Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/118

Shall gather; little shalt thou get
Of slumber; anxious care shall fret
Thy brain, and thou shalt toss and start
Uneasily, and then athwart
Thy pillow turn, like coin upthrown,
Now cross, now pile, till thou hast grown
Weary as one whose tooth doth ache.
All this thou sufferest for the sake2540
Of her whose beauty to thine eyes
Is present in such glorious wise
That nought can equal it. Anon
Thou dreamest thy beloved one
Lies naked in thine arms, become
Thy wife, and decks thy joyous home.
And then shalt thou rejoice amain
In dreams of palaces in Spain,
And find delight in joys unstable.
Built up of lies and foolish fable.2550
Was this a dream? But soon thy vision shall be past
And once again thy tears fall fast,
And thou shalt cry: ‘Was this a dream?
Where am I? Doth all this but seem?
Alas! Whence came this vision bright?
Would God! ten times a day ’twere dight.
Ay twenty, for it steeps my soul
In joy supernal, and black dole
Drives far away. Alas! that pure
Delight should such short space endure.2560
Ah God! If I perchance could be
In such blest case as seemed to me
Erewhile my lot, how gladly I,
Clasped in my mistress’ arms, would die.