A Riddle of a Gift
Given By a Lady.
by Sir Thomas Wyatt


A Lady gave me a gift she had not,
And I received her gift which I took not,
She gave it me willingly, and yet she would not,
And I received it, albeit, I could not,
If she give it me, I force not,
And if she take it again she cares not.
Conster what this is and tell not,
For I am fast sworne I may not.


Conster, puzzle out, figure out.
Lukas Cranach the Elder. Eve. 1528.
Lukas Cranach the Elder.
Eve. 1528.
Uffizi, Florence.


Edited and glossed from
Tottel's Songes and Sonettes, 1557
by Anniina Jokinen.



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Created by Anniina Jokinen on August 30, 1999. Last updated January 22, 2007.