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From Homer
Who better than you should tell me this?
How when he returned from all his travels
Ulysses spent the first night of return
Not in love-making, not even with a kiss
For Penelope his wife, who, woof and warp
Weaving had waited for him patiently,
Rejected all the suitors who had come
And kept so purely and so long her love.
She listened to it all with interest
Until day came at last. Then marvellously
A goddess gave them suddenly at once
Another night for love and joy, then rest.
PENELOPE
Weave on Penelope, you must,
Waiting for your lover who
Travels half the world. No lust,
Only love abides in you.
The suitors come. You cast them off.
Let your faithful weaving go
On and on until your love
Can return and cherish you.