Invitation
Come, leave the city's toils and din,
The Weary Strife,
The cankering cares and sordid aims,
That deaden life.
Come, leave behind this restless rush,
This anxious strain;
Dame nature tenders healing balm,
For the tired brain.
Come, by yon grassy, shady lane,
Rest tired eyes
On yonder meadow's vernal green
On cloudless skies.
Come to the wood where oak and beech
their shadows fling.
Come weary toiler, rest a while
Where wild birds sing.
S. Whiting
When I first started Inkmeup, I found a book held together with sellotape and falling apart at the back of an old book shop called "Where Wild Birds Sing" by James E Whiting. At the time I was far more excited about my new gocco press and making prints then I was about the book but one day I sat down and read a few pages and fell in love.
I then rather foolishly checked ABEbooks.co.uk to see if I could get another to keep and found to my surprise that the poor broken spined thing I had taken apart had been worth quite a bit of money if it had been in good condition. Since then I have been longing for my own copy but couldn't afford it. For my birthday this year I got one present from my mum, wrapped in calico with a big red bow... and it was Where Wild Birds sing!
The book is very important to me as it was the beginning of my inky adventure and I am really happy to have my own copy now, this one won't be getting taken apart and my inky fingers will be staying well away from it's crackling pages!
