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Ye tender young virgins attend to my lay,
My heart is divided in twain;
My Collin is beautiful, witty, and gay,
And Damon’s a kind-hearted swain.

Whenever my lovely young Collin I meet,
What pleasures arise in my breast;
The dear gentle swain looks so charming and sweet,
I fancy I love him the best.

But when my dear Damon does to me complain,
So tender, so loving and kind,
My bosom is softened to hear the fond swain,
And Collin slips out of my mind.

Whenever my Damon repeats his soft tale,
My heart overflows with delight;
But when my dear Collin appears in the vale,
I languish away at the sight.

’Tis Collin alone shall possess my fond heart,
Now Damon for ever adieu;
But can I? � I cannot from Damon thus part!
He’s loved me so long, and so true.

My heart to my Damon I’ll instantly bind,
And on him will fix all my care;
But, O should I be to my Collin unkind,
He surely will die with despair.

How happy, how happy with Damon I’d been,
If Collin I never had knew;
As happy with Collin, if I’d never seen
My Damon, so tender and true.

I came across this on poetry hunter and it made me giggle. It seems quite risqué for a poem written in the 18th century by a female romantic poet.

Elizabeth Hands (1745-1815) worked as a domestic servant and was married to a blacksmith. She wrote under a pseudonym and her poems were published by Rugby School after they caught the eye of the headmaster there.

Haha, it is pleasingly frank - I hadn't heard of her before but as a domestic servant, I imagine she had much less time & patience for pretensions than many other poets of her era (who generally either came from the upper classes or were supported by upper class benefactors).

Thanks for the post Heather and for the introduction to a new poet!

Thanks, Heather. It's fascinating that such a poem was written more than 200 years ago. Some difficulties of choice have been around for a long time!

How interesting as to how her poems got published.

I love it! As Gill says, some dilemmas are always present :)

Thanks Heather for a great choice.

Loved this, made me smile. Ah, the age old dilemma.