A Riddle of a Gift given by a Lady. Songs and Epigrams. Sir Thomas Wyatt. 1880. The Poetical Works

Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503–42). The Poetical Works. 1880.

Songs and Epigrams

A Riddle of a Gift given by a Lady


A LADY gave me a gift she had not;
And I received her gift which I took not;
She gave it me willingly, and yet she would not;
And I received it, albeit, I could not:
If she give it me, I force not;	5
And if she take it again, she cares not.
Construe what this is, and tell not;
For I am fast sworn I may not.