| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Amoretti and Epithalamion | | Sonnet LXXI. I joy to see how, in your drawen work | | Edmund Spenser (1552?–1599) |
| | | I JOY to see how, in your drawen work, | |
| Yourself unto the bee ye do compare; | |
| And me unto the spider, that doth lurk | |
| In close await, to catch her unaware: | |
| Right so yourself were caught in cunning snare | 5 |
| Of a dear foe, and thralled to his love; | |
| In whose straight bands ye now captivéd are | |
| So firmly, that ye never may remove. | |
| But as your work is woven all above | |
| With woodbine flowers and fragrant eglantine; | 10 |
| So sweet your prison you in time shall prove, | |
| With many dear delights bedecked fine. | |
| And all thenceforth eternal peace shall see | |
| Between the spider and the gentle bee. | | | | |
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