The Good-morrow by John Donne

We want this blog to be fun to read. Occasionally, we are thus posting short literary 'snippets'. Today's 'snippet' is a poem by John Donne - The Good-morrow. Enjoy!

I Wonder by my troth, what thou and I
Did, till we loved ? were we not wean'd till then?
But suck'd on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers' den?
'Twas so ; but this, all pleasures fancies be;
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.

And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone;
Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown;
Let us possess one world; each hath one, and is one.

My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts do in the faces rest;
Where can we find two better hemispheres
Without sharp north, without declining west?
Whatever dies, was not mix'd equally;
If our two loves be one, or thou and I
Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die.

For synopsis, commentary and a discussion of the themes and language of this poem please go to Poem analysis > The Good-morrow

If you have a suggestion as to which poem you would like to see as the next 'snippet', please do let me know by leaving a comment...