The Louer obtayning his wishe by all likelyhode, yet not able to attaine his desire, compares himself to Tantalus

OF Tantalus plight
The Poets wright,
Complayning
And fayning
In sorowfull sownding songes:
Who féeles (they saye)
For Apples gaye
Such payning,
Not gayning
The fruite for which hee longes:
For when hee thinkes to féede therone,
The fickle flattring Trée is gone:
And all in vaine hee hopes to haue
his famine to expell
The flitting fruite that lookes so braue
and likes his eie so well:
And thus his hunger doth increase,
And hée can neuer finde release.
As want of Meate
Doth make him freate
With raging,
And gaging,
To catch the fruite that flées:
Euen so for drythe
The Miser crythe,
Not swaging,
But waging,
For licour that hée sées:
For to his painefull partched mouth
The long desired water flouth,
And when he gapes full greedilie
vnthriftie thirst to slake,
The riuer wasteth spéedilie,
and away warde goes the Lake:
That all the licour from his lips
And dryed chaps away it slips.
This kinde of paine
Doth he sustaine,
Not ceasing,
Increasing,
His pittifull pining wo:
In plenties place,
Deuoide of grace,
Releasing,
Or ceassing
The pangs that pinch him so:
Of all the fretting fits of Hell
This Tantals torment is most fell:
For that the reast can haue no hope
their fréedome to attaine,
And he hath graunted him such scope
as makes the Myser faine:
But all for nought in fine it serues,
For he with dryth and hunger sterues.
Euen so fare I
That am as nie
My pleasure,
My treasure,
As I might wish to bée:
And haue at will
My Ladie still
At leure,
In measure,
As well it liketh mée.
The amorous blincks flée to and fro,
With sugred words that make a show
That fansie is well pleasde withall
and findes it selfe content:
Eche other friendly friend doth call
and eche of vs consent:
And thus we séeme for to possesse
Eche others hart and haue redresse.
We coll, we clip,
We kisse with lip,
Delighted,
Requighted,
And merily spend the day:
The tales I tell
Are fanside well,
Recited,
Not spited,
Thus weares the time away.
Looke what I like shée doth imbrace,
Shée giues good eare vnto my case
And yeeldes mee lawfull libertie
to frame my dolorus plaint,
To quite hir Friend from ieopardie
whome Cupid hath attaint:
Respecting nought at all his welth
But séeking meane to worke his helth.
I séeme to haue
The thing I craue,
Shée barres not,
Shée iarres not,
But with a verie good will
Shee heares my sute,
And for the frute
Shée warres not,
But dares not
To let me féede my fill.
Shée would (I know) with hart agrée,
The fault is neyther in hir nor mée,
I dare auowe full willinglie
shée would consent thereto,
And gladly would mée remedie
too banish away my wo:
Lo thus my wish I doe possesse,
And am a Tantal naythelesse.
For though I stande
And touch with hande
Allured,
Procured,
The Saint I doe desire:
And may be bolde
For to enfolde,
Assured,
Indured,
The Corps that I require:
Yet by no meanes may I attaine
To haue the fruite I would so faine
To rid mée from extremitie
and cruell oppressing care,
Euen thus with Tantals penaltie
my destnie may compare:
Who though endure excessiue paine,
Yet mine is not the least of twaine.