The Constant Lover

The Constant Lover

Out upon it, I have lov'd

  Three whole days together!

And am like to love three more,

  If it prove fair weather.

Time shall moult away his wings

  Ere he shall discover

In the whole wide world again

  Such a constant lover.

But the spite on 't is, no praise

  Is due at all to me;

Love with me had made no stays

  Had it any been but she.

Had it any been but she,

  And that very face,

There had been at least ere this

  A dozen dozen in her place.

-Sir John Suckling

Sir John Suckling was a Cavalier poet who's also supposed to have invented the game of cribbage, which I played constantly with my dad when I was about eight. 

Sir John was born in 1609 and died young in 1641. 

Poking through old commonplace books & still thinking about ballads was how I hit upon this. My earlier scratchings: