To W.E.P.
That thou art ill dos gloom me like a cloud
That has obscured the mountains and the sky
And choked the maiden day in a black shroud
And made swift waters stiff and frozen lie;
Now all things follow to their contraries;
Not cold but healing warmth should fill the day
Not these stark bushes but foliage-laden trees
Across deep summer shies their wealth should sway.
How shall we remedy this vile distress?
How woo the sun to the mount again his throne?
How bend the corn wilt grain to gild and bliss?
What means will bring back summer to her own?
There is but one; that thow shouldn’t come and tell
The lingering fields thow livest, and art well.
July 27
Page 69
Good...note that "thow" should be "thou" throughout--the archaic form of address enhances the antiquarianism of the poem. l. 8: "skies" (k and h are very difficult to separate in his handwriting. l. 11: "with" instead of "wilt" (sometimes it's good to just follow common sense when a line is difficult to read). l. 13: "shouldst". The sense of the poem is that nature is in distress until the addressee of the sonnet("W.E.P.") is well again. This is a very difficult poem to transcribe, and you've done very well here, Becky! If you consider the overall meaning of a text, that will help you decipher words too.
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