| Seccombe and Arber, comps. Elizabethan Sonnets. 1904. | | | | Fidessa | | Sonnet XXIV. Striving is past! Ah, I must sink and drown | | Bartholomew Griffin (d. 1602) |
| | | STRIVING is past! Ah, I must sink and drown, | |
| And that in sight of long descrièd shore! | |
| I cannot send for aid unto the town! | |
| All help is vain, and I must die therefore. | |
| Then poor distressèd caitiff, be resolved | 5 |
| To leave this earthly dwelling fraught with care! | |
| Cease will, thy woes! Thy corpse in earth involved, | |
| Thou diest for her that will no help prepare. | |
| O see, my case, herself doth now behold! | |
| The casement open is! She seems to speak! | 10 |
| But She is gone! O then I dare be bold | |
| And needs must say, “She caused my heart to break!” | |
| I die before I drown, O heavy case! | |
| It was because I saw my Mistress’s face. | | | | |
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