Poem for Monday, VMFA Romeo and Juliet, Deep Run Park

From Romeo and Juliet Act II, Scene ii
By William Shakespeare

Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face,
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek
For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night
Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny
What I have spoke: but farewell compliment!
Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay,'
And I will take thy word: yet if thou swear'st,
Thou mayst prove false; at lovers' perjuries
Then say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully:
Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won,
I'll frown and be perverse an say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world.
In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond,
And therefore thou mayst think my 'havior light:
But trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true
Than those that have more cunning to be strange.
I should have been more strange, I must confess,
But that thou overheard'st, ere I was ware,
My true love's passion: therefore pardon me,
And not impute this yielding to light love,
Which the dark night hath so discovered.
Love, do not swear: although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract to-night:
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;
Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be
Ere one can say 'It lightens.' Sweet, good night!
This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.
Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that within my breast!
And yet I wish but for the thing I have:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

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Paul and I spent most of Sunday in Richmond with Cheryl, with whom we had tickets to go see the Quill Theatre's production of Romeo and Juliet at the VMFA, which is quite good with a very limited set and not precise period costumes (Romeo as usual comes across fairly young and obnoxious, Juliet is the most sympathetic character, the nurse -- same actress we saw there in The Lion in Winter -- is hilarious, Mercutio is a very naughty boy). We also saw the exhibit The Horse in Ancient Greek Art and a bit of the main Greek gallery.













We went to Deep Run Park to walk, then we all met Lin at Mexico Restaurant for dinner before Paul and I left Cheryl at her house and drove home, where we arrived in time to take out the recycling and watch this week's Timeless, which has been great so far this season (I mean, still a lot of historical crack but fun storylines and interesting relationships). Both the Orioles and Nationals played extra innings and the Nats are still going, even after we watched John Oliver's excellent piece on so-called crisis pregnancy centers and the lies they can get away with telling.