Elizabethan Sonnet-Cycles Part 7

IV

_Of his mistress, upon occasion of a friend of his which dissuaded him from loving_

A friend of mine, pitying my hopeless love, Hoping by killing hope my love to stay, "Let not," quoth he, "thy hope, thy heart betray; Impossible it is her heart to move."

But sith resolved love cannot remove As long as thy divine perfections stay, Thy G.o.dhead then he sought to take away.

Dear, seek revenge and him a liar prove; G.o.ds only do impossibilities.

"Impossible," saith he, "thy grace to gain."

Show then the power of divinities By granting me thy favour to obtain.

So shall thy foe give to himself the lie; A G.o.ddess thou shall prove, and happy I!

V

_Of the conspiracy of his lady's eyes and his own to engender love_

Thine eye the gla.s.s where I behold my heart, Mine eye the window through the which thine eye May see my heart, and there thyself espy In b.l.o.o.d.y colours how thou painted art.

Thine eye the pile is of a murdering dart; Mine eye the sight thou tak'st thy level by To hit my heart, and never shoot'st awry.

Mine eye thus helps thine eye to work my smart.

Thine eye a fire is both in heat and light; Mine eye of tears a river doth become.

O that the water of mine eye had might To quench the flames that from thine eye doth come, Or that the fires kindled by thine eye, The flowing streams of mine eyes could make dry.

VI

_Love's seven deadly sins_

Mine eye with all the deadly sins is fraught.

First _proud_, sith it presumed to look so high.

A watchman being made, stood gazing by, And _idle_, took no heed till I was caught.

And _envious_, bears envy that by thought Should in his absence be to her so nigh.

To kill my heart, mine eye let in her eye; And so consent gave to a _murder_ wrought.

And _covetous_, it never would remove From her fair hair, gold so doth please his sight.

_Unchaste_, a baud between my heart and love.

A _glutton_ eye, with tears drunk every night.

These sins procured have a G.o.ddess' ire, Wherefore my heart is d.a.m.ned in love's sweet fire.

VII

_Of the slander envy gives him for so highly praising his mistress_

Falsely doth envy of your praises blame My tongue, my pen, my heart of flattery, Because I said there was no sun but thee.

It called my tongue the partial trump of fame, And saith my pen hath flattered thy name, Because my pen did to my tongue agree; And that my heart must needs a flatterer be, Which taught both tongue and pen to say the same.

No, no, I flatter not when thee I call The sun, sith that the sun was never such; But when the sun thee I compared withal, Doubtless the sun I flattered too much.

Witness mine eyes, I say the truth in this, They have seen thee and know that so it is.

VIII

_Of the end and death of his love_

Much sorrow in itself my love doth move, More my despair to love a hopeless bliss, My folly most to love whom sure to miss O help me, but this last grief to remove; All pains, if you command, it joy shall prove, And wisdom to seek joy. Then say but this, "Because my pleasure in thy torment is, I do command thee without hope to love!"

So when this thought my sorrow shall augment That my own folly did procure my pain, Then shall I say to give myself content, "Obedience only made me love in vain.

It was your will, and not my want of wit; I have the pain, bear you the blame of it!"

IX

_Upon occasion of her walking in a garden_

My lady's presence makes the roses red, Because to see her lips they blush with shame.

The lily's leaves for envy pale became, And her white hands in them this envy bred.

The marigold the leaves abroad doth spread, Because the sun's and her power is the same.

The violet of purple colour came, Dyed in the blood she made my heart to shed.

In brief, all flowers from her their virtue take; From her sweet breath their sweet smells do proceed; The living heat which her eyebeams doth make Warmeth the ground and quickeneth the seed.

The rain wherewith she watereth the flowers, Falls from mine eyes which she dissolves in showers.

X

_To the Lady Rich_

Heralds at arms do three perfections quote, To wit, most fair, most rich, most glittering; So when those three concur within one thing, Needs must that thing of honour be a note.

Lately I did behold a rich fair coat, Which wished fortune to mine eyes did bring.

A lordly coat, yet worthy of a king, In which one might all these perfections note.

A field of lilies, roses proper bare; Two stars in chief; the crest was waves of gold.

How glittering 'twas, might by the stars appear; The lilies made it fair for to behold.

And rich it was as by the gold appeareth; But happy he that in his arms it weareth!

THE SECOND DECADE

I

_Of the end and death of his love_

If true love might true love's reward obtain, Dumb wonder only might speak of my joy; But too much worth hath made thee too much coy, And told me long ago I sighed in vain.

Not then vain hope of undeserved gain Hath made me paint in verses mine annoy, But for thy pleasure, that thou might'st enjoy Thy beauty's praise, in gla.s.ses of my pain.

See then, thyself, though me thou wilt not hear, By looking on my verse. For pain in verse, Love doth in pain, beauty in love appear.

So if thou would'st my verses' meaning see, Expound them thus, when I my love rehea.r.s.e: "None loves like he!" that is, "None fair like me!"

II

_How he encouraged himself to proceed in love, and to hope for favour in the end at love's hands_

It may be, love my death doth not pretend, Although he shoots at me, but thinks it fit Thus to bewitch thee for thy benefit, Causing thy will to my wish to condescend.