I would liken you
To a night without stars
Were it not for your eyes.
I would liken you
To a sleep without dreams
Were it not for your song
Comment:
This is a beautiful description from the eyes of a soulful lover.
Love Poem #5 – “A Wooing” by Langston Hughes
I will bring you big things:
Colors of dawn-morning,
Beauty of rose leaves,
And a flaming love.
But you say
Those are not big things,
That only money counts.
Well,
Then I will bring you money.
But do not ask me
For the beauty of rose leaves,
Nor the colors of dawn-morning,
Nor a flaming love.
Comment:
I think the lover is saying here that my love is priceless and I am willing to give it to you. However, you choose material things and I can give those things, too.
But don’t ever ask for the best of me.
I guess there would be some who would consider this a bargain.
QUESTION(S):
Do you think “relational bargains” really occur?
Love Poem #4 – “Fire-Caught” by Langston Hughes
The gold moth did not love him
So, gorgeous, she flew away.
But the gray moth circled the flame
Until the break of day.
And then, with wings like a dead desire,
She fell, fire-caught, into the flame.
This poem tells us that sometimes the love we search for comes from an unexpected source.
The journey of the gray moth is moving as she patiently gives all for love.
I really like this one.
QUESTION(S):
Have you ever felt like the gray moth?
Love Poem #3 – “Love Song for Antonia” by Langston Hughes
If I should sing
All of my songs for you
And you would not listen to them,
If I should build
All of my dream houses for you
And you would never live in them,
If I should give
All of my hopes to you
And you would laugh and say: I do not care,
Still I would give you my love
Which is more than my songs,
More than any houses of dreams,
Or dreams of houses —
I would still give you my love
Though you never looked at me
This poem is clearly about unrequited love from the point of view of the rejected lover. An example of this in the Greek tragedies is the story of Echo and Narcissus which you can read about by clicking the link below:
(http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/userstory948-story-of-echo-and-narcissus.html)
Another example in classic fiction is Heathcliff and Isabella in Wuthering Heights which is one of my favorite stories depicting the complexities of LOVE.
QUESTION(S):
What are your thoughts about this poem?
Love Poem #2 – “Breath of a Rose” by Langston Hughes
Love is like dew
On lilacs at dawn
Comes the swift sun
And the dew is gone.
Love is like star-light
In the sky at morn
Star-light that dies
When day is born.
Love is like perfume
In the heart of a rose
The flower withers
The perfume goes
Love is no more
Than the breath of a rose,
No more
Than the breath of a rose.
The poet is telling us that love is beautiful yet very fragile and fleeting. Perhaps this type of love has contributed to our high divorce rate.
QUESTION(S):
What do you think about this depiction of love?
