[66.]
¶ A sonet vpon the Authors first seuen yeeres seruice.
Chap. 55.
Seuen times hath Janus[E408] [tane] new yéere by hand,
Seuen times hath blustring March blowne forth his powre:
To driue out Aprils buds, by sea and land,
For [minion] Maie, to deck most trim with flowre.
Seuen times hath temperate Ver,[E409] like pageant plaide,
And pleasant Æstas [eke] hir flowers told:
Seuen times Autumnes heate hath béene [delaide],[E410]
With Hyems boistrous blasts, and bitter cold.
Seuen times the thirtéene Moones[E411] haue changed hew,
Seuen times the Sunne his course hath gone about:
Seuen times ech bird hir nest hath built anew,
Since first time you to serue, I choosed out.
Still yours am I, though thus the time hath past,
And trust to be, as[1] long as life shall last.
[1] so. 1577.