Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. Fancy And Desire.

EDWARD VERE Earl of Oxford,
in Breton's Bower of Delights,
ed. before 1592 ; written be-
fore 1580.

FANCY AND DESIRE.

COME hither, shepherd's swain ;
Sir, what do you require?
I pray thee shew to me thy name.
My name is Fond Desire.

When wert thou born, Desire?
In pride and pomp of May.
By whom, sweet boy, wert thou begot?
By Self-Conceit, men say.

Tell me, who was thy nurse?
Fresh Youth in sugared joy.
What was thy meat and daily food?
Sad sighs and great annoy.

What hadst thou then to drink?
Unfeignèd lovers' tears.
What cradle wert thou rockèd in?
In hope devoid of fears.

What lulled thee to thy sleep?
Sweet thoughts which liked one best.
And where is now thy dwelling place?
In gentle hearts I rest.

Doth company displease?
It doth in many one.
Where would Desire then choose to be?
He loves to muse alone.

What feedeth most thy sight?
To gaze on beauty still.
Whom findest thou [the] most thy foe?
Disdain of my good will.

Will ever age or death
Bring thee unto decay?
No, no, Desire both lives and dies
A thousand times a day.

The, Fond Desire, farewell,
Thou art no make for me,
I should be loath, methinks, to dwell
With such a one as thee.

Schelling, Felix E., Ed. A Book of Elizabethan Lyrics.
Boston: Ginn and Company, 1895. 8-9.

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