Astrophil and Stella
Sonnet 87
When I was forced from Stella ever dear,
Stella, food of my thoughts, heart of my heart;
Stella, whose eyes make all my tempests clear,
By Stella's laws of duty to depart;
Alas, I found that she with me did smart;
I saw that tears did in her eyes appear;
I saw that sighs her sweetest lips did part,
And her sad words my sadded sense did hear.
For me, I wept to see pearls scattered so;
I sighed her sighs, and wailed for her woe;
Yet swam in joy, such love in her was seen.
Thus, while th'effect most bitter was to me,
And nothing then the cause more sweet could be,
I had bene vexed, if vexed I had not been.
Sir Philip Sidney
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