Synchronicity

As I mentioned yesterday, Rick and I gave each other the same book of poetry for Christmas – a bit of synchronicity right there. His had been delivered one day while he was out so I had a brief opportunity to wrap it. When I give poetry books, I like to write a passage from one of the poems inside the front cover above my “to” and “from” entry. Sometimes I take a while to find the right stanza, or I choose a poem I’m familiar with. This time I needed to wrap it right away so I randomly opened the book to page 696. (It’s quite a tome – The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake.) I scanned the first poem and loved it! I chose the 3rd and fourth lines to inscribe:

“Saw how they mingled melting rays
Exchanging Love a thousand ways”

A perfect selection to write in a poetry book given to one’s lover!

I wrote, signed, and wrapped it and this morning, my first leisurely one in several days, I picked up the book to read the whole poem. Here’s what I read:

“Sunday August 1807 My wife was told by a Spirit to look for
her fortune by opening by chance a book which she had in her hand
it was Bysshes Art of Poetry. She opend the following

I saw ‘em kindle with Desire
While with soft sighs they blew the fire
Saw how they mingled melting rays
Exchanging Love a thousand ways”

. . . and it goes on . . .


It was the piece I’d randomly chosen to write in the front of Rick’s book! What synchronicity!

But then I wondered if this was part of Blake’s poetic presentation or was it truly an event related by the poet. Is there really a book entitled Bysshes Art of Poetry and is there a poet named Behn.

The internet is a wonderful thing.

Sure enough there is both. The book is referenced in another book on Google Book Search and Behn appears to be Aphra (a/k/a Afra) Behn, a 17th Century female poet who has a very interesting history. A bisexual whose erotic writing often speak of men’s impotence and an anything goes kind of sexual freedom: “that was lawful all, that Pleasure did invite.” Apparently she also worked as a spy, spent time in debtor’s prison, and later earned a living by writing amatory fiction – a prelude to the romance novel. I have to admit I don’t recall hearing of her previously though I guess she’s considered quite important for her unabashedly sensual homosexual writings.

So I inscribed a poem by Afra Behn into a William Blake poetry book. C’est la vie. Love is love.