For Love

With the exception of the heart, the moon is arguably one of the most familiar and reassuring symbols of love. The silvery wash of moonlight engenders closeness and encourages intimate moments; the night has long provided lovers with a sanctuary-space, the opportunity to find reassuring closeness and express emotions potentially regarded as dangerous or even inappropriate in the hard glare of the sun. The moon gives license to emotions, which is why it appears as a constant in literature about love.

The introduction of the moon as a symbol in “For Love” would seem appropriate given the poem’s goal of defining love. But the moon is introduced in a jagged and broken moment: When the poet acknowledges how elusive love is, he resorts to moon symbolism, perhaps for reassurance, perhaps as some starting point, in the hope that such a conventional symbol might help him in his search for understanding. But for the poet the image can only register as a negative. “If the moon did not…” (Line 13). The three dots are the poet’s. They indicate the poet’s change of mind, a discontent with the direction of the line itself. He cannot bring himself to see the symbol through.