"Take heed, ___ summer comes, or cuckoo-birds do sing": "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (3)

I believe the answer is:

ere

(Other definitions for ere that I've seen before include "Before (poetic)" , "Before (in time)" , "Archaic word for before - a palindrome" , "Old word for before" , "Before (lit.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The New York Times.

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