love poem

Linda Pastan's poem entitled "love poem" is a work whose structure and repetition convey its own meaning. Grammar is dismissed in the poem so that the reader can get the sense that the love being mentioned rushes headlong without any pauses. There are no periods at the end of the sentences (even at the end), neither are the first letters in consonants capitalized. This technique helps the reader easily breeze through the poem while still being able to capture its meaning. The very poem itself becomes a symbol for a river flowing. Pastan is implying that love breaks all boundaries and never stops for anything. It is comparable to a river in that it flows and is "swollen" (line 13). Yet it can be "dangerous" in this sense (line 6). Love can be sweet but can also be consuming. This concept reminds me of Joyce's "Araby" where the narrator is so consumed in his attraction to the stranger that he can barely think of anything else.

There is also repetition in the poem that gives the reader a feel that love runs over everything in its path. The word "every" is repeated in lines 9 and 11. Nothing can escape love when it starts. Everything in one's life is affected when one is in a relationship.  It reminds me of the famous quote "love conquers all." There is also another phrase that is repeated from the text, "we must grab each other", in lines 16, 17, 19 and 20. The lovers must hold on to each other not merely because they are in love, but because their love is dangerous. Maybe the poet is saying that their love is forbidden and that it causes issues in their life.  However, the fact that they want to embrace each other is an indicator that even though their love has risks, they can still embrace one another.    

Works Cited: Pastan, Linda. "love poem." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. 10th ed. New York, London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2011. 441.