I plucked pink blossoms from mine apple-tree
And wore them all that evening in my hair;
Then in due season when I went to see
I found no apples there.
With dangling basket all along the grass
As I had come I went the self-same track;
My neighbors mocked me while they saw me pass
So empty- handed back.
Lilian and Lilias smiled in trudging by,
Their heaped-up basket teazed me like a jeer;
Sweet-voiced they sang beneath the sunset sky,
Their mother's home was near.
Plump Gertrude passed me with her basket full,
A stronger hand than hers helped it along;
A voice talked her through the shadows cool
More sweet to me than song.
Ah Willie, Willie, was my love less worth
Than apples with their green leaves piled above?
I counted rosiest apples on the earth
Of far less worth than love.
So once it was with me you stooped to talk
Laughing and listening in this very lane;
To think that by this way we used to walk
We shall not walk again!
I let my neighbours pass me, ones and twos
And groups; the latest said the night grew chill,
And hastened; but I loitered; while the dews
Fell fast, I loitered still.
-Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894) is widely regarded as the most considerable woman poet in England before the twentieth century. No reading of nineteenth century poetry can be complete without attention to this prolific and popular poet. Rossetti's inner life dominates her poetry, exploring loss and unattainable hope. Her divine poems have a freshness and toughness of thoughts, while many of her love poems are erotic, and as often express love for women as for men.
Her work ranged from simple-seeming love lyrics and carols like "In the bleak mid-winter! through dramatic fantasy poems like "Goblin Market" to devotional and mystical meditations on the human and divine. Her work displays a teasing sense of humor and a Gothic imagination as well as a strong moral sense. Born into a largely Italian family in London, she was sister to two members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and posed for some of their early paintings. In her own right she worked at the London Penitentiary for Fallen Women, retraining young prostitutes for a respectable way of life. She published four volumes of poetry, two books for children and a collection of sparkling stories.
Brrr . .. it's very cold out there this morning and a heavy frost has fallen. We saw the gritters were out last night, so bad weather must be expected, and snow in some of the Nothern areas and on higher ground.
My check up at Docs went well yesterday and I am considered to be in very good health, other than the arthritis. My blood pressure and cholesterol are in good form, probably due to the medications I take for them, which is good and on the little test they do for health, it was unlikely that I will have a heart attack in the next ten years. So that is good news, as I worry about that with my mother and father both having heart problems. She did ask if I had a sweet tooth, and so I was told to cut back on the goodies. I do have rather a sweet tooth I confess . . . liking my chocolate and boiled sweets. I shall have to contain myself I fear . . .
I got my talk all written yesterday. It took me four hours, but looks good. I read it out to Todd and he says it's good and my timings are down right. I was glad to get that done so now I can concentrate on other things! (Like finishing the craft room says Todd!)
A bit of inspiration to carry you through Saturday . . .
Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.
~Leo Tolstoy
Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . Ginger, White Chocolate Chunk and Macadamia Nut Blondies!
Don't forget to put your clocks back tonight!
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