Samuel Waddington, comp. The Sonnets of Europe. 1888.
The Ivy, Holly, and Green BayÉstienne Jodelle (15321573)
Translated by Henry Francis Cary
I
Which nor the northern blast nor hoary rime
Effaceth; conqueror of death and time;
Emblem wherein eternity is seen.
I love the holly and those prickles keen
On his gloss’d leaves that keep their verdant prime;
And ivy too I love, whose tendrils climb
On tree or bower, and weave their amorous screen.
All three I love, which alway green resemble
The immortal thoughts that in my heart assemble
Of thee, whom still I worship night and day.
But straiter far the knot that hath me bound,
More keen my thorns, and greener is my wound,
Than are the ivy, holly, or green bay.