Well, a new month begins: July, my favourite month of the year. And so it seems fitting, in the month of my birth, to move onto one of my absolute favourite poets, the passionate and devout Victorian poet, Christina Rossetti. I’m excited to be looking at her work this month, and I hope you’re excited to read her with me. Watch this space for poetry and reflections on Rossetti’s rich and complex life.
To whet your appetite, here is one of her lesser-known gems, found in her devotional journal, Time Flies.
Heartsease I found, where Love-lies-bleeding Empurpled all the ground: Whatever flowers I missed unheeding, Heartsease I found. Yet still my garden mound Stood sore in need of watering, weeding, And binding things unbound. Ah, when shades fell to light succeeding, I scarcely dared look round: “Love-lies-bleeding” was all my pleading, Heartsease I found.(Christina Rossetti, from Time Flies: A Reading Diary)
The Consolations of Writing 