Saturday, December 26, 2009




Being the sappy romantic that I am and having a penchant for poetry of the heart, I couldn't resist sharing something I've just read.  In the late 1880's a small tablet was uncovered in a region that is now Iraq.  Inscribed on it is what historians believe to be the oldest love poem ever discovered. 

In it, a priestess professes her love (and lust) for a king.  While it may not make your heart swoon like the writing of Byron or DH Lawrence, I though some of you may find it interesting.  It reads:

"Bridegroom, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet.
You have captivated me, let me stand trembling before you;
Bridegroom, I would be taken to the bedchamber."

Looks like the bedchamber saw some action, as she went on to write later:

"...you have taken your pleasure of me.
Tell my mother, she will give you delicacies;
My father, he will give you gifts."

This was written four thousand years ago.

15 comments:

  1. wow... how interesting ;-)

    Although I don't know about telling my father...!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful... I agree with Cindy, those things are not meant to be discussed with the parents. Hahaha!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Barry,

    I came across your blog via Cindy above and I am sitting here with tears streaming down my cheeks. I don't know who you are, but you blessed me incredibly by placing the Hope to Dream logo up on your sidebar. Truly, I am. Thank you for your support. I'm glad to have met you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Leah/Cindy, yeah I was rather surprised at that line. Especially considering the time in history in which it was written.

    Sophia, everyone has a right to be sheltered from harm, everyone who has fallen victim has a right to support. I'm glad I was able to affect you in this way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow. That is beautiful and amazing. Nice to see not much has changed in the way of human nature in the past thousand-some years...although I don't think a lot of brides go bragging to their dads these days about their amazing sex. Lol. Thank you so much for sharing that with us!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jen, you're welcome. I still can't believe that part about telling her dad!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You didn't give me any worms. Thanks for the birthday wishes. :) I'm so happy you remembered!!

    ...okay again. If someone hasn't read your comment to me, they are going to be SO weirded out by this comment. Hehehe!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. hmmmmm...veeeery interesting!
    although it sounds so terribly simple and amateurish..it has a captivating charm about it.Thx for sharing, Baryy:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. According to that book, there are 237 reasons that women have sex. Perhaps the reasons have not changed that much in the past few thousand years.

    Or, maybe they have. Perhaps 4,000 years ago, the 238th reason was so that you could brag to your parents and get delicacies and gifts for your lover.

    Glad that reason fell out of favor!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bassi, you're welcome. I found it pretty interesting too.

    Diane, you crack me up!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Barry, you knew I was talking about you... my talented blogger friend who writes great poems... I love that poem. Super thanks!

    And who would ask me about my height... LOL.

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow I don't know that four thousand years ago people talk about 'it' with their parents . Even today it's just so weird haha ! Thanks for sharing !

    ReplyDelete
  13. so glad to have found you! i think i will be enjoying your blog on a day to day basis..or whenever you choose to post of course.

    this was beautiful. thank you for sharing it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is very beautiful, but 4 thousand years wow talk about significance .. nothings original anymore

    ReplyDelete