| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Fidessa | | Sonnet XVI. For I have lovèd long, I crave reward! | | Bartholomew Griffin (d. 1602) |
| | | FOR I have lovèd long, I crave reward! | |
| Reward me not unkindly! Think on kindness! | |
| Kindness becometh those of high regard; | |
| Regard with clemency a poor man’s blindness! | |
| Blindness provokes to pity, when it crieth; | 5 |
| It crieth “Give!” Dear Lady, shew some pity! | |
| Pity, or let him die, that daily dieth! | |
| Dieth he not oft, who often sings this ditty? | |
| This ditty pleaseth me, although it choke me. | |
| Methinks, dame ECHO weepeth at my moaning, | 10 |
| Moaning the woes, that to complain provoke me. | |
| Provoke me now no more; but hear my groaning! | |
| Groaning both day and night, doth tear my heart: | |
| My heart doth know the cause, and triumphs in the smart. | | | | |
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