| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Laura—Part I. | | XXXV. Far better had it been, I had been dead | | Robert Tofte (1561–1620) |
| | | FAR better had it been, I had been dead, | |
| And laid full low in latest home, my grave; | |
| Than with that drink myself for to have fed, | |
| Which LAURA mine in crystal glass me gave. | |
| The liquor pleased me, I must needs confess: | 5 |
| Yet to my heart, ’twas poison ne’ertheless. | |
| So that I had contrary quite effect | |
| To my desire; which I so much did wish. | |
| Love was in fault, who Reason doth reject. | |
| And see my cruel luck, what happed in this! | 10 |
| The wine was sweet; yet did his nature turn: | |
| It cooled my mouth, but heart within did burn. | | | | |
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