Valentine Poem by Elinor Morton Wylie
Valentine
Too high, too high to pluck
My heart shall swing.
A fruit no bee shall suck,
No wasp shall sting.
If on some night of cold
It falls to ground
In apple-leaves of gold
I'll wrap it round.
And I shall seal it up
With spice and salt,
In a carven silver cup,
In a deep vault.
Before my eyes are blind
And my lips mute,
I must eat core and rind
Of that same fruit.
Before my heart is dust
By the end of all,
Eat it I must, I must
Were it bitter gall.
But I shall keep it sweet
By some strange art;
Wild honey I shall eat
When I eat my heart.
O honey cool and chaste
As clover's breath!
Sweet Heaven I shall taste
Before my death.
Some would question the nature of Wylie's heart as well as question if she had one. She had a string of marriages that she closed the door to by running off with married men and letting the pieces fall where they may- -left her first child behind her.
Thanks for the illuminating infusion of reality. I thought maybe Eleanor was making a vow to herself that she should give everything for love. She declares herself a votary at love's shrine even before love begins, so that she can approach it properly as an encounter with fate, rather than being drawn willy-nilly into a relationship with a cad who toys with her feelings. She doesn't want a player to play her. She wants something that stirs both parties to the core, the kind with poetry in it- -that makes one's stomach drop while turning a corner and running runs into the other. The fact that she bungled it may say something about the inadvisability of cultivating this kind of expectation about love.
But I shall keep it sweet By some strange art; Wild honey I shall eat When I eat my heart. very strong passion and great love with eagerness. Very expressive poem.
Every aspect of the poem like rhyme, flow and meaning is simply superb and it is a delight to read it. Thanks for sharing.
I especially like that it's about valentine, very good.
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4/23/2024 2:07:38 PM # 1.0.0.1119
WOW...wow superb poem...One of the best I read on valentine so far....Loved it..10