The Passionate Shepherd to His Love – Christopher Marlowe
COME live with me, and be my love;
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies;
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair-lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A belt of straw and ivy-buds,
With coral clasps and amber-studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.
The shepherd-swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.
The Nymph’s Reply – Sir Walter Raleigh
IF all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd’s tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love.
Time drives the flocks from field to fold,
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold;
And Philomel becometh dumb;
The rest complains of cares to come.
The flowers do fade, and wanton fields
To wayward winter reckoning yields:
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
Is fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall.
The gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,—
In folly ripe, in reason rotten.
Thy belt of straw and ivy buds,
Thy coral clasps and amber studs,
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee and be thy love.
But could youth last and love still breed,
Had joys no date nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee and be thy love.
_______________
None of it is new.
I remember being really disappointed in the nymph (but I quote her all the time).
I would have believed. I want to believe. I’m a recovering believer.
Christopher had it right, especially for himself – he died at 27. Life must be enjoyed to the full – what was the nymph keeping it for? Perhaps she was a professional virgin?
[Reply]
Kelly Diels
replied:
on March 21st, 2010 at 8:05 am
@Shirls, there’s actually a Big Question in this:
“what was the nymph keeping it for?”
one answer: herself.
A bigger answer, in another question about love: why hold back? It is a renewable resource. The more you give, the more you get. It is a well of tenderness fed by many streams.
My only caveat: love where there’s a welcome mat.
[Reply]
I, too, am a romantic, and Dave Doolin hit me right on the head with his observation! I am quite pathological in my giving to people who don’t want my gifts. Is there any hope for us??
[Reply]
Kelly Diels
replied:
on March 21st, 2010 at 8:05 am
@Linda, YES. Of course. We both know the answer to that. Harder than that is the action required.
[Reply]
You might like the poems of Robert Herrick.
[Reply]