bid farewell.

Tho’ guilt is vanished from the eye,
Of mortals here below;
A God above can all descry,
Our secret thoughts he know.

Sometimes the guilty are set free,
And wears no more the chains;
Yet tho’ he gains his liberty,
The stain on him remains.

Tho’ rich the female that portray,
A wanton’s smile to view;
Or cast her husband’s love away,
Bid chastity adieu.

It is the duty of a wife,
Whene’er the ring she gain;
To lead a virtuous steady life,
From wanton acts refrain.

Calista oft you did retire,
To an appointed place;
To hold a converse with the squire,
It brought on you disgrace.

[The end]
James Parkerson's poem: Address To Calista, Taken From Life

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