If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love letβs so persevere,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
~Anne Bradstreet
Today I offer a favorite from Anne Bradstreet — America’s first published poet who so eloquently dipped her quill pen sometime in the mid-1600s. I just love metaphors and hers are great. As a romance writer, I can read between her lines. Such talent. Much of her metaphor uses nature-inspired wordage and this makes sense because Puritan beliefs celebrated the glory of nature. To give you some idea the regard in which this Puritan poet was held in her time, she was often referred to as the Tenth Muse.
*A piece of my own trivia. I had hoped to use The Tenth Muse for my blog title in honor of Anne Bradstreet, specifically because her confidence grew with each work she gave to the world; something I desired for myself as a new and nervous author. Alas, Tenth Muse was already taken by someone else. My Calliope’s Writing Tablet honors another muse — Calliope the muse of epic tales. It’s all good.Β π
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
So true!
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Vintage Greetings
As mentioned earlier this month, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and has many slots yet to be filled. In the spirit of the season from now until New Year’s Day, I’ll share cards from my collection. Scroll down to see previous posts. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!
π Here’s a sweet one without a date. The artwork on this card is reminiscent of the works of children’s’ book illustrators from the early 1920-30s.
H. Willebeek Le Mair perhaps?
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Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.
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And while you’re there, sample my scorching love stories for free too!
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Today is guest Author Adele Downs.
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~
The December contest is on at RB4U! The top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. The horde of remaining prizes will be split between two winners.
http://www.romancebooks4us.com
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Your hubs is a lucky man. Was it Elizabeth Barrett Browning who wrote “How do I love thee, let me count the ways.”
I’ll let him know, Mike. Thanks!