Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Poem. 'As oft as I behold, and see'.

HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SURREY

THE LOVER DESCRIBETH HIS RESTLESS
STATE.^*

AS oft as I behold, and see
The sovereign beauty that me bound ;
The nigher my comfort is to me,
Alas ! the fresher is my wound.

As flame doth quench by rage of fire,
And running streams consume by rain ;
So doth the sight that I desire
Appease my grief, and deadly pain.

Like as the fly that see'th the flame,
And thinks to play her in the fire ;
That found her woe, and sought her game
Where grief did grow by her desire.

First when I saw those crystal streams,
Whose beauty made my mortal wound ;
I little thought within their beams
So sweet a venom to have found.

But wilful will did prick me forth,
Blind Cupid did me whip and guide ;
Force made me take my grief in worth ;¹
My fruitless hope my harm did hide ;

Wherein is hid the cruel bit,
Whose sharp repulse none can resist ;
And eke the spur that strains each wit
To run the race against his list.

As cruel waves full oft be found
Against the rocks to roar and cry ;
So doth my heart full oft rebound
Against my breast full bitterly.

And as the spider draws her line,
With labour lost I frame my suit ;
The fault is her's, the loss is mine :
Of ill sown seed, such is the fruit.

I fall, and see mine own decay ;
As he that bears flame in his breast,
Forgets for pain to cast away
The thing that breedeth his unrest.²

* The 3rd, 6th, and 8th stanzas do not occur in Tottel's collec-
tion, but were supplied by Dr. Nott from a copy in the "Nugæ
Antiquæ.

¹Patiently.
²In Tottel's collection this stanza is thus printed —

I fall and see mine own decay,
As one that bears flame in his breast ;
Forgets in pain to put away
The thing that breedeth mine unrest

Source:
Surrey, Henry Howard, Earl of.
The Poetical Works of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1854. 37-38.

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