Pleasures with Rough Strife

by JL Merrow

  Two hundred to adore each breast,

  But thirty thousand to the rest;

  An age at least to every part,

  And the last age should show your heart.

  For, lady, you deserve this state,

  Nor would I love at lower rate.

  But at my back I always hear

  Time’s winged chariot hurrying near;

  And yonder all before us lie

  Deserts of vast eternity.

  Thy beauty shall no more be found,

  Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

  My echoing song; then worms shall try

  That long preserv’d virginity,

  And your quaint honour turn to dust,

  And into ashes all my lust.

  The grave’s a fine and private place,

  But none I think do there embrace.

  Now therefore, while the youthful hue

  Sits on thy skin like morning dew,

  And while thy willing soul transpires

  At every pore with instant fires,

  Now let us sport us while we may;

  And now, like am’rous birds of prey,

  Rather at once our time devour,

  Than languish in his slow-chapp’d power.

  Let us roll all our strength, and all

  Our sweetness, up into one ball;

  And tear our pleasures with rough strife

  Thorough the iron gates of life.

  Thus, though we cannot make our sun

  Stand still, yet we will make him run.

  by Andrew Marvell

  Marvell, Andrew. Complete Poetry. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1984

  Other lines within this text are taken from The Garden by Andrew Marvell and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

  Got Mistletoe Madness?

  The Dreamspinner Press 2009 Advent Calendar is available at http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com.

  About the Author

  JL Merrow is a very English mother of two who finds writing the only way to stay sane, except of course when a plot is driving her crazy. Having grown up on an island, she can’t remember a time before she could swim and prefers to remain close to water at all times. Luckily, the weather in her native land being as it generally is, this is not difficult.

  She enjoys reading, martial arts, and surprising people who judge a book by its cover.

  Visit JL’s blog at http://jl-merrow.livejournal.com.

  Copyright

  Pleasures With Rough Strife ©Copyright JL Merrow, 2009

  Published by

  Dreamspinner Press

  4760 Preston Road

  Suite 244-149

  Frisco, TX 75034

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Art by Paul Richmond http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com

  Cover Design by Mara McKennen

  This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 4760 Preston Road, Suite 244-149, Frisco, TX 75034 http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

  Released in the United States of America

  December 2009

  eBook Edition

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-61581-331-5