Poem: My Letters! (By Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Listen to Sonnet 28, “My Letters! all dead paper… mute and white!” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning from her celebrated collection Sonnets from the Portuguese. This moving poem captures a tender moment of rediscovery and love through the written word. Take a few quiet moments to reflect on the emotion and beauty within this classic piece of poetry. You may also explore my other poetry recordings on Insight Timer.

Transcript

This is a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning that starts with my letters all dead paper mute and white My letters all dead paper mute and white and yet they seem alive and quivering against my tremulous hands which loosed the string and let them drop down on my knee tonight This said he wished to have me in his sight Once as a friend this fixed a day in spring to come and touch my hand A simple thing yet I wept for it This the paper's light said dear I love thee and I sank and quailed as if God's future thundered on my past This said I am thine and so its ink has paled with lying at my heart that beat too fast and this Oh love thy words have ill-availed if what this said I dared repeat at last you