| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Licia | | Sonnet XVIII. I swear, fair Licia, still for to be thine | | Giles Fletcher (1586?–1623) |
| | | I SWEAR, fair LICIA, still for to be thine; | |
| By heart, by eyes, by what I hold most dear! | |
| Thou checkedst mine oath, and said, “These were not mine; | |
| And that I had no right by them to swear.” | |
| Then by my sighs, my passions, and my tears, | 5 |
| My vows, my prayers, my sorrow, and my love, | |
| My grief, my joy, my hope, and hopeless fears, | |
| My heart is thine, and never shall remove! | |
| These are not thine, though sent unto thy view; | |
| All else I grant, by right they are thine own. | 10 |
| Let these suffice, that what I swear is true; | |
| And more than this, if that it could be known. | |
| So shall all these, though troubles, ease my grief, | |
| If that they serve to work in thee belief. | | | | |
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