| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | VI. To the Nightingale | | By John Milton (1608–1674) |
| | | O NIGHTINGALE, that on yon bloomy spray | |
| Warblest at eve, when all the woods are still; | |
| Thou with fresh hope the lover’s heart dost fill, | |
| While the jolly Hours lead on propitious May. | |
| Thy liquid notes that close the eye of day, | 5 |
| First heard before the shallow cuckoo’s bill, | |
| Portend success in love; O, if Jove’s will | |
| Have linked that amorous power to thy soft lay, | |
| Now timely sing, ere the rude bird of hate | |
| Foretell my hopeless doom, in some grove nigh; | 10 |
| As thou from year to year, hast sung too late | |
| For my relief, yet had’st no reason why: | |
| Whether the Muse or Love call thee his mate, | |
| Both them I serve, and of their train am I. | | | | |
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