Ruminations and musings on a theme

phillyexpat posted a meme (here) that got me thinking about my favorite poem...

To My Dear and Loving Husband

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 let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

--Anne Bradstreet

For those of you that aren't recovering English/literature majors, allow me to give you a little background here. Anne Bradstreet has long been considered not only the first published American author, but also the first female American author. Born in England, Bradstreet enjoyed a cultured and educated life, not typical for females at the time. When she and her husband moved to the New World, Bradstreet found herself faced with a lot of contemplative time. This is evident in a number of her poems, including one of my other favorites, Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666.

Admittedly, the bulk of my studies during undergrad focused on medieval literature and Irish and British modern literature. When I taught high school (briefly), I taught American literature, and I HATED it. So why would a Colonial author rate so high for me? I can't immediately say... Is the personal tone of the poem? Is it that these words persist, even nearly four centuries later? Is it because Bradstreet seems to have balanced reverence and independence without being shunned?

Maybe I'll take a cue from crowyhead and start up a poetry filter of some sort.

Thanks, phillyexpat--you reminded me, with your mention of both ee cummings' i carry your heart with me, and Eliot's Prufrock how much I love poetry!

Now, I'm ready to dust off my old copy of Leaves of Grass...