For Love by Robert Creeley
Yesterday I wanted to
speak of it, that sense above
the others to me
important because all
that I know derives
from what it teaches me.
Today, what is it that
is finally so helpless,
different, despairs of its own
statement, wants to
turn away, endlessly
to turn away.
If the moon did not ...
no, if you did not
I wouldn’t either, but
what would I not
do, what prevention, what
thing so quickly stopped.
That is love yesterday
or tomorrow, not
now. Can I eat
what you give me. I
have not earned it. Must
I think of everything
as earned. Now love also
becomes a reward so
remote from me I have
only made it with my mind.
Here is tedium,
despair, a painful
sense of isolation and
whimsical if pompous
self-regard. But that image
is only of the mind’s
vague structure, vague to me
because it is my own.
Love, what do I think
to say. I cannot say it.
What have you become to ask,
what have I made you into,
companion, good company,
crossed legs with skirt, or
soft body under
the bones of the bed.
Nothing says anything
but that which it wishes
would come true, fears
what else might happen in
some other place, some
other time not this one.
A voice in my place, an
echo of that only in yours.
Let me stumble into
not the confession but
the obsession I begin with
now. For you
also (also)
some time beyond place, or
place beyond time, no
mind left to
say anything at all,
that face gone, now.
Into the company of love
it all returns.
Robert Creeley, one of the Black Mountain Poets, is considered to be a very influential poet. He wrote the poem "For Love" in 1962. This poem is written about his wife, which throws it into new light.
Taking into account the poem's title, we know love has something to do with it. This makes sense, since he is talking about his wife. However, he talks about despair. It is almost as if he isn't sure if it truly even is love. He worries that he has changed her ("What have you become... bones of the bed"). Here, he is questioning who she is. He wants to know if she has changed from who she used to be. He goes on, questioning himself, inwardly. He questions whether he is confused. Even in his description of her, his love is evident. His tone is tender. He speaks of her "soft body" and "good company", which obviously means he likes spending time with her. However, the rest of the poem begs the question of whether that means he loves her.
Throughout the rest of the poem, his tone is confused. The tone almost conveys a sense of searching, but searching for what? The diction doesn't help. It is very open ended and unclear. It the first stanza he says he wanted to speak of "it", but what is 'it' anyways? From the very start, the reader is unclear about what the author is talking about. The reader likely assumes that he means love. The poem is titled love, which makes the assumption that he is discussing love very likely. However, it isn't explicitly stated, so we have to account for the fact that "it" could be almost anything. This sense of confusion, is, well, confusing! It's almost as if the writer, himself, has no idea what is going on ("If the moon did not.../ no, if you did not"). Yet at the same time, there is a sense of calm, as the writer knows exactly what is happening. He says, "let me stumble into/ not the confession but/ the obsession...". Thus, it's clear that he knows EXACTLY what he is obsessed with. This back and forth is confusing.
Overall, this poems begs the reader to wonder how the writer actually felt about his wife. He obviously loved her, but there is also a lot of confusion present. So, he's tender, but confused. Yet, then, again, at the very end, he says "Into the company of love, it all returns". So, again, he is saying love solves everything. To solve this dilemma, reading the poem out loud helps. The poem beings with confusion, but he discovers that likes her company, then he finally realizes love at the end.
Taking into account the poem's title, we know love has something to do with it. This makes sense, since he is talking about his wife. However, he talks about despair. It is almost as if he isn't sure if it truly even is love. He worries that he has changed her ("What have you become... bones of the bed"). Here, he is questioning who she is. He wants to know if she has changed from who she used to be. He goes on, questioning himself, inwardly. He questions whether he is confused. Even in his description of her, his love is evident. His tone is tender. He speaks of her "soft body" and "good company", which obviously means he likes spending time with her. However, the rest of the poem begs the question of whether that means he loves her.
Throughout the rest of the poem, his tone is confused. The tone almost conveys a sense of searching, but searching for what? The diction doesn't help. It is very open ended and unclear. It the first stanza he says he wanted to speak of "it", but what is 'it' anyways? From the very start, the reader is unclear about what the author is talking about. The reader likely assumes that he means love. The poem is titled love, which makes the assumption that he is discussing love very likely. However, it isn't explicitly stated, so we have to account for the fact that "it" could be almost anything. This sense of confusion, is, well, confusing! It's almost as if the writer, himself, has no idea what is going on ("If the moon did not.../ no, if you did not"). Yet at the same time, there is a sense of calm, as the writer knows exactly what is happening. He says, "let me stumble into/ not the confession but/ the obsession...". Thus, it's clear that he knows EXACTLY what he is obsessed with. This back and forth is confusing.
Overall, this poems begs the reader to wonder how the writer actually felt about his wife. He obviously loved her, but there is also a lot of confusion present. So, he's tender, but confused. Yet, then, again, at the very end, he says "Into the company of love, it all returns". So, again, he is saying love solves everything. To solve this dilemma, reading the poem out loud helps. The poem beings with confusion, but he discovers that likes her company, then he finally realizes love at the end.
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