the passionate shepherd to his love

From: Woolf & Wilde

Come live with me, and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove

That valleys, groves, hills and fields,

Woods, or steepy mountains yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,

Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks

By shallow rivers, to whose falls

Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses,

And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle.

A gown made of the finest wool

Which from our pretty lambs we pull,

Fair lined slippers for the cold

With buckles of the purest gold.

A belt of straw and ivy-buds,

With coral clasps and amber studs,

And if these pleasures may thee move,

Come live with me, and be my love.

They shepherd swains shall dance and sing

For thy delight each May morning.

If these delights thy mind may move,

Then live with me, and be my love.

Text: The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,

Christopher Marlowe, published 1599

Image: Photographer, subjects unknown