Piteous my rhyme is
What while I muse of love and pain,
Of love misspent, of love in vain,
Of love that is not loved again:
The opening line teases the reader. Is it the rhyme and the poet’s craftsmanship that is piteous? Or is it the subject matter? Or is it the poet herself? Or maybe all three? The uncertainty draws the reader in. 
 Note the inverted word order, starting with the adjective; a device known as  anastrophe , designed to give ‘piteous’ emphasis.
Piteous my rhyme is