Thursday, June 25, 2009

Summer



I know I am but summer to your heart,
And not the full four seasons of the year;
And you must welcome from another part
Such noble moods as are not mine, my dear.
No gracious weight of golden fruits to sell
Have I, nor any wise and wintry thing;
And I have loved you all too long and well
To carry still the high sweet breast of spring.

Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes,
I must be gone, steal forth with silent drums,
That you may hail anew the bird and rose
When I come back to you, as summer comes.
Else will you seek, at some not distant time,
Even your summer in another clime.
.
.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
III, from Eight Sonnets
.
Photo: Willow Manor's Eden rose

52 comments:

  1. Your Eden rose is gorgeous. The poem is summer worthy.

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  2. Yoour rose is absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed reading the poem very much.

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  3. Wonderful.

    So you reckon he was off to see his other bit on the side then? ;)

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  4. Such a beautiful poem, and the rose is gorgeous. The poem even makes one forget about the summer heat, although it makes one think about a different kind of heat.

    Thank you for such a great poem.

    God bless.

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  5. Today has been cool and overcast but still summer. Thank you, this poem strongly whispers summer and your rose is beautiful.
    I voted twice.

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  6. Beautiful. Beautiful rose, too.

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  7. Very Nice! My Grandmother used to grow roses, but I do not remember her, she died when I was 2, but I always remember her rose garden!

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  8. Oh, what a beautiful rose. We have one that very color--I honestly don't know its name--our friends gave us a cutting and it "took," years ago. It's my favorite. I love the poem accompanying this, too, and your sign "keep calm and carry on" is going to be my motto this next week--trust me, I have needed that.

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  9. Lovely poetry today. We need a little sunshine in New England so the roses can bloom.

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  10. Wonderful - both the poetry and the flower. Just wonderful!

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  11. Willow, love the poem and I can just smell that rose! Wonderful :)

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  12. I recently came upon a book of poetry by Mary, Queen of Scots and this really reminds me of it. I love this sort of thing. You know me and rhyme.

    Kat

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  13. Love this...."And I have loved you all too long and well"

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  14. I must confess, this poem has me rereading...It is painful to be in a realtionship with someone when you are not sure where you stand...any kind of relationship...but something makes you hold on for the "summers" you have known...the summers that may return...
    Perplexing and and intimate and haunting...
    The rose is so tender and yet wields great power in its beauty.

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  15. her work is so fabulous. if you like her, try her biography published just two years ago. it's excellent. quite a life she had, not all roses but alot of candles burning at both ends.

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  16. CG, are you talking about Nancy Milford's "Savage Beauty"? It's an excellent bio.

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  17. Beautiful rose, beautiful sonnet(I guessed it was her--see how well you are training me).Thank you.

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  18. Beautiful poetry and photograph combine to capture the essence of summer.

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  19. Picture and poem married in a torrent of summer bliss. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  20. Hello Willow,

    Wonderful words! I can understand why you like this poet so much. The rose is lovely too. I hope it has a perfume!

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  21. Very nice selection, and a cool photo, too.

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  22. Lovely poem - I love the sonnet form and wish I could use it myself. I have been out and about this week with visitors staying and I must say that the roses are out everywhere - climbing up the fronts of old cottages - the air is full of their scent - beautiful.

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  23. the words and pictures capture summer amazingly! may you enjoy this season! happy TT!

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  24. Ahhh....this was one of my first considerations for the post as well. Can't go wrong with Millay.

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  25. Edna ROCKS. So do you and so does summer. Happy summer, Willow!

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  26. What an elegant way to describe a summer romance, Edna. Thanks for posting it :-)

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  27. Millay's poems have wonderful layers. I truly enjoyed your interpretation here.

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  28. The heat and humidity are so strong this morning, I felt I awoke back in Florida...not a bad thing!!!

    Ahhh, summer!!!

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  29. What is summer without the soft fragrance of a rose. Great post

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  30. Ah that Edna she knew how to turn a phrase

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  31. Eden rose, eh? I'll be watching for that. Your photograph is so vivid, I can feel the velvety texture of the blossom.

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  32. What a beautiful combination of image and poetry.

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  33. Oh what a wonderful poem!Thank you!

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  34. How about a sonnet festival!?
    (Just kidding)
    they are rather fun to write though...........
    your was an excellent choice

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  35. Mostly because of you, I have become much more familiar with Edna St. Vincent Millay poems and I thank-you for this! Recently I bought a book of her poems at a library book sale and within it's pages...a dried four leaf clover...

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  36. i just knew this was milay from the first line. lovely rose color, willow! i bet it smells heavenly too!

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  37. Beautiful rose and the perfect poem. Summer is as feeting as both

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  38. Lovely sentiments. Beautiful photo.

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  39. That is a perfectly written poem...No longer"the high sweet breast of spring"..amazing..I think there will be seeking "in another clime"....was it ever thus!

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  40. Palest of the pale, but what beauty!
    Thank you for another beautiful Edna poem.

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  41. That is a gorgeous rose and beautiful poem.

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  42. Wonderful.

    It always pleases me to find Edna unexpectedly.

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  43. Very nice. Good picture. Good choice.

    And I think EB is onto something, too. ;-)

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  44. beautiful. i really do enjoy your blog and you have inspired me to go and get a book of edna poetry. <3 will you be doing a cancer (astrological sign) post? I love when you do those!

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  45. beautiful! your rose made me homesick for my louisiana home - where everything is green and blooming and fragrant!!! thanks so much for sharing! jenean

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  46. Yes The Beauty of Summer is we know it will soon pass.......
    Do I Really 'Sound'like Cary Grant? I always imagine myself as Groucho Marx when I type!Something has obviously both be Lost&Found in Translation!!!!

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)