waking up

joanna bujes joanna.bujes at ebay.sun.com
Sat Jul 20 11:05:41 PDT 2002


At 01:26 AM 07/20/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>there never was nor ever will be another love poet in the english
>language like john donne, imho. and yes, i include shakespeare in that,
>but that's just me.

Me too...that's why I wrote my dissertation about him.

However, that elegy dates from his younger days, and though men are woefully goal-oriented, I'd say that with some experience, they too eventually figure out that starting higher (and working down) produces more cataclysmic results.

"Oh, my America, my new found land!"

...and he did write a beautiful poem about being woken by his lover:

DEARE love, for nothing lesse then thee

Would I have broke this happy dreame,

It was a theame

For reason, much too strong for phantasie,

Therefore thou wakd'st me wisely; yet

My Dreame thou brok'st not, but continued'st it,

Thou art so truth, that thoughts of thee suffice, To make dreames truths; and fables histories;

Enter these armes, for since thou thoughtst it best,

Not to dreame all my dreame, let's act the rest.

As lightning, or a Tapers light, Thine eyes, and not thy noise wak'd mee;

Yet I thought thee

(For thou lovest truth) an Angell, at first sight,

But when I saw thou sawest my heart,

And knew'st my thoughts, beyond an Angels art,

When thou knew'st what I dreamt, when thou knew'st when

Excesse of joy would wake me, and cam'st then,

I must confesse, it could not chuse but bee

Prophane, to thinke thee any thing but thee.

Comming and staying show'd thee, thee,

But rising makes me doubt, that now,

Thou art not thou.

That love is weake, where feare's as strong as hee;

'Tis not all spirit, pure, and brave,

If mixture it of Feare, Shame, Honor, have.

Perchance as torches which must ready bee,

Men light and put out, so thou deal'st with mee,

Thou cam'st to kindle, goest to come; Then I

Will dreame that hope againe, but else would die.

Joanna



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