Sonnet II. Unquiet thought! whom at the first I bred

Edmund Spenser (1552?–1599)

UNQUIET thought! whom at the first I bred

Of th’ inward bale of my love-pined heart;

And sithens have with sighs and sorrows fed,

Till greater than my womb thou woxen art:

Break forth at length out of the inner part,

In which thou lurkest like to viper’s brood;

And seek some succour both to ease my smart,

And also to sustain thyself with food.

But, if in presence of that fairest proud

Thou chance to come, fall lowly at her feet;

And, with meek humbless and afflicted mood,

Pardon for thee, and grace for me, entreat:

Which if she grant, then live, and my love cherish:

If not, die soon; and I with thee will perish.