The Devonshire Manuscript/I abide and abide and better abide

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Absens absenting causithe me to complaine→

The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 81v

f. [81v]

1    I abide and abide and better{t'} abide
2    {u'}{p3} and after the olde prouerbe the happie daye
3    and ever my ladye to me dothe saye
4    let me alone and I will pro{p3}uyde
5    I abide and abide and tarrye the tyde
6    and with{w+t+} abiding spede well ye maye
7    thus do I abide I wott allwaye
8    nother obtayning nor yet denied
9    Aye me this long abidyng
10    semithe to me as who sayethe
11    a prolonging of a dieng dethe
12    or a refusing of a deryrid thing
13    moche ware it bettre for to be playne
14    then to saye abide and yet shall not obtayne /

fs

Commentary

Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt, this poem was entered by H8. The speaker finds himself in a prolonged state of “dieng dethe” because the lady neither grants love, nor refuses him.