 | The Poems and Sonnets of Henry Constable |  |
lxviii
[If ever any justlye might complayne]
If ever any justlye might complayne
Of unrequited service, it is I;
Change is the thanks I have for loyaltye,
And onlye her rewarde is her disdayne.
Of unrequited service, it is I;
Change is the thanks I have for loyaltye,
And onlye her rewarde is her disdayne.
So as just spight did almost me constrayne,
Through torment, her due prayses to denye;
For he which vexed is with injurye
By speaking ill doth ease his heart of payne.
Through torment, her due prayses to denye;
For he which vexed is with injurye
By speaking ill doth ease his heart of payne.
But what, shall tortor make me wrong her name?
No, no, a pris'ner constant thinkes it shame,
Though he be rackt, his first truth to gaynsay.
Her true given prayse my first confession is.
Though her disdayn doe rack me night and day,
This I confest, and will denye in this.
No, no, a pris'ner constant thinkes it shame,
Though he be rackt, his first truth to gaynsay.
Her true given prayse my first confession is.
Though her disdayn doe rack me night and day,
This I confest, and will denye in this.
| The Poems and Sonnets of Henry Constable | |