Anne Bradstreet

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• If for thy Father askt, say, thou hadst none;
  And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,
  Which caus'd her thus to send thee out of door.
  • The Author to Her Book

• What to my Saviour shall I give
  Who freely hath done this for me?
  I'll serve him here whilst I shall live
  And Loue him to Eternity
  • By Night when Others Soundly Slept

• A Spring returns, and they more youthful made;
  But Man grows old, lies down, remains where once he's laid.
  • Contemplations

• "Sister," quoth Flesh, "what liv'st thou on
  Nothing but Meditation?
  • The Flesh and the Spirit

• Such cold mean flowers the spring puts forth betime,
  Before the sun hath thoroughly heat the clime.
  • Of the Four Ages of Man

• Leave not thy nest, thy dam and sire,
  Fly back and sing amidst this choir.
  • In Reference to her Children, 23 June 1659

• If ever two were one, then surely we.
  If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
  If ever wife was happy in a man,
  Compare with me ye women if you can.
  • To my Dear and Loving Husband

• The principal might yield a greater sum,
  Yet handled ill, amounts but to this crumb;
  • To Her Father with Some Verses

Meditations Divine and Moral (1664)

• Youth is the time of getting, middle age of improving, and old age of spending.
  • 3

• Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish.
  • 12

• If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
  • 14