1 Anne Bradstreet
To My Dear and Loving Husband
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East[1] doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench[2],
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever[3],
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
- Here, "the East" refers to the East Indies. ↵
- This line is a reference to the "Song of Solomon" in the Bible. The "Song of Solomon" is a lyrical dialogue between a woman and her lover. ↵
- An earlier spelling of persevere. This is a theological referrence to a state of grace. It is Bradstreet's way of staying together in a marriage as divorce is highly frowned upon from a religious standpoint. ↵