Robert Herrick




Delight in Disorder

A sweet disorder in the dress 
Kindles in clothes a wantonness; 
A shawl about the shoulders thrown 
Into a fine distraction; 
An erring lace, which here and there 
Enthrals the crimson stomacher; 
A cuff neglectful, and thereby 
Ribands to flow confusedly; 
A winning wave, deserving note, 
In the tempestuous petticoat; 
A careless shoe-string, in whose tie 
I see a wild civility: 
Oh, these do more bewitch me, than when art 
Is…too precise in every part.