Whoso List to Hunt
by Sir Thomas Wyatt

English poet. His poems were not published in his own lifetime, but were circulated in manuscript form among his friends. He is best known for his lyrics, particularly 'They Flee From Me' and 'Whoso List To Hunt'. Many of these were first published in 1557, in the collection now known as Tottel's Miscellany. He also wrote satires and translated the Penitential Psalms.

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Whoso List to Hunt
by Sir Thomas Wyatt

Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, alas, I may no more;
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that furthest come behind.
Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
Fainting I follow; I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I, may spend his time in vain.
And graven with diamonds in letters plain,
There is written her fair neck round about,
"Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame."

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Whoso List to Hunt by Sir Thomas Wyatt