Sonnet Written to Bouts-rimes (Would that I were a turnip white)

Would that I were a turnip white,
Or raven black.
Or miserable hack
Dragging a cab from left to right:
Or would I were the showman of a sight.
Or weary donkey with a laden back,
Or racer in a sack.
Or freezing traveller on an Alpine height;
Or would I were straw-catching as I drown
(A wretched landsman I who cannot swim),
Or watching a lone vessel sink,
Rather than writing: I would change my pink
Gauze for a hideous yellow satin gown
With deep-cut scolloped edges and a rim.