Brittle Beauty

Brittle beauty that nature made so frail,

Whereof the gift is small, and short the season,

Flow'ring to-day, to-morrow apt to fail,

Tickle treasure, abhorrèd of reason;

Dangerous to deal with, vain, of none avail,

Costly in keeping, past not worth two peason,

Slipper in sliding, as in an eelës tail,

Hard to obtain, once gotten, not geason;

Jewel of jeopardy that peril doth assail,

False and untrue, enticèd oft to treason,

Enemy to youth; that most may I bewail.

Ah, bitter sweet, infecting as the poison,

Thou fairest as fruit that with the frost is taken,

To-day ready ripe, to-morrow all to-shaken.