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‘In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand’ …
– Ecclesiastes: 11,6.

I shall leave the bed as she left it, unmade and disrupted, with the sheets tangled, so that the form of her body will remain imprinted beside mine. Until tomorrow, I shall not go to the bath, I shall wear no garments and I shall not comb my hair, lest I efface her caresses.
I shall not eat this morning, nor this evening, and on my lips I shall put neither rouge nor powder, so that her kiss will remain.
I shall leave the shutters closed and I shall not open the door, lest the lingering memory be carried away by the wind.
– Pierre Louys [Chansons de Bilitis, ‘Le passé qui survit’)