Your weekly slice of Poetry

Women have this nasty habit of turning men into poets. There is something universal to the phenomenon of a man writing poetry for the woman that has captured him. Something feels quite natural about this, and it's not because women ask for it (or even expect it). It doesn't just affect the literary men either; even men that wouldn't be caught dead with an open poetry book nearby have had the shame of submitting to the urge. It was the reason that I first began writing poetry, the thing that led me to buy my very first book of (love) poems.

I would say that it's quite possible that we've inherited this habit from Adam, whose first recorded words were a poem about his wife. I would also say that it expresses something universal about poetry and human expression, another reason why poetry will never cease as long as humans are alive (I touch on these ideas in this article).

This week of Poetry Pie features a few (of the innumerable) poems written about love and romance. Even if this genre of poetry isn't interesting to you, I hope you still see something universal and God-designed in this tradition.

Never Again Would Bird's Song Be The Same

Robert Frost (1874-1963)

What better poem to start with than one featuring Eve herself. This sonnet beautifully captures some of the novelty that women bring to Creation. Women are not men; they are an invention out of man, something similar, yet new and unique. Frost describes Eve as teaching the birds to sing with more meaning and beauty, adding something new to their music. It captures something of the sense in which women are the crown of Creation, the final creation that solidified God's world as "very good."

She Walks in Beauty

Lord Byron (1788-1824)

This is likely to be one of the most famous love poems and a personal favorite. As it turns out, this was the first poem that I ever memorized (much of which I still remember). Byron effortlessly compares a woman to the quiet beauty of a night: her walk, her eyes, her hair, her face. This is the gold standard for the descriptive love poem, where the loved one is described in wonderful detail.

The form of this poem has always delighted me (I've mentioned it frequently before). It is written in iambic tetrameter, in sestet (6 line) stanzas that are rhymed ABABAB. I use this same form for The Shepherd Lamb and have written in detail into how the sestet produces interesting effects to the reader.

Meeting at Night

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

This poem is a short narrative, describing in flowing words a man landing on a beach and traveling to the cottage of his loved one. The poem is exceptional in that it describes the scenery and surroundings in imaginative detail. You are subtly made to feel the isolation of the man as he is traveling: he is quite alone with nature, heading somewhere with purpose. This isn't resolved until the very last line, where we learn that he was traveling to meet the one he loves, to join his heart with hers.

The poem is in iambic tetrameter (with frequent substitutions), with sestet stanzas that are rhymed in an interesting ABCCBA. The language is quite wonderful... a great example of how the softness/hardness of sounds establish the scenery. Note the sounds in some of the lines and what they relate to:

• "long black land"
  The hard K is surrounded by soft and flowing Ls, mirroring how the hard earth is surrounded by the flowing sea. The N of "land" also softens the D, further delivering that balance of hard and soft.
• "yellow half-moon, large and low... little waves that leap"
  The continuation of soft Ls (plus F, M, N, Y, and W) further establishes the transition from flowing sea to land.
• "slushy sand"
  This sound perfectly matches the sensation of feeling your boat cut its way into a beach.
• "quick sharp scratch... spurt of a lighted match"
  All sharp and more abrupt sounds, matching the sensation of tapping at a window and lighting a match.

And there are even more for you to find! All of these effects work for the purpose of establishing the scene for you in only a few words and lines. All of this is produced from a subtle mastery over the craft.

Singing in the Rain

Abram Newcomer

Upon revisiting this poem, I'm pleased that I still enjoy it. I love the "Singing in the Rain" movie and it has fond ties toward when I was dating my wife. The imagery of sun attempting to wash away clouds and rain was fun. I like the idea of submitting to the love of my now-wife in the same way that Gene Kelly submitted to the rain and danced under it. Rain isn't always a bad thing.

What a glorious feeling
I'm happy again! 🎵

I hope these poems were enjoyable to you, perhaps giving you a slight spark of romance for a chilly November. If not, and if you find love poetry to be your least favorite genre, then fear not... there's enough other poetry to keep you safe for a long time.

Take care!