CHLORIS
199
L
Colin, I know that in thy lofty wit
Thou wilt but laugh at these my youthful lines.
Content I am they should in silence sit,
Obscured from light, to sing their sad designs;
But that it pleasèd thy grave shepherdhood
The patron of my maiden verse to be,
When I in doubt of raging envy stood;
And now I weigh not who shall Chloris see,
For fruit before it comes to full perfection
But blossoms is, as every man doth know;
So these being blooms and under thy protection,
In time I hope to ripeness more will grow.
And so I leave thee to thy worthy muse,
Desiring thee all faults here to excuse.
