| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Parthenophil and Parthenophe | | Sonnet CV. Ah me! How many ways have I assayed | | Barnabe Barnes (1569?–1609) |
| | | AH me! How many ways have I assayed, | |
| To win my Mistress to my ceaseless suit! | |
| What endless means and prayers have I made | |
| To thy fair graces! ever deaf and mute. | |
| At thy long absence, like an errand page, | 5 |
| With sighs and tears, long journeys did I make | |
| Through paths unknown, in tedious pilgrimage; | |
| And never slept, but always did awake. | |
| And having found Thee ruthless and unkind; | |
| Soft skinned, hard hearted; sweet looks, void of pity; | 10 |
| Ten thousand furies ragèd in my mind, | |
| Changing the tenour of my lovely Ditty; | |
| By whose enchanting Saws and magic Spell, | |
| Thine hard, indurate heart, I must compel. | | | | |
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