Love
Farewell, false Love, the oracle of lies
From Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age, ed. A. H. Bullen (London: Nimmo, 1891)
Farewell, false Love, the oracle of lies,
A mortal foe and enemy to rest,
An envious boy from whom all cares arise,
A bastard vile, a beast with rage possest;
A way of error, a temple full of treason,
In all effects contrary unto reason.
A poison'd serpent cover'd all with flowers,
Mother of sighs and murderer of repose;
A sea of sorrows from whence are drawn such showers
As moisture lend to every grief that grows;
A school of guile, a net of deep deceit,
A gilded hook that holds a poison'd bait.
A fortress foiled which Reason did defend,
A Siren song, a fever of the mind,
A maze wherein affection finds no end,
A raging cloud that runs before the wind;
A substance like the shadow of the sun,
A goal of grief for which the wisest run.
A quenchless fire, a nurse of trembling fear,
A path that leads to peril and mishap,
A true retreat of sorrow and despair,
An idle boy that sleeps in Pleasure's lap;
A deep distrust of that which certain seems,
A hope of that which Reason doubtful deems.
Codex Note
From William Byrd's Psalms, Sonnets, and Songs, 1588.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Elizabethan songs). “Farewell, false Love, the oracle of lies.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-songs/35/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Elizabethan songs). “Farewell, false Love, the oracle of lies.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-songs/35/.
Read this poem with the Codex →