Nature
A Sparrow-Hawk proud did hold in wicked jail
From Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age, ed. A. H. Bullen (London: Nimmo, 1891)
A Sparrow-Hawk proud did hold in wicked jail
Music's sweet chorister, the nightingale,
To whom with sighs she said: "O set me free!
And in my song I'll praise no bird but thee."
The hawk replied, "I will not lose my diet
To let a thousand such enjoy their quiet."
Codex Note
From Thomas Weelkes' Madrigals of Six Parts, 1600.
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Elizabethan songs). “A Sparrow-Hawk proud did hold in wicked jail.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-songs/9/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Elizabethan songs). “A Sparrow-Hawk proud did hold in wicked jail.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-elizabethan-songs/9/.
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