William Dunbar: Quhen Merche wes with variand windis past,

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163	1	Quhen Merche wes with variand windis past,
	2	And Appryll had with hir siluer schouris
	3	Tane leif at Nature with ane orient blast,
	4	And lusty May, that mvddir is of flouris,
	5	Had maid the birdis to begyn thair houris
	6	Amang the tendir odouris reid and quhyt,
	7	Quhois armony to heir it wes delyt - 
	8	In bed at morrow sleiping as I lay,
	9	Me thocht Aurora with hir cristall ene
	10	In at the window lukit by the day
	11	And halsit me with visage paill and grene,
	12	On quhois hand a lark sang for the splene:
	13	‘Awalk, luvaris, out of #our slomering,
	14	Se how the lusty morrow dois vp spring!’
	15	Me thocht fresche May befoir my bed vpstude,
	16	In weid depaynt of mony diuers hew,
	17	Sobir, benyng and full of mansuetude,
	18	In brycht atteir of flouris forgit new,
	19	Hevinly of color, quhyt, reid, broun and blew,
	20	Balmit in dew and gilt with Phebus bemys,
	21	Quhill all the hous illumynit of hir lemys.
	22	‘Slugird’, scho said, ‘Awalk annone for schame,
	23	And in my honour sum thing thow go wryt.
	24	The lork hes done the mirry day proclame,
	25	To rais vp luvaris with confort and delyt,
	26	#it nocht incresis thy curage to indyt,
	27	Quhois hairt sym tyme hes glaid and blisfull bene,
	28	Sangis to mak vndir the levis grene.’
	29	‘Quhairto’, quod I, ‘Sall I vprys at morrow?
	30	For in this May few birdis herd I sing.
164	31	Thai haif moir caus to weip and plane thair sorrow.
	32	Thy air it is nocht holsum nor benyng.
	33	Lord Eolus dois in thy sessone ring.
	34	So busteous ar the blastis of his horne,
	35	Amang thy bewis to walk I haif forborne.’
	36	With that this lady sobirly did smyll,
	37	And said, ‘Vprys and do thy observance.
	38	Thow did promyt, in Mayis lusty quhyle
	39	For to discryve the ros of most plesance.
	40	Go se the birdis how thay sing and dance,
	41	Illuminyt our with orient skyis brycht,
	42	Annamyllit richely with new asur lycht.’
	43	Quhen this was said departit scho, this quene,
	44	And enterit in a lusty gairding gent,
	45	And than me thocht, full fresche and weill besenene
	46	In serk and mantill, full haistely I went
	47	In to this garth, most dulce and redolent
	48	Off herb and flour and tendir plantis sueit,
	49	And grene levis doing of dew doun fleit.
	50	The purpour sone with tendir bemys reid
	51	In orient bricht as angell did appeir,
	52	Thow golding skyis putting vp his heid,
	53	Quhois gilt tressis schone so wondir cleir
	54	That all the world tuke confort, fer and neir,
	55	To luke vpone his fresche and blisfull face,
	56	Doing all sable fro the hevynnis chace.
	57	And as the blisfull soune of cherarchy
	58	The fowlis song throw confort of the licht.
	59	The birdis did with oppin vocis cry:
	60	‘O luvaris fo, away thow dully nycht,
	61	And welcum day that confortis every wicht.
	62	Haill, May, haill, Flora, haill, Aurora schene!
	63	Haill, princes Natur, haill, Venus, luvis quene!’
165	64	Dame Nature gaif ane inhibitioun thair
	65	To fers Neptunus and Eolus the bawld,
	66	Nocht to perturb the wattir nor the air;
	67	And that no schouris nor blastis cawld
	68	Effray suld flouris nor fowlis on the fold,
	69	Scho bad eik Iuno, goddas of the sky,
	70	That scho the hevin suld keip amene and dry.
	71	Scho ordand eik that every bird and beist
	72	Befoir hir hienes suld annone compeir,
	73	And every flour, of vertew most and leist,
	74	And every herb be feild fer and neir,
	75	As thay had wont in May fro #eir to #eir, 
	76	To hir thair makar to mak obediens,
	77	Full law inclynnand with all dew reuerens.
	78	With that annone scho send the suyft ro
	79	To bring in beistis of all confitioun.
	80	The restles suallow commandit scho also
	81	To feche all fowll of small and greit renown; 
	82	And to gar flouris compeir of all fassoun
	83	Full craftely coniurit scho the #arrow,
	84	Quhilk did furth swirk als swift as ony arrow.
	85	All present wer in twynkling of ane e,
	86	Baith beist and bird and flour befoir the quene.
	87	And first the Lyone, gretast of degre,
	88	Was callit thair, and he most fair to sene,
	89	With a full hardy contenance and kene,
	90	Befoir dame Natur come and did inclyne,
	91	With visage bawld and curage lenyne.
	92	This awfull beist full terrible wes of cheir,
	93	Persing of luke and stout of countenance,
	94	Rycht strong of corpis, of fassoun fair but geir,
	95	Lusty of schaip, lycht of deliuerance,
	96	Reid of his cullour as is the ruby glance.
	97	On feild of gold he stude full mychtely,
	98	With flour delycis sirculit lustely.
166	99	This lady liftit vp his cluvis cleir,
	100	And leit him listly lene vpone hir kne; 
	101	And crownit him with dyademe full deir,
	102	Off radyous stonis most ryall for to se,
	103	Saying, ‘The king of beistis mak I the
	104	And the cheif protector in woddis and schawis.
	105	Onto thi leigis go furth and keip the lawis.
	106	‘Exerce iustice with mercy and conscience,
	107	And lat no small beist suffir skaith na skornis
	108	Of greit beistis that bene of moir piscence.
	109	Do law elyk to aipis and vncornis,
	110	And lat no bowgle with his busteous hornis
	111	The meik pluch ox oppres for all his pryd,
	112	Bot in the #ok go peciable him besyd.’
	113	Quhen this was said, with noyis and soun of ioy
	114	All kynd of beistis in to thair degre
	115	At onis cryit lawd: Viue le roy!
	116	And till his feit fell with humilite,
	117	And all thay maid him homege and fewte;
	118	And he did thame ressaif with princely laitis,
	119	Quhois noble yre is parcere protratis.
	120	Syne crownit scho the Egle king of fowlis,
	121	And as steill dertis scherpit scho his pennis,
	122	And bawd him be als iust to awppis and owlis
	123	As vnto pacokkis, pagingais or crennis,
	124	And mak a law for wycht fowlis and for wrennis,
	125	And lat no fowll of ravyne do efferay,
	126	Nor devoir birdis bot hus awin pray.
	127	Than callit scho all flouris that grew on feild,
	128	Discirnyng  all thair fassionis and effeiris.
	129	Vpone the awfull Thrissill scho beheld,
	130	And saw him kepit with a busche of speiris.
	131	Concedring him so able for the weiris,
167	132	A radius croun of rubeis scho him gaif
	133	And said, ‘In feild go furth and fend the laif.
	134	‘And sen thow art a king, thow be discreit.
	135	Herb without vertew hald nocht of sic pryce
	136	As herb of vertew and of odor sueit,
	137	And lat no nettill vyle and full of vyce
	138	Hir fallow to the gudly flour delyce,
	139	Nor latt no wyld weid full of churlichenes
	140	Compair hir till the lilleis nobilnes.
	141	‘Nor hald non vdir flour in sic denty
	142	As the fresche Ros of cullour reid and quhyt,
	143	For gife thow dois, hurt is thy honesty,
	144	Conciddering that no flour is so perfyt,
	145	So full of vertew, plesans and delyt,
	146	So full of blistfull angeilik bewty,
	147	Imperiall birth, honour and dignite.’
	148	Than to the Ros scho turnyt hir visage,
	149	And said, ‘O lusty dochtir most benyng,
	150	Aboif the lilly illustare of lynnage,
	151	For the stok ryell rysing fresche and #ing,
	152	But ony spot or macull doing spring,
	153	Cum, blowme of ioy, with iemis to be cround,
	154	For our the laif thy bewty is renowd.’
	155	A coistly croun with clarefeid stonis brycht
	156	This cumly quene did on hir heid inclois,
	157	Quhill all the land illumynit of the licht;
	158	Quhairfoir me thocht all flouris did reious,
	159	Crying attonis: ‘Haill be thow richest Ros,
	160	Haill, hairbis empryce, haill freschest quene of flouris!
	161	To be the glory and honour at all houris.’
	162	Thane all the birdis song with voce on hicht,
	163	Quhois mirthfull soun wes mervelus to heir.
168	164	The mavys song, ‘Haill, Rois most riche and richt 
	165	That dois vp flureis vndir Phebus speir.
	166	Haill, plant of #owth, haill, princes dochtir deir,
	167	Haill, blossome breking out of the blud royall
	168	Quhois pretius vertew is imperiall.’
	169	The merle scho sang, ‘Haill, Rois of most delyt,
	170	Haill, of all flouris quene and souerane!’
	171	The lark scho song, ‘Haill, Rois both reid and quhyt,
	172	Most plesand flour of michty cullouris twane!’
	173	The lark scho song, ‘Haill, Naturis suffragene,
	174	In bewty, nurtour and every nobilnes,
	175	In riche array, renown and gentilnes.’
	176	The commoun voce vprais of birdis small,
	177	Apone this wys: ‘O blissit be the hour
	178	That thow wes chosin to be our principall.
	179	Welcome to be our princes of honour,
	180	Our perle, our plesans and our paramour,
	181	Our peax, our play, our plane felicite.
	182	Chryst the conserf frome all aduersite!’
	183	Than all the birdis song with sic a shout
	184	That I annone awoilk quahir that I lay,
	185	And with a braid I turnyt me about
	186	To se this court, bot all wer went away.
	187	Than vp I lenyt halfingis in affrey,
	188	And thus I wret, as #e haif hard toforrow,
	189	Off lusty May vpone the nynt morrow.

