Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/247

And blooms and verdure die, as they
Draw nigh unto their burgeoning day.

An allegory of Fortune This rock doth bear a fearsome wood
Of Strange-grown trees, both bad and good.6280
Sterile is one from crown to root,
Another beareth wholesome fruit;
The one puts forth fair branches green,
Another void of leaves is seen;
This showeth blossoms passing fair,
That stands of bud or promise bare.
And while this flourisheth on high,
That other withereth barrenly.
If one towards heaven doth raise its head,
Another seeks the earth’s cold bed.6290
When buds on one show strong and hale,
Those on its fellow shrink and fail.
The broom shoots upwards, giant high,
While pine and cedar lowly lie
Along the earth; shrub, tree, and plant
Their natures change in this strange haunt,
With variance wide. To dusky grey
The verdant laurel fades away,
Its brightness lost. The olive tree,
So famed for rich fecundity,6300
Stands barren there. The sterile elm
The gracious vine doth overwhelm
And win her fruit. The willow, bare
Erewhile of berries, giveth there
Fair foison.
Nightingales forsake
Their tunefulness, but screech-owls break