The Swallow and The Rose

By Lady Catherine du Fay

The swallow lie beside the rose

To rest her for a time

Secure within the shelter of

The bracken intertwined

But when she sought to rise again

To seek another tree

The thorny branches caught her wings

And would not set her free, my lord

And would not set her free

A wall of daggers ringed her ‘round

She could not find her way

A thorny circlet caught her there

Compelling her to stay

And one great needle found her there

And true as any dart

Transfixed her through her tender breast

And pierced her to the heart, my lord

And pierced her to the heart

And as it was with her, my lord

Well so it is with me

I love a man who does not feel

The same regard for me

And all the hopes within my breast

They die their deaths stillborn

A swallow struggles in my eyes

And in my heart a thorn, my lord

And in my heart a thorn