The Cautious Lovers
Silvia, let's from the Crowd retire;
For, What to you and me
(Who but each other do desire)
Is all that here we see?
Apart we'll live, tho' not alone;
For, who alone can call
Those, who in Desarts live with One,
If in that One they've All?
The World a vast Meander is,
Where Hearts confus'dly stray;
Where Few do hit, whilst Thousands miss
The happy mutual Way:
Where Hands are by stern Parents ty'd,
Who oft, in Cupid's Scorn,
Do for the widow'd State provide,
Before that Love is born:
Where some too soon themselves misplace;
Then in Another find
The only Temper, Wit, or Face,
That cou'd affect their Mind.
Others (but oh! avert that Fate!)
A well-chose Object change:
Fly, Silvia, fly, ere 'tis too late;
Fall'n Nature's prone to range.
And, tho' in heat of Love we swear
More than perform we can;
No Goddess, You, but Woman are,
And I no more than Man.
Th' impatient Silvia heard thus long;
Then with a Smile reply'd;
Those Bands cou'd ne'er be very strong,
Which Accidents divide.
Who e'er was mov'd yet to go down,
By such o'er-cautious Fear;
Or for one Lover left the Town,
Who might have Numbers here?
Your Heart, 'tis true, is worth them all,
And still preferr'd the first;
But since confess'd so apt to fall,
'Tis good to fear the worst.
In ancient History we meet
A flying Nymph betray'd;
Who, had she kept in fruitful Crete,
New Conquest might have made.
And sure, as on the Beach she stood,
To view the parting Sails;
She curs'd her self, more than the Flood,
Or the conspiring Gales.
False Theseus, since thy Vows are broke,
May following Nymphs beware:
Methinks I hear how thus she spoke,
And will not trust too far.
In Love, in Play, in Trade, in War
They best themselves acquit,
Who, tho' their Int'rests shipwreckt are,
Keep unreprov'd their Wit.
poem by Anne Kingsmill Finch
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Related quotes
To Silvia
Silvia, let us from the crowd retire,
For what to you and me
(Who but each other do desire)
Is all that here we see?
Apart we'll live, though not alone;
For who alone can call
Those who in deserts live with one
If in that one they've all?
The world a vast meander is,
Where hearts confusedly stray;
Where few do hit, whilst thousands miss,
The happy mutual way.
poem by Anne Kingsmill Finch
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Inside Silvia
I love that look comes in your eyes when were all alone
And its much too late for friends to come calling
I disconnect the phone
And I put on the radio and I take her and I talk real low
And I hold her tight and soon Im dancing in the night
Inside silvia, oh silvia, yeah, yeah, silvia
I know my love is alive
Inside silvia, yeah silvia, oh silvia, oh
Sometimes you get so crazy and I know its all in your mind
And right in the middle of the night, I see just what you need
And they say that love is blind
And I hold you till the feelings come
But sometimes when the lovins done I see the scared little girl
Afraid of the woman
Inside silvia, oh silvia, yeah, yeah, silvia
I know my love is alive
Inside silvia, yeah silvia, oh silvia, oh
Though the world may rage and storm
Theres still one harbor where Im safe and warm
Its when Im inside silvia, yeah silvia, oh silvia, oh
Inside silvia, oh silvia, yeah, yeah, silvia
I know my love is alive
Inside silvia, yeah silvia, oh silvia, oh
song performed by by Rick Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Pastoral Dialogue Between Two Shepherdesses
[Silvia] Pretty Nymph! within this Shade,
Whilst the Flocks to rest are laid,
Whilst the World dissolves in Heat,
Take this cool, and flow'ry Seat:
And with pleasing Talk awhile
Let us two the Time beguile;
Tho' thou here no Shepherd see,
To encline his humble Knee,
Or with melancholy Lays
Sing thy dangerous Beauty's Praise.
[Dorinda] Nymph! with thee I here wou'd stay,
But have heard, that on this Day,
Near those Beeches, scarce in view,
All the Swains some Mirth pursue:
To whose meeting now I haste.
Solitude do's Life but waste.
[Silvia] Prithee, but a Moment stay.
[Dorinda] No! my Chaplet wou'd decay;
Ev'ry drooping Flow'r wou'd mourn,
And wrong the Face, they shou'd adorn.
[Silvia] I can tell thee, tho' so Fair,
And dress'd with all that rural Care,
Most of the admiring Swains
Will be absent from the Plains.
Gay Sylvander in the Dance
Meeting with a shrew'd Mischance,
To his Cabin's now confin'd
By Mopsus, who the Strain did bind:
Damon through the Woods do's stray,
Where his Kids have lost their way:
Young Narcissus iv'ry Brow
Rac'd by a malicious Bough,
Keeps the girlish Boy from sight,
Till Time shall do his Beauty right.
[Dorinda] Where's Alexis?
[Silvia] –He, alas!
Lies extended on the Grass;
Tears his Garland, raves, despairs,
Mirth and Harmony forswears;
Since he was this Morning shown,
That Delia must not be his Own.
[Dorinda] Foolish Swain! such Love to place.
[Silvia] On any but Dorinda's Face.
[Dorinda] Hasty Nymph! I said not so.
[Silvia] No–but I thy Meaning know.
Ev'ry Shepherd thou wou'd'st have
Not thy Lover, but thy Slave;
To encrease thy captive Train,
Never to be lov'd again.
But, since all are now away,
Prithee, but a Moment stay.
[Dorinda] No; the Strangers, from the Vale,
Sure will not this Meeting fail;
Graceful one, the other Fair.
He too, with the pensive Air,
Told me, ere he came this way
He was wont to look more Gay.
[Silvia] See! how Pride thy Heart inclines
To think, for Thee that Shepherd pines;
When those Words, that reach'd thy Ear,
Chloe was design'd to hear;
Chloe, who did near thee stand,
And his more speaking Looks command.
[Dorinda] Now thy Envy makes me smile.
That indeed were worth his while:
Chloe next thyself decay'd,
And no more a courted Maid.
[Silvia] Next myself! Young Nymph, forbear.
Still the Swains allow me Fair,
Tho' not what I was that Day,
When Colon bore the Prize away;
When–
[Dorinda] –Oh, hold! that Tale will last,
Till all the Evening Sports are past;
Till no Streak of Light is seen,
Nor Footstep prints the flow'ry Green.
What thou wert, I need not know,
What I am, must haste to show.
Only this I now discern
From the things, thou'd'st have me learn,
That Woman-kind's peculiar Joys
From past, or present Beauties rise.
poem by Anne Kingsmill Finch
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Lines Written in a Blank Page of Milton's Paradise Lost
This happy pair a certain bliss might prove,
Confin'd to constancy and mutual love:
Heaven to one object limited their vows,
The only safety faithless Nature knows.
God saw the wand'ring appetite would range,
And would have kept them from the pow'r to change;
But falsehood, soon as man increas'd, began;
Down through the race the swift contagion ran,
All ranks are tainted, all deceitful prove,
False in all shapes, but doubly false in love.
This makes the censure of the world more just,
That damns with shame the weakness of a trust!
Ere change began, our sex no scandal knew,
All nymphs were chaste as long as swains were true;
But now, tho' by the subtlest art betray'd,
We're so by custom and false maxims sway'd
That infamy still brands the injur'd maid.
poem by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
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To Silvia To Wed
Let us, though late, at last, my Silvia, wed;
And loving lie in one devoted bed.
Thy watch may stand, my minutes fly post haste;
No sound calls back the year that once is past.
Then, sweetest Silvia, let's no longer stay;
True love, we know, precipitates delay.
Away with doubts, all scruples hence remove!
No man, at one time, can be wise, and love.
poem by Robert Herrick
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Age Old Feelings
For this woman, his heart doth treasure
And in his soul, he will always treasure
In her heart, naught these feelings lay
But like a game, with him she'll play
Broken hearted, he cries heavy tears
Such tears had not been shed
For so long a time as to be forgot
Such a time he had such a thought
That a sacred love he would never find
And to said love, he would become blind
A fair young maiden in her tower sits
Between her heart and mind, she is split
Her mind demands she do what she must
Her heart to her mind may never trust
For her heart is where true love lies
Yet in her mind, that same love dies
How can love live and die at the same time?
It seems that thought would be known as crime
To her, True lover seems so far away
But in truth, that love will come one day
They met by chance, it seemed too late
But in his heart, it seemed like fate
She was so scared as was he
More in love, they could not be
But because the fear was combined with love
It did not seem it could last for long
They felt the joy but also the fear
He tried to help, she tried to hear
But she was too afraid to heed
So what he did was show her whats real
Not the things of want but that she was his only desire
The Modern Saint
Her time with equal prudence Silvia shares,
First writes her billet-doux, then says her prayers,
Her mass and toilette, vespers, and the play;
Thus God and Ashtaroth divide the day:
Constant she keeps her Ember-week and Lent,
At Easter calls all Israel to her tent:
Loose without bawd, and pious without zeal,
She still repeats the sins she would conceal.
Envy herself from Silvia's life must grant,
An artful woman makes a modern saint.
poem by Matthew Prior
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Comparison
'Tis by comparison we know
On every object to bestow
Its proper share of praise
Did each alike perfection bear,
What beauty, though divinely fair,
Could admiration raise?
Amidst the lucid bands of night,
See! Hesperus, serenely bright,
Adorns the distant skies:
But languishes amidst the blaze
Of sprightly Sol's meridian rays,-
Or Silvia's brighter eyes.
Whene'er the nightingale complains,
I like the melancholy strains,
And praise the tuneful bird:
But vainly might she strain her throat,
Vainly exalt each swelling note,
Should Silvia's voice be heard.
When, on the violet's purple bed,
Supine I rest my weary head,
The fragrant pillow charms:
Yet soon such languid bliss I'd fly,
Would Silvia but the loss supply,
And take me to her arms.
The alabaster's wondrous white,
The marble's polish strikes my sight,
When Silvia is not seen:
But ah! how faint that white is grown,
How rough appears the polish'd stone,
Compared with Silvia's mien!
The rose, that o'er the Cyprian plains,
With flowers enamell'd, blooming reigns,
With undisputed power,
Placed near her cheek's celestial red
(Its purple lost, its lustre fled),
Delights the sense no more.
poem by William Shenstone
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Silvia
WHO is Silvia? What is she?
That all our swains commend her?
Holy, fair, and wise is she;
The heaven such grace did lend her,
That she might admired be.
Is she kind as she is fair?
For beauty lives with kindness:
Love doth to her eyes repair,
To help him of his blindness;
And, being help'd, inhabits there.
Then to Silvia let us sing,
That Silvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing
Upon the dull earth dwelling:
To her let us garlands bring.
poem by William Shakespeare
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The Phoenix
A Female Friend advis'd a Swain
(Whose Heart she wish'd at ease)
Make Love thy Pleasure, not thy Pain,
Nor let it deeply seize.
Beauty, where Vanities abound,
No serious Passion claims;
Then, 'till a Phoenix can be found,
Do not admit the Flames.
But griev'd She finds, that his Replies
(Since prepossess'd when Young)
Take all their Hints from Silvia's Eyes,
None from ARDELIA's Tongue.
Thus, Cupid, of our Aim we miss,
Who wou'd unbend thy Bow;
And each slight Nymph a Phoenix is,
When Love will have it so.
poem by Anne Kingsmill Finch
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Love, Death, And Reputation
Reputation, Love, and Death,
(The Last all Bones, the First all Breath,
The Midd'st compos'd of Restless Fire)
From each other wou'd Retire;
Thro' the World resolv'd to stray;
Every One a several Way;
Exercising, as they went,
Each such Power, as Fate had lent;
Which, if it united were,
Wretched Mortals cou'd not bear:
But as parting Friends do show,
To what Place they mean to go,
Correspondence to engage,
Nominate their utmost Stage;
Death declar'd he wou'd be found
Near the fatal Trumpet's sound;
Or where Pestilences reign,
And Quacks the greater Plagues maintain;
Shaking still his sandy Glass,
And mowing Human Flesh, like Grass.
Love, as next his Leave he took,
Cast on both so sweet a Look,
As their Tempers near disarm'd,
One relax'd, and t'other warm'd;
Shades for his Retreat he chose,
Rural Plains, and soft Repose;
Where no Dowry e'er was paid,
Where no Jointure e'er was made;
No Ill Tongue the Nymph perplex'd,
Where no Forms the Shepherd vex'd;
Where Himself shou'd be the Care,
Of the Fond and of the Fair:
Where that was, they soon should know,
Au Revoir! then turn'd to Go.
Reputation made a Pause,
Suiting her severer Laws;
Second Thoughts, and Third she us'd,
Weighing Consequences mus'd;
When, at length to both she cry'd:
You Two safely may Divide,
To th' Antipodes may fall,
And re-ascend th' encompast Ball;
Certain still to meet agen
In the Breasts of tortur'd Men;
Who by One (too far) betray'd,
Call in t'other to their Aid:
Whilst I Tender, Coy, and Nice,
Rais'd and ruin'd in a Trice,
Either fix with those I grace,
Or abandoning the Place,
No Return my Nature bears,
From green Youth, or hoary Hairs;
If thro' Guilt, or Chance, I sever,
I once Parting, Part for ever.
poem by Anne Kingsmill Finch
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Broke Down And Busted
Look at this empty face,
Look at this broken frame
I have been no other place
And you know I've heard no other name.
How can you keep me so?
How can I let it go?
I look the worst that you've ever seen
Is it too much to ask what that's supposed to mean?
You've been playin' around and I played the part
Of a broke-down man with a busted heart.
Reach out a hand and see
What you have made of me
Take a good hard look and then
Close your eyes and
Ask yourself again
How can you keep me so?
How can I let it go?
You know that I would go anywhere
That I could go in my old wheelchair
Though I wouldn't get far 'til it fell apart
I'm a broke down man with a busted heart.
How can you keep me so?
How can I let it go?
You know my state as you hear my song
You'll change your mind if I live that long
Couldn't start it again
Nothing's left to start
But a busted man with a broke-down heart.
song performed by by Todd Rundgren
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Wit and the Beau
Strephon, whose Person ev'ry Grace
Was careful to adorn;
Thought, by the Beauties of his Face,
In Silvia's Love to find a place,
And wonder'd at her Scorn.
With Bows, and Smiles he did his Part;
But Oh! 'twas all in vain:
A Youth less Fine, a Youth of Art
Had talk'd himself into her Heart,
And wou'd not out again.
Strephon with change of Habits press'd,
And urg'd her to admire;
His Love alone the Other dress'd,
As Verse, or Prose became it best,
And mov'd her soft Desire.
This found, his courtship Strephon ends,
Or makes it to his Glass;
There, in himself now seeks amends,
Convinc'd, that where a Wit pretends,
A Beau is but an Ass.
poem by Anne Kingsmill Finch
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Paradise / The Spell
I feel you trying,
though in my heart I know you're lying.
And though your love for me is dying,
I see you crying.
It's the pain of your secret heart
bringing you to tears, filling you with fears
for your mind and for your soul.
I touch you softly now,
born on by hope until the end, somehow.
I am a man and I must keep my vows,
I must go on.
But the wall of your secret heart
keeps my distance clear, helps my footsteps fall
back in line inside my mind.
What's the use? You turned me loose
and left me here to cry.
Where's the love we talked about?
Where's my sunny sky?
Secret hearts and sorry tales
will never help love grow.
Spread your wings my darkened soul,
the time has come to go.
I will not be hurried down
or blackened by you lies.
I must go and find my dreams
and live in paradise.
(Repeat and fade)
What do you think I am? Do you think I'm dreaming?
Don't you know I know what it is you're schemeing?
Who did you think gave you the right,
hidden by the dead of night,
to take the world and turn it upside down,
when it should be round?
It seems I made it just in time
to use my reason and my rhyme
to save us from the evils of your mind.
I will cast the spell, be sure I cast it well.
I will light a fire, kindled with desire.
I'll fill you with fear so you'll know I'm here
and I won't be treated like a fool.
Stop what you're pretending, there'll be no happy ending.
I'm alive and darkness is my tool.
But when the night is over,
and daytime steals your cover,
the goodness of the morning sun
will wear away what you have done
and leave you cold.
I have no need for moonlight.
You're wrong to trust in sunlight.
For I exist, not just in storms,
but in life itself, in so many forms
to leave you cold.
I will leave you now, but you wont defeat me.
You had best beware when you come to meet me.
Love and truth will follow me,
an army of reality,
brought from every corner of the world.
You will never break the spell.
I summon all the fires of hell
and this is my advice for what it's worth:
Let us not begin this fight we cannot win.
Be sure you're watching me.
Cause all through your life,
every day and every night
song performed by by Uriah Heep
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Knowledge is Mother Of Life Divine!
Only of evils in own,
seeing the path of Goodness and Godliness,
Knowledge is not mother of fear,
But knowledge is mother of Care,
Against one's own fall or care about fall of others!
Knowledge is not mother of fear,
Knowledge is the spear,
Knowledge is spear that kills the fear,
And takes to fearless sphere!
`FEAR Is Mother Of
KNOWLEDGE.
Aye or Nay, you decide!
How can one born to fear can dare,
how can one see is own nature,
fear, if governs his mind and thought,
How one fear more,
Can open windows and door?
Fear is not the mother of love,
A child's love to its mother or father,
Is just Love And Respect,
Not fear the mother of all these,
Fear only maketh one run away from Father,
Love And affection take near to Him!
Knowledge is mother of Courage,
Love, faith, belief and aspiration of oneness!
Fear is mother of Cowardice, doubts, hate,
Fear is mother of all slips and fall,
Fear is the mother of ill fate!
Only Love, The love of truth, and love with True knowledge is the mother of Life Divine!
Aye or Nay you Decide!
poem by Ramdas Bhandarkar
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Jesus Christ I'm Not Scared To Die...
Jesus Christ I'm not scared to die
but I'm a little scared what comes before
will I sin, will i commit that which you abhor?
can i stay strong and true, or defy
you, even you my God and my first love
will i succumb to desire and lust or set my heart on things above?
I do not fear death
I practically long for that day on which I draw the last breath
when I finally see you face to face
but can I be a good example for as long as I live?
or will I fall from grace
and yet what can I do you shall not forgive?
I pray to you my Lord that you give me strength
to continue to follow you, because what i fear most
is not the sting of death, but the length
I must strive to follow you without being morose
but sharing your love and joy and gospel
to save the world from hell
but i don't trust myself
Jesus Christ I'm not scared to die
but I'm a little bit scared what comes before...
poem by David Knox
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I fear...
I fear to hear that voice that takes me to the clouds
farther, from where i might not return
i fear to stare into those eyes
lest i fall into them, to be held spellbound for all eternity
i fear to kiss those lips
lest i be turned into a statue, to be frozen for a thousand years
i fear to be with you
but i fear more to be without you
so let me play cautious and watch; lest i fall in love...
but its too late for without a remedy
i've already fallen
poem by Namie Elisha
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If I Could Fall In Love
When I was young
I fell in love
She was a goddess
With a world inside of her mind
When she moved on
Something went wrong
She took my power
And the love I had inside
Now that I found you
I don't know how to
If I could fall
In love again
I'd fall in love with you
If I could change
A grain of sand
Into a pearl I would
I pray in time
I'll come to find
Away to break through
And save this heart of mine
You've waited long
If you can't hold on
I wouldn't blame you
I don't think I'd be that strong
What am I to do
If I can't have you
If I could fall
In love again
I'd fall in love with you
If I could change
A grain of sand
Into a pearl I would
You love me so
Even though I don't know
How do you deal
With a man like me
If I could fall
In love again
I'd fall in love with you
If I could change
A grain of sand
Into a pearl I would
I would
song performed by by Lenny Kravitz from Lenny
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Vestigial Hope
I am hesitant to go too far too fast
To repeat not only the good, but the failures of the past
I struggle to find words to describe, not only the love I have,
but also the surreptitious fear that I hide
I fear your dulcet words come too easily
I fear your heart speaks in the absence of context
in the candor of only the moment
so I love with forbearance instead of
a love that comes gushing from me
I fear my heart is too broken to trust you implicitly
I fear that I fear unrest less than stability;
that I evoke trouble and harbor misfortune
I fear that we started this romance too late,
but that we had loved each other too soon
I fear that I will love you just to lose you again
and thereby lose my worth which rests on you now
I fear my need is more than you should care to shoulder
and that my gifts are much less than you deserve
I fear your redolent love is more than my vestigial hope
Silvia
Silvia riposa dentro la stanza
con una mano sotto il cuscino
mentre di fuori spunta il mattino
che tra non molto la sveglier
Silvia si veste davanti allo specchio
e sulle labbra un po' di rossetto
andiamoci piano per con il trucco
se no la mamma brontoler
'Silvia fai presto che sono le otto
se non ti muovi!!! .... fai tardi lo stesso
e poi la smetti con tutto quel trucco
che non sta bene.. te l'ho gi detto'
Silvia non sente oppure fa finta
guarda lo specchio poco convinta
mentre una mano si ferma sul seno
ancora piccolo ma... crescer
'Silvia fai presto che sono le otto
se non ti muovi!!! .... fai tardi lo stesso
e poi la smetti con tutto quel trucco
che non sta bene.. te l'ho gi detto'
Silvia non sente oppure fa finta
guarda lo specchio poco convinta
mentre una mano si ferma sul seno
ancora piccolo ma... crescer
Silvia ora corre incontro allo specchio
dimenticando che sono le otto
e trova mille fantasie...
...che non la lasciano pi andar via...
...che non la lasciano pi...
...andar via
song performed by by Vasco Rossi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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