Albert Einstein 14 - Love Alters Not With Tempests Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Much water had flown under the bridge
Between the courtship period of over six years
With Albert and Mileva.
As Shakespeare would say in his sonnet;
"Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove."

Mileva returned to Switzerland in late 1900,
To make a second attempt to complete her PH.D thesis.
She stayed with Albert and studied.
In 1901, Mileva gave her exams, but failed again.
She was so dejected and unhappy that
She gave up on her doctoral desires and dropped out.

Meanwhile, Albert too had a difficult period
Looking out for a suitable job.
He applied to various institutions, colleges and even schools,
For teaching assignments but was rejected each time.
Finally, he accepted tutoring work in villages,
For meagre salary that barely sufficed his needs.

In spite of such hardships and hurdles in life,
Albert kept in touch with Mileva, writing letters regularly.
Just before starting a two-month programme of teaching
In a technical school in Winterthur,
Albert and Mileva, met each other on a secret vacation,
At the romantic destination of Lake Com, in northern Italy.

When Albert was about to begin his new work,
Mileva revealed to Albert that she was pregnant.
At twenty two years of age, Albert was to become a father!
He was without a proper job or any financial security.
Mileva could neither complete her studies or get married.
Depressed with life, she returned home to her parent's house.

A Biographical Poem