I lived with thee and was your love
Your vows of pleasure did me move,
I hid my fears of fickle minds
To join you, left the world behind.

Oh, we did once sit on the rocks
And watched one shepherd feed one flock.
We traveled once in forty years
To hear a river with our ears.

You once did make a bed of roses
Then plopped yourself and took to dozing.
I made my own cap and kirtle,
Upon which none are decked with myrtle.

I have no time for fancy threading
I have to make up all the bedding
And comb the lambs and card the wool
And line our slippers for the cold.

Your belt of hammered leather made
By my hands, while ivy buds and coral fades.
My body bore a brood of heirs
My hands have given all their care.

I ne’er saw dancing, singing swains
By night or in the mid-morning.
I wash and clean and sew and cook,
I raise the corn and fish the brook.

Youth did not last, love failed to breed.
Joy had a date, age has a need.
But your delights my mind did move.
I lived with thee, your words disproved.