True Love

“Bearded Oaks” by Robert Penn Warren (1937)

Robert Penn Warren wrote many love poems in addition to “True Love.” “Bearded Oaks” reflects Warren’s early style of strict rhyme and consistent meter. In this poem, the two lovers are together as though outside of time yet knowing time will eventually intrude.

“Old Flame” by Robert Penn Warren (1978)

“Old Flame” is similar to “True Love” in that the speaker as a boy admires an older girl. However, in adulthood, he returns and meets the object of his crush to find time has taken her allure. Though a poem of his later career, it follows a rhyme scheme, though its rhythm is irregular.

“Mortal Limit” by Robert Penn Warren (1985)

“Mortal Limit” is contained in the same collection as “True Love,” which was the last collection Warren produced in his lifetime. Though not a love poem, it nevertheless ponders how one can conceive of the boundless yet still exist in a world of limitations. Though a poem of his later career when Warren wrote mostly in free verse, this poem is composed as a sonnet.