LATE: Blog 3, Love Poems

Two contrasting views of love that I found were in the poems "Love Is Not All" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "Weighing the Dog" by Billy Collins. In "Love Is Not All", the speaker has love and is able to place it in a relatively healthy context. The speaker is able to recognize the difference between the emotions that he/she feels in that moment and how those feelings subside and become less meaningful over time. Perhaps this is not a realistic view of true love, as the speaker in "Weighing the Dog" might assert, as he/she is in a very different position. The speaker in that poem is definitely dwelling on some lost love, being reminded of it in the totally random act of weighing a dog. This person is unable to put their emotions in the context of the speaker in "Love Is Not All" and sell their love for peace, which I think is a pretty neat phrase. Instead, the love has festered and is disturbing normal, everyday activities that should not be disturbed. I think that the speaker in "Dog" should take a leaf out of the "All"'s speaker's book and get over him/herself. You left your lover! If it meant so much to you, go back. If it didn't, get over it! Regardless, quit confusing your pet and make a decision. Jeez.