Sunday 19 February 2012

Robert Graves

Symptoms of Love

Love is a universal migraine,
A bright stain on the vision
Blotting out reason.

Symptoms of true love
Are leanness, jealousy,
Laggard dawns;

Are omens and nightmares -
Listening for a knock,
Waiting for a sign:

For a touch of her fingers
In a darkened room,
For a searching look.

Take courage, lover!

Could you endure such grief
At any hand but hers? 



From his 1965 Collected Poems, I bought this book in 1970. Not a brilliant poem, but I think the message was one, as with the Neruda recently posted, which appealed to the adolescent broken heart! There is of course the irony in this and also Neruda's endings. These poems were typed and displayed on my bedroom wall - oh sad, sad teenage wall....

1 comment:

  1. I wish some of my year 11 boys had such things on their bedroom walls! Alas I fear their wall-adornments will be very different...

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