add poem for ellie

[pohms.git] / xlat / descryvyng-a-fair-lady.txt

I have a Lady, whereso she be,                  I have a lady, wherever she is,
That seldom ys the soverayn of my thought;      That sometimes rules my thoughts;
On whos beawté when I beholde and se,           Whose beauty, whenever I see it,
Remembryng me how well she ys wrought,          Reminds me how well she's made,
I thanke fortune that to hyr grace me brought,  I thank God that she graces me,
So fayre ys she but nothyng angelyke --         So fair but not at all an angel --
Hyr bewty ys to none other lyke.                Her beauty is unlike any other.

For hardely, and she were made of brasse,       Seeming like she were made of brass,
Face and all, she hath ynowgh fayrenesse:       Face and all, she's pretty enough:
Hyr eyen byn holow and grene as any grasse,     Her hallow eyes are green as grass,
And ravynnysshe yelow ys hyr sonny tresse.      Golden yellow are her sunny locks.
Thereto she hath of every comlynesse            As such she is very comely,
Such quantyté gevyn hyr by nature,              And by nature is so well-endowed,
That with the leest she ys of hyr stature.      That she seems small in comparison.

And as a bolt hyr browes byn y-bent,            Her brows are bent like an arrow,
And byttyl-browyd she ys also withall,          And they are shaggy besides,
And of hir wytte as sympyll and innocent        And she is dumb and naïve
As ys a chylde that can no good at all.         Like a child that knows nothing.
She ys nat thyk; hyr stature ys but small.      She isn't thick; she is narrow.
Hyr fyngers byn lytyll and nothyng long,        Her fingers are little and short,
Hyr skyn ys smothe as any oxys tong.            Her skin is as smooth as an ox's tongue.

Therto she ys so wyse in dalyaunce,             And yet she is wise in conversation,
And besette hyr wordes so womanly,              And delivers words so womanly,
That hyr to here hit doth me dysplesaunce.      That it hurts my ears to hear her.
For that she seyth ys sayde so connyngly,       What she says is said so cunningly,
That when that there be mo then she and I,      That when other people are present,
I had lever she were of talkyng styll,          I'd rather she were silent,
Then that she shuld so goodly speche spyll.     Than she spoil good conversation.

And slowth noone shall have in her entresse,    No one will be slow when she enters,
So dylygent ys she and vertulesse,              So diligent and virtueless is she,
And so besy ay all good to undresse,            And always too busy to undress,
That as a she-ape she ys harmelese,             That she is as harmless as a she-ape,
And as an hornet meke and pytelesse;            And as meek and pitiless as a hornet;
With that she ys so wyse and circumspecte,      And just as wise and circumspect,
That prudent noon hyr foly can infecte.         That she couldn't fool anyone.

Ys hit nat joy that suche oone of hyr age,      Isn't it joyful that a lady her age,
Withyn the boundys of so gret tendyrnesse,      Within the bounds of such tenderness,
Shuld in her werke be so sad and sage,          Would be so sad and sage from her work,
That of the weddyng sawe all the noblesse       
Of quene Jane, and was tho, as I gesse,
But of the age of yeres ten and fyve?
I trowe ther ar nat many suche alyve!

For as Jhesu my synfull sowle save,
There nys creature in all thys world lyvyng
Lyke unto hyr that I wold gladly have,
So pleseth myn hert that goodly swete thyng,
Whos sowle in haste unto hys blysse bryng,
That furst hyr formyd to be a creature.
For were she wele, of me, I dyd no cure.

Explicit the dyscryvyng of a fayre lady.