• To Lucasta, Going to the Wars
• Tell me not (Sweet) I am unkind, 
• That from the nunnery 
• Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind 
• To war and arms I fly. 

• True, a new mistress now I chase, 
• The first foe in the field; 
• And with a stronger faith embrace 
• A sword, a horse, a shield.

• Yet this inconstancy is such 
• As you too shall adore; 
• I could not love thee (Dear) so much, 
• Lov’d I not Honour more.

• To Althea from Prison
• I. 
• When love with unconfined wings 
• Hovers within my gates; 
• And my divine ALTHEA brings 
• To whisper at the grates; 
• When I lye tangled in her hair, 
• And fettered to her eye, 
• The birds, that wanton in the air, 
• Know no such liberty.

• II. 
• When flowing cups run swiftly round 
• With no allaying THAMES, 
• Our careless heads with roses bound, 
• Our hearts with loyal flames; 
• When thirsty grief in wine we steep, 
• When healths and draughts go free, 
• Fishes, that tipple in the deep, 
• Know no such liberty.

• III. 
• When (like committed linnets) I 
• With shriller throat shall sing 
• The sweetness, mercy, majesty, 
• And glories of my King. 
• When I shall voice aloud, how good 
• He is, how great should be, 
• Inlarged winds, that curl the flood, 
• Know no such liberty.

• IV. 
• Stone walls doe not a prison make, 
• Nor iron bars a cage; 
• Minds innocent and quiet take 
• That for an hermitage; 
• If I have freedom in my love, 
• And in my soul am free, 
• Angels alone that sore above 
• Enjoy such liberty.

Richard Lovelace (1617-1657), who was born on December 9, was an English poet and one of the most prominent of the 17th century “Cavalier Poets,” so named for taking up arms on behalf of King Charles during the English Civil War (1642-1651) — although their lively and romantic style has given a secondary sense to “cavalier,” which originally denoted a mounted soldier. “To Lucasta” and “To Althea” are exemplary poems of this style, not only for Lovelace but for the entire body of Cavalier poetry. Like the other Cavalier Poets, Lovelace (pronounced “loveless”) relied on his knowledge of the ancient Roman poets, especially the lyric poets Catullus (84-54 BC) and Horace (65-27 BC), to produce songs in praise of love and lyrics that esteemed the harmony of indulging in worldly pleasures while also pursuing the timeless virtues of courage, honor, and loyalty to a cause.