To His Coy Mistress / To My Stubborn Daughter

A 1681 poem by Andrew Marvell inspired by the frustrations of romantic love followed by a 2015 poem by me inspired by the frustrations of parenting a seven-year-old girl.

To His Coy Mistress, by Andrew Marvell

Had we but world enough and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love’s day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would comp…