John Fletcher. Love's Emblems. "Now the lusty spring is seen."

John Fletcher

Love's Emblems
NOW the lusty spring is seen ;
    Golden yellow, gaudy blue,
    Daintily invite the view :
Everywhere on every green
Roses blushing as they blow
    And enticing men to pull,
Lilies whiter than the snow,
    Woodbines of sweet honey full :
        All love’s emblems, and all cry,
        ‘Ladies, if not pluck’d, we die.’

Yet the lusty spring hath stay’d ;
    Blushing red and purest white
    Daintily to love invite
Every woman, every maid :
Cherries kissing as they grow,
    And inviting men to taste,
Apples even ripe below,
    Winding gently to the waist :
        All love’s emblems, and all cry,
        ‘Ladies, if not pluck’d, we die.’

Source:
The Oxford Book of English Verse.
Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1919. 238.