“Mie love ys dedde,
Gon to hys deathe-bedde,
Al under the wyllowe tree.”
In the “Two Noble Kinsmen,” said to have been written by Shakspeare and
Fletcher, a young girl, who loses her wit with hopeless love for
Palamon--
------“Sung
Nothing but ‘Willow! willow! willow!’ and between
Ever was ‘Palamon, fair Palamon!’”
Herrick thus addresses the willow-tree:
“Thou art to all lost love the best,
The only true plant found;
Wherewith young men and maids distrest,
And left of love, are crowned.
“When once the lover’s rose is dead,
Or laid aside forlorn,
Then willow garlands ’bout the head,
Bedewed with tears, are worn.
“When with neglect, the lover’s bane,
Poor maids rewarded be
For their love lost, their only gain
Is but a wreath from thee.
“And underneath thy cooling shade,
When weary of the light,
The love-spent youth and love-sick maid
Come to weep out the night.”