| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Diana | The First Decade
Sonnet IX. My Lady’s presence makes the Roses red | | Henry Constable (1562–1613) |
| | | MY Lady’s presence makes the Roses red, | |
| Because to see her lips they blush for 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; | 5 |
| 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; | 10 |
| 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. | | | | |
|
|
