Anonymous. XVI-XVII Century

16th Cent.

58   When Flora had O’erfret the Firth

QUHEN Flora had o’erfret¹ the firth
   In May of every moneth queen;
Quhen merle and mavis singis with mirth
   Sweet melling in the shawis² sheen;³
   Quhen all luvaris rejoicit bene
And most desirous of their prey,
   I heard a lusty luvar mene⁴
   —‘I luve, but I dare nocht assay!

‘Strong are the pains I daily prove,
   But yet with patience I sustene,
I am so fetterit with the luve
   Only of my lady sheen,
   Quhilk for her beauty micht be queen,
Nature so craftily alway
   Has done depaint that sweet serene:
   —Quhom I luve I dare nocht assay.

‘She is so bricht of hyd⁵ and hue,
   I luve but her alone, I ween;
Is none her luve that may eschew,
   That blinkis⁶ of that dulce amene;⁷
   So comely cleir are her twa een
That she mae⁸ luvaris dois affray
   Than ever of Greece did fair Helene:
   —Quhom I luve I dare nocht assay!’

59   Lusty May

16th Cent.

OLUSTY May, with Flora queen!
The balmy dropis from Phoebus sheen¹
   Preluciand beams before the day:
By that Diana growis green
   Through gladness of this lusty May.

Then Esperus, that is so bricht,
Til² woful hairtis castis his light,
   With bankis that bloomis on every brae;
And schouris are shed forth of their sicht
   Through gladness of this lusty May.

Birdis on bewis³ of every birth,⁴
Rejoicing notis makand their mirth
   Richt plesantly upon the spray,
With flourishingis o’er field and firth
   Through gladness of this lusty May.

All luvaris that are in care
To their ladies they do repair
   In fresh mornings before the day,
And are in mirth ay mair and mair
   Through gladness of this lusty May.

60   My Heart is High Above

16th Cent.

MY heart is high above, my body is full of bliss,
For I am set in luve as well as I would wiss¹
I luve my lady pure and she luvis me again,
I am her serviture, she is my soverane;
She is my very heart, I am her howp and heill,²
She is my joy invart,³ I am her luvar leal;
I am her bond and thrall, she is at my command;
I am perpetual her man, both foot and hand;
The thing that may her please my body sall fulfil;
Quhatever her disease, it does my body ill.
My bird, my bonny ane, my tender babe venust,⁴
My luve, my life alane, my liking and my lust!
We interchange our hairtis in others armis soft,
Spriteless we twa depairtis, usand our luvis oft.
We mourn when licht day dawis, we plain the nicht is short,
We curse the cock that crawis, that hinderis our disport.
I glowffin⁵ up aghast, quhen I her miss on nicht,
And in my oxter⁶ fast I find the bowster richt;
Then languor on me lies like Morpheus the mair,
Quhilk causes me uprise and to my sweet repair.
And then is all the sorrow forth of remembrance
That ever I had a- forrow⁷ in luvis observance.
Thus never I do rest, so lusty a life I lead,
Quhen that I list to test the well of womanheid.
Luvaris in pain, I pray God send you sic remeid
As I have nicht and day, you to defend from deid!
Therefore be ever true unto your ladies free,
And they will on you rue as mine has done on me.

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