Saturday, January 14, 2006

a sonnet

A SONNET

Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, Lady, were no crime.
We would sit down and think which way
To walk and pass our long love's day.

Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find: I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood,

And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow;

An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast;
But thirty thousand to the rest;

An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart;
For, Lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.

But at my back I always hear
Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.

Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song: then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity,

And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust:
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,

Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish in his slow-chapt power.

Let us roll all our strength and all
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Through the iron gates of life:

Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.


Andrew Marvell, 1621 - 1678


This touched me today.

4 Comments:

Blogger Evil Minx said...

What a tranquil and evocative way to start th day, DF.

Thank you.

Minxy xxxxxxxx

12:59 PM  
Blogger Deadly Female said...

Thank you lovely ladies - it has always been one fo my favourite pieces of poetry. I stumbled across it again by accident and just had to share it xx

1:30 PM  
Blogger natty68 said...

That was lovely hon :)

10:05 PM  
Blogger O said...

I absolutely love this poem, i can't believe you posted it! I did a whole post on it ages ago because it was the first poem I ever memorised simply because I wanted to. It's just so eloquent about transience, mortality and lust.

I came by also just to say hi, and if you'd like to join the internet censorship blog we started about how to protect your anonymity, you can drop me a line over at eros.logos@gmail.com.

Thanks so much for your contribution to my fund btw, it has really touched me that people would care.

Ive been meaning to link you for ages, forgive me for not having done so sooner!
Much love,
O

3:12 AM  

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