LOVE ME LITTLE, LOVE ME LONG
True love is a life-long passion of
the body, the mind, and the soul. It is not seasonal or periodic. It is a continuous
appetite of the heart. A love which lasts for some time in one’s life can be
intense but not continuous. It is like a loud flame having a very short duration
.
The English poet-playwright William
Shakespeare (1564-1616) says in one of his sonnets:
“Love ‘s not Time’s fool, though rosy
lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass
come;
Love alters not with his brief hours
and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of
doom.
“Love
Me Little, Love Me Long” is an anonymous poem written in 1570. It suggests that
a love that is too hot and strong burns out hurriedly. But a moderate love
which is steadfast faces challenges of entire life.
Here is the full text of the poem:
Love me little, love me long ,
Is the burden of my song,
Love that is too hot and strong
Burneth soon to waste.
Still I would not have thee cold,
Not too blackward or too bold;
Love that lasteth till ‘tis old
Fadeth not in haste.
If thou lovest me too much,
It will not prove as true as touch;
Love me little, more than such,
For I fear the end.
I am with little well content,
And a little from thee sent
Is enough, with true intent,
To be steadfast friend.
Say thou love’st me while thou live.
I to thee my love will give,
Never dreaming to deceive
While that life endures;
Nay, and after death, in sooth,
I to thee will keep my truth,
As now, when in my May of youth,
This my love assures.
Constant love is moderate ever,
And it will through life persever;
Give me that, with true endeavour
I will it restore.
A suit of endurance let it be,
For all weathers ; that for me.
For the land or for the sea,
Lasting evermore.
Winter’s cold or summer’s heat,
Autumn’s tempests on it beat,
It can never know defeat,
Never can rebel.
Such the love that I would gain,
Such the love, I tell thee plain,
Thou must give, or woo in vain
So to thee farewell.
********
G.R.Kanwal
18 August 2025
No comments:
Post a Comment