Love Poem

“After An Absence” by Linda Pastan (1988)

In this poem (from the same collection as “Love Poem”), the speaker considers a reunion with an intimate partner after they have been apart for a while. Pastan uses references—“that splash of winter over your face”(Line 16) and “the whole riptide / of daily life” (Lines 21-22)—to compare the landscape of a long marriage with the natural landscape.

“I Am Learning to Abandon the World” by Linda Pastan (1982)

This poem, similar in form to “Love Poem,” appears in AM/PM: New and Selected Poems (1982), which was a finalist for the National Book Award. In it, the speaker declares her efforts to prepare for death by letting go of her attachment the physical world. The fact of her being, however, comes back each morning, as the warmth of the sun returns as welcome and friendly as a faithful dog.

“After An Illness, Walking the Dog” by Jane Kenyon (1987)

Written around the same time as “Love Poem,” Jane Kenyon’s poem draws its images, as well, from the landscape. In this poem, one’s “footing is ambiguous” (Line 19) in the sense of both the shifting terrain of a muddy field and the precariousness of a body recovering from illness.

“Parable of the Swans” by Louise Glück (1996)

In one continuous stanza of free verse, the poet creates a parable of marriage and relationships using the figures of two mated swans. The poem considers the imperfections of individuals and the effect of time in relation to intimate partnership.

“October (section I)” by Louise Glück (2004)

As Linda Pastan does in “Love Poem,” in “October (section I),” Louise Glück’s speaker questions the possibility of being sure-footed on terrain that changes with time and the seasons.