Sonnet 20
IN vaine I seeke and sew[1] to her for grace,
And doe myne humbled hart before her poure:
The whiles her foot she in my necke doth place,
And tread my life downe in the lowly floure[2].
And yet the lyon, that is lord of powre,
And reigneth ouer euery beast in field:
In his most pride disdeigneth to devoure
The silly lambe that to his might doth yield[3].
But she, more cruell and more saluage wylde,
Then either lyon or the lyonesse:
Shames not[4] to be with guiltlesse bloud defylde,
But taketh glorie in her cruelnesse.
Fayrer then fairest, let none euer say,
That ye were blooded in a yeelded pray[5].
[1] sew:请求。
[2] floure:地板，地面。
[3] yield:以前人们认为狮子是高尚的动物。恋人把自己比作傻乎乎的羔羊。
[4] not:不害臊的。
[5] pray:只有糟糕的捕猎者才会杀死一个已经投降的猎物。
