I Abide and Abide and Better Abide

Sir Thomas Wyatt 1503 (Allington Castle, Kent) – 1542 (Clifton Maybank House, Dorset)



I abide and abide and better abide,
And after the old proverb, the happy day;
And ever my lady to me doth say,
'Let me alone and I will provide.'
I abide and abide and tarry the tide,
And with abiding speed well ye may.
Thus do I abide I wot alway,
Nother obtaining nor yet denied.
Ay me! this long abiding
Seemeth to me, as who sayeth,
A prolonging of a dying death,
Or a refusing of a desir'd thing.
Much were it better for to be plain
Than to say 'abide' and yet shall not obtain.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

30 sec read
347

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABCADEEDFF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 478
Words 101
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Sir Thomas Wyatt

Sir Thomas Wyatt was a 16th-century English politician, ambassador, and lyric poet credited with introducing the sonnet to English literature. more…

All Sir Thomas Wyatt poems | Sir Thomas Wyatt Books

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