Page 2497 - Shakespeare - Vol. 1
P. 2497
owl, th’other by the cuckoo. Ver, begin.
THE SONG
VER
When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white [880]
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; for thus sings he:
‘Cuckoo! [885]
Cuckoo, cuckoo!’ O, word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!
When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen’s clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws, [890]
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; for thus sings he:
‘Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!’ O, word of fear, [895]
Unpleasing to a married ear!
HIEMS
When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail, [900]
When blood is nipped, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl:
‘Tu-whit
Tu-who!’ - a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. [905]
When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian’s nose looks red and raw,
