| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Idea | | Sonnet 21. A witless Gallant, a young wench that wooed | | Michael Drayton (1563–1631) |
| | [First printed in 1619.]
A WITLESS Gallant, a young wench that wooed | |
| (Yet his dull spirit, her not one jot could move), | |
| Intreated me, as e’er I wished his good, | |
| To write him but one Sonnet to his Love. | |
| When I, as fast as e’er my pen could trot, | 5 |
| Poured out what first from quick Invention came; | |
| Nor never stood one word thereof to blot: | |
| Much like his wit, that was to use the same. | |
| But with my verses, he his Mistress won; | |
| Who doated on the dolt beyond all measure. | 10 |
| But see! For you, to heaven for phrase I run, | |
| And ransack all APOLLO’s golden treasure! | |
| Yet by my froth, this Fool, his Love obtains: | |
| And I lose you, for all my wit and pains! | | | | |
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