Against Women Unconstant

Madame, for your newefanglenesse
Many a servaunt have ye put out of grace.
I take my leve of your unstedfastnesse,
For wel I wot, whyl ye have lyves space,
Ye can not love ful half yeer in a place,
To newe thing your lust is ay so kene.
In stede of blew, thus may ye were al grene.

Right as a mirour nothing may impresse,
But, lightly as it cometh, so mot it pace,
So fareth your love, your werkes beren witnesse.
Ther is no feith that may your herte enbrace,
But as a wedercok, that turneth his face
With every wind, ye fare, and that is sene;
In sted of blew, thus may ye were al grene.

Ye might be shryned for your brotelnesse
Bet than Dalyda, Creseyde or Candace,
For ever in chaunging stant your sikernesse;
That tache may no wight fro your herte arace.
If ye lese oon, ye can wel tweyn purchase;
Al light for somer (ye woot wel what I mene),
In stede of blew, thus may ye were al grene.

1)  This poem, like "Merciles Beaute," is generally thought to be Chaucer's although it is not attributed to him in any of the three manuscripts in which it appears (Bodleian MS Fairfax 16, BL Cotton Cleopatra D.VII, and BL Harley 7578.  Printer John Stowe added it to his 1561 edition of Chaucer's works.
2) English writers typically associate blue with faithfulness and green with change or unfaithfulness.
3) “Dalyda,” usually “Delilah” in ModE, betrayed Samson to captivity by the Philistines, “Creseyde” betrayed Troilus and left him for the Greeks at Troy (see Chaucer’s Troilus), and Queen “Candace” deceived Alexander the Great to protect her Indian city.

The text of this poem is based on F. N. Robinson's second edition.