Week of Love: Tuesday's Favorite Poem
I have a secret love. Okay, it's not that secret. Upon entering my home, you are immediately greeted with the the presence of it. Books. Literature. Poetry. I am excited to celebrate love and poetry this week and pull out some of my favorites. Poetry fascinates me. A writer's ability to say so much as succinctly as possible and taking into account the appearance of the words on the page, the sound of the words, the number of syllables and where the stressed syllables fall... oh my goodness, it is amazing. Perhaps, my inner geek is speaking right now, but I love poetry!
To start off my favorite poetry, I thought I would go with the most scandalous poem first. Am I the only one that loves a good scandal?
Whoso List to Hunt
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, alas, I may no more;
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that furthest come behind.
Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
Fainting I follow; I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I, may spend his time in vain.
And graven with diamonds in letters plain,
There is written her fair neck round about,
'Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.'
Sir Thomas Wyatt
This poem was written during the reign of Henry VIII of England. It is believed to be a personal poem about Anne Boleyn, Mistress to the King and later his Queen. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Anne are believed to have been lovers prior to her coming to the king's court. Clearly from this poem though, Sir Wyatt still had some feelings for her while she belonged to the king. Scandalous!
What first drew me to this poem are the lines, "I leave off therefore, Since in a net I seek to hold the wind." Beautiful. It reminds me of the fleeting nature of so many things in life like the fact that you really can't control another's affections towards you or like the fact that the baby whose chubby cheeks you could spend hours kissing on is going to grow up and become an adult (or worse yet, a teenager! Ha!). We can try to control life, try to catch it in our net, but it has all the untangible qualities of air. Some things simply cannot be held. It reminds me of an old song, "The Anchor Holds." The song writer and his wife had 2 miscarriages and then a 3rd miscarriage at 14 weeks. The lines, "I never knew that they could slip right through, like they were only grains of sand," describes what he felt when the doctor placed the lifeless babe into his hands. (To read more of the story or listen to the song click here.) While I didn't quite mean to be so despressing and have such a sad story, I think that a positive message is here. It seems every now and again life stops just long enough, the wind settles, and for but a moment you can hold it, savor it, and feel blessed and graced by it's presence. Savor those moments. (Carpe a couple kairoses a day!) When you are kissing your hubby get caught up in the fact that not only do you love this person, but he loves you back. When you are nuzzling your nose into soft baby skin know you have been blessed with the gift of motherhood. Trip on the fact that a life has been placed in your care. Enjoy that sweet smelling, soft baby skin because in a few years it will smell of chocolate chip cookies, dried sweat and dirt. When you are busy cleaning your car or home and are tempted to grumble about how easily it all gets messy, sit back and look at the things that you have that you don't need, and realize you are blessed.
On a completely unserious note: I also like the line of the poem, "And wild for to hold, though I seem tame." This girl is ferosh (like ferocious...except I am so ferocious I only need to say the first 2 syllables). Try that one out for Valentine's day with the husband. HAHA!!
Love to You!!!
xo
To start off my favorite poetry, I thought I would go with the most scandalous poem first. Am I the only one that loves a good scandal?
Whoso List to Hunt
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, alas, I may no more;
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that furthest come behind.
Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore
Fainting I follow; I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I, may spend his time in vain.
And graven with diamonds in letters plain,
There is written her fair neck round about,
'Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.'
Sir Thomas Wyatt
This poem was written during the reign of Henry VIII of England. It is believed to be a personal poem about Anne Boleyn, Mistress to the King and later his Queen. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Anne are believed to have been lovers prior to her coming to the king's court. Clearly from this poem though, Sir Wyatt still had some feelings for her while she belonged to the king. Scandalous!
What first drew me to this poem are the lines, "I leave off therefore, Since in a net I seek to hold the wind." Beautiful. It reminds me of the fleeting nature of so many things in life like the fact that you really can't control another's affections towards you or like the fact that the baby whose chubby cheeks you could spend hours kissing on is going to grow up and become an adult (or worse yet, a teenager! Ha!). We can try to control life, try to catch it in our net, but it has all the untangible qualities of air. Some things simply cannot be held. It reminds me of an old song, "The Anchor Holds." The song writer and his wife had 2 miscarriages and then a 3rd miscarriage at 14 weeks. The lines, "I never knew that they could slip right through, like they were only grains of sand," describes what he felt when the doctor placed the lifeless babe into his hands. (To read more of the story or listen to the song click here.) While I didn't quite mean to be so despressing and have such a sad story, I think that a positive message is here. It seems every now and again life stops just long enough, the wind settles, and for but a moment you can hold it, savor it, and feel blessed and graced by it's presence. Savor those moments. (Carpe a couple kairoses a day!) When you are kissing your hubby get caught up in the fact that not only do you love this person, but he loves you back. When you are nuzzling your nose into soft baby skin know you have been blessed with the gift of motherhood. Trip on the fact that a life has been placed in your care. Enjoy that sweet smelling, soft baby skin because in a few years it will smell of chocolate chip cookies, dried sweat and dirt. When you are busy cleaning your car or home and are tempted to grumble about how easily it all gets messy, sit back and look at the things that you have that you don't need, and realize you are blessed.
On a completely unserious note: I also like the line of the poem, "And wild for to hold, though I seem tame." This girl is ferosh (like ferocious...except I am so ferocious I only need to say the first 2 syllables). Try that one out for Valentine's day with the husband. HAHA!!
Love to You!!!
xo