For my two poems, I chose "Love is not all" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "Weighing the Dog" by Bill Collins.
"Love is not all" is a poem that at first gives the impression that the author holds some grudges against past love. The author says that love can not give you even the basic things such as "meat nor drink nor slumber nor a roof against the rain" which leads us to believe that love isn't worth the while nor is it "all". However, as the poem progresses, we see Millay start to use words suchs "even as" and "I might be" to allude that even if the worse things possible could happen she still might love. In the end, she proves to us that despite the annoyance love might bring she still wouldn't "sell your love".
"Weighing the Dog" is a short poem that discusses the importance of partnership in a relationship. It starts out with an owner just weighing his dog but he does it by weighing both of them together, then subtracting out his own weight. This makes him realize that in his love, his partner seemed to make the most effort in their partnership. Collins says "I never figured out what you amounted to until I subtracted myself from our combination". I think that Collins is trying to emphasize that unless a relationship is an equal partnership, it can not work.
These two poem are concerned with different types of love. The first, Millay's, deals with love as a "thing"; something that people need/want even though it can seem like a nuisance at times. The second, Collin's, describes love more as a partnership that is needed for two people to love each other. I relate more with "Weighing the Dog" because I think that love and relationships are mutual, and there needs to be equal effort put forth by both parties in order for the relationship to flourish.
I, too, like how Collins is honest about his part in the failure of his relationship. He regrets that they are both adrift and lonely now.
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