𝑨𝒏 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 ♥️

Love is the most beautiful thing in the world. I believe this in my heart of hearts. In loving another person, whether that person is our spouse, friend, parent, sibling, or child, we are giving away a part of our heart, or perhaps the whole thing, to the beloved. At the same time, the one that we love has given us a part of his/her heart to protect and cherish as well. Hence, love is essentially “an exchange of hearts.” This profound idea is illustrated beautifully by a song titled “My True-Love Hath My Heart” from The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia, a long prose pastoral romance written in 1580 by the English poet Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586). This song is what I have chosen to read aloud to you today. (See below for the full text of the song.) I hope that your mind and heart will be filled with musings on the beauty of love as you listen to my reading of this lovely song. 🌹

My true-love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange, one for the other given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss;
There never was a bargain better driven:
His heart in me keeps him and me in one,
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own,
I cherish his, because in me it bides.

His heart his wound receivéd from my sight;
My heart was wounded with his wounded heart;
For as from me, on him his hurt did light,
So still me thought in me his heart did smart:
Both equal hurt, in this change sought our bliss,
My true love hath my heart, and I have his.

#beauty #beautiful #innerbeauty #love #inspiration #thoughts #journal #diary #philosophy #psychology #psychiatry #literature #quotes #poetry #writing #art #wisdom #religion #spirituality #theology #encouragement #romantic #romance

[JeremyLeigh]

I must quote the Song of Solomon here from chapter 4: "You have captured my heart,
my treasure, my bride.
You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,
with a single jewel of your necklace.
10 Your love delights me,
my treasure, my bride.
Your love is better than wine,
your perfume more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
Your clothes are scented
like the cedars of Lebanon.

12 You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride,
a secluded spring, a hidden fountain."
That feeling of having one's heart captured, and knowing you have captured another's, as if hearts have been exchanged, is so delightful, so delicious, so sweet, there is hardly anything to match it. It is this feeling that inspires so much art, so much poetry, stories, songs, literally everything the human imagination can harness.
All right, not to be a downer but. . .the constancy of this feeling rarely lasts. We have to get back to the business of living. But if couples keep their composure and if they are patient, and if they resist the temptation to chase that feeling, they will find that the feeling will chase them, and sometimes in very unexpected times. The delightful intoxication, when it returns, is pure bliss. Knowing that it cannot last (not usually, anyway) makes it all the more precious.
Thanks, Lubna, for choosing rhis beautiful poem.

[Krishna-hz]

You have a voice for audiobooks its so soothing. I no longer believe in poetry but you reciting was pleasure to hear it I subbed you