Feeling a little literary today

A. is on a rhyming kick. She's been making up songs with rhyming words. Except that at least one of the rhyming words are complete gibberish. Like "light" and "gite" ("does that rhyme, mama?"). It's rhyming gibberish, but rhyming all the same.

So I remembered one of my favorite poems, and thought that maybe she would like it because of it's great alliteration and has tons of rhyming in it. When we got home I looked up Bells by Edgar Allen Poe, printed it out and read it to her- all 3 pages of it. And it got me thinking about all the poems I've loved over the years, but that have become piles of dust in my memory. I began to feel slightly reminiscent of the years of my life given over not to just the written word, but to rhythm and prose in long form and short. I wrote poetry prolifically for a long time (but what teen-ager doesn't at least try their hand at a few poems?). I spent hours not just closed up in my bedroom with candles and silence writing poetry, but also during class- any class- in which I felt myself inspired or moved to pen words and stanzas and streams of consciousness. I've even written poems- that actually made sense- in other languages (but don't ask me what they were though, those words have long since abandoned my memory and those papers have possibly been recycled into the Sunday's newspaper edition by now).

One of the best gifts I've ever gotten was a book of great American poems from my Uncle and one of my cousins. I cherished that book for years, poring over the words, highlighting and folding down the corners of pages, and finding inspiration in between the line breaks and artistically used punctuation.

Poetry was my escape from a world and a reality I felt burdened by.

And then one day, it all just stopped, and I hardly thought about it again. Until tonight. So, while I'm feeling reminiscent, I would like to share some of my favorite poems (by other poets. I don't even know where any of my writings are anymore).

First and foremeost, I loved Invictus by William E Henly Somewhere around eighth grade my English teacher assigned us to each pick a poem to memorize and present to the class. I read this poem and immediately knew I would carry those words around with me forever. It made such an impact on me- this is the way I wanted to live my life, I realized. I wanted to meet every challenge with my shoulders bared and my head held high. I would not become a victim of circumstance. I would forever be "the master of my fate, the captain of my soul". Invictus became my manifesto.

And what is any young girls life without a profound belief in romantic love?

Some of my most favorite poems were written by one half of, what I think, is the greatest couple in history. They are not, surprisingly enough, Meredith and McDreamy, but rather Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. I have long since stopped believing in love at first sight, but they're story is still so beautiful to me. For those who don't know, Robert Browning read and became an avid fan of poems that Elizabeth had written and published, and began writing her letters telling her so. Even from his very first letter, Robert wasted no time in conveying his admiration for her writing and her persons. Thus began a wonderful correspondence which eventually led to their first meeting and secret marriage ceremony.

What is so beautiful was not that he "fell in love at first sight." I actually find that a little ludicrous. But that they were so passionate about each other. In the course of twenty months, they exchanged approximately 600 love letters to each other! Elizabeth was an invalid from her early twenties due to an unidentified ailment which left her morphine dependant, and I think even physically impaired, for the rest of her life. Robert learned of her condition, and while he suspected that her condition was even worse than it actually was, he decided to marry her anyways- knowing that he would most likely have to take care of an invalid for the rest of his life. He "was sure enough of his love to regard that as no obstacle" And while Elizabeth's own feelings about love in general appeared to be ambivalent, she deeply loved Robert, and seems to have both fully embraced and enjoyed her marriage to Robert.

Her greatest works, Sonnets of the Portugese, were inspired by her growing relationship with him. They were married for about 20 years before she died. My favorite sonnet- well, there are several- but the one that made me think of my dh when I first read it and when I read it now, is If thou must love me.This poem signifies my idea of the greatest expression of love; that you don't love someone for any physical characteristic or personality trait, no matter how positive and charming they may be. What if they stop writing you sticky love notes every day and sticking it in your briefcase or bdu pocket? Will you still love them? Probably. But no doubt feelings would change shape a little bit. One might become insecure and feel abandoned once such loving attention wanes. But if you love to love, the transitory things won't matter a bit. The good things will merely be fringe benefits, and the bad things will simply be challenges. Love me for me, and not how good I am to you, or what I do for you. Just love me "for love's sake, that evermore; Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity."

They are legendary, and for good reason-they were a passionate, but not tragically dramatic couple who loved each other through severe and chronic illness and inspired each other to literary greatness. It doesn't get much better than that.