"Foweles in the frith," anonymous Middle English lyric

Foweles in the frith

Foweles in the frith,
The fisshes in the flood,
And I mon waxe wood:
Much sorwe I walke wyth
For best of bon and blood.




Notes [from Stevick]:
1. frith   woodland, forest
3. mon   must
5 best   i.e., the best (person)

Notes [from Stevick Glossary]:
waxe(n)  (wex, wexen, waxen) - to wax, grow; become
wood - mad


Source of the text - One Hundred Middle English Lyrics, Revised Edition, edited by Robert D. Stevick.  Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1994, p. 25.

TJB: Crux-lyric. The speaker grows crazy because: he has sorrow despite being flesh-&-blood; or he has sorrow because he is the greatest alive.