| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Astrophel and Stella | | CVIII. When Sorrow, using mine own fire’s might | | Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586) |
| | | WHEN SORROW, using mine own fire’s might, | |
| Melts down his lead into my boiling breast: | |
| Through that dark furnace to my heart opprest, | |
| There shines a joy from thee, my only light! | |
| But soon as thought of thee breeds my delight, | 5 |
| And my young soul flutters to thee his nest! | |
| Most rude DESPAIR, my daily unbidden guest, | |
| Clips straight my wings, straight wraps me in his night. | |
| And makes me then bow down my head, and say, | |
| “Ah what doth PHŒBUS’ gold that wretch avail, | 10 |
| Whom iron doors do keep from use of day?” | |
| So strangely, alas, thy works in me prevail: | |
| That in my woes for thee, thou art my joy; | |
And in my joys for thee, my only annoy.
THE END OF
ASTROPHEL and STELLA. | | | | |
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