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a collection of literature from poets, bards, songwriters, and skalds in the SCA

Kiss me, my love, and let us share

olivier's picture
olivier
Poem (Canso): 

Kiss me, my love, and let us share
The joy of life without the care.
Where others find melancholy
We two will have but courtesy.

Let them sorrowful tears possess,
While we each other’s cheek caress
And join in bliss the lover’s song,
To grow our hearts ever more strong.

The musick will thy head grant crown
Of lily and rose, with the down
Of doves, to cushion thus thine head,
And honeysuckle for thy bed.

On pipes I’ll play for thee to heare
The sweet melodies that reveare
Thy grace, and nectar will be poured
For thee to drink, as art adored.

Dewed ambrosia is our food,
If only sayst this love is good.
We have bliss that no mortal dare:
So kiss me, love, and let’s it share.

Lo! gentle Pan and all his train
Rejoice that we lovers remain:
Eternal peace may we but bear
If thou kiss me, and thy love share.

Documentation / Explanation (Razo): 

This poem is based on Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love." There are six stanzas with an AABB rhyme scheme and octosyllabic lines, just like the Marlowe poem. The subject is the same, too (the almost-refrain of "Kiss me love, and let us share" is modified from Marlowe's "Come live with me, and be my love"): a male shepherd (or at least a pastoral shepherd-like narrator) is entreating his country love to spend more time with him. I was afraid of being even more of a ripoff by mentioning a nature-built gown (like Marlowe does) so I settled on ambrosia, nectar, and a flower-crown - nothing too original, but it's a pastoral; there's only so many images you can work with. This poem is different from the others in that it was not written originally for the Queen with the Campionesque songs, but I thought it would be a nice, gentle image of love – after all, this is the Neoplatonic will section of the book, the enacting of the idea and memory of love through a rational means - with which to end the book.