Dakota Beacon

Quietly dawns the day -- Valentine’s Day -- awakening tender thoughts of love. As if a prelude to spring, affectionate hearts begin to warm.

Without dramatic fanfare, how does one distinguish between real love and mere physical attraction or infatuation?

Be careful how you answer! Listening ears might be seeking a simple friendship rather than a relationship with a rose.

To be sure, love possesses a soul as revealed in some of the world’s great love poetry. From the Bible to William Shakespeare to Walt Whitman to Emily Dickinson, the joys and sorrows, the agonies and ecstasies of love are universal and may never change.

What better way to prepare for Valentine’s Day than to dip into some of the great love poems? These lyrical expressions of love reach deep into the soul “setting the mood,” as they say. What follows are far more than greeting card jingles.

Some love poems may admonish lovers to act NOW as in Robert Herrick’s To the Virgins to Make Much of Time. “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.” A similar sentiment comes from Charles Sydney in his poem Song. “My love is selfish and unfair, Her kisses fall so thick and fast; That while I wait to give my share, The priceless time is past.”

Other poets attempt to define love. “O my Luve’s like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June; O my Luve’s like the melodie That’s sweetly played in tune. As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry.” This from Robert Burns in A Red, Red Rose. His poem was later set to music.

Once a pair come together, poets sing the joys of love in deference to the lovers. William Wordsworth does just this in Strange Fits of Passion I Have Known.

Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, husband and wife, lived loving adult lives together. They composed and exchanged beautiful love lyrics to each other.

A strange but charming description of love is found in Upon Julia’s Clothes, another of Robert Herrick’s poems. “Whenas in silks my Julia goes Then, then (methinks) how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free; O, how that glittering taketh me!”

Poets sometimes comment on each other’s love poems. So it was between Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh. In The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, Christopher Marlowe begins, “Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That hills and valleys, dales and fields, Or woods and steepy mountains yields.”

In The Nymph’s Reply, Sir Walter Raleigh begins his response saying “If that the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd’s tongue, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with thee and be thy love.”

Love may bloom and grow or it may fade away and die. Parting may be difficult, but can be done in style. So true in Lord Byron’s poem of the forlorn lover. “So, we’ll go no more a-roving so late into the night, though the heart be still as loving, and the moon be still as bright. For the sword outwears its sheath, and the soul wears out the breast, and the heart must pause to breathe, and love itself have rest. Though the night was made for loving, and the day returns too soon, yet we’ll go no more a-roving by the light of the moon.”

Other examples include another poem by Byron, the eloquent Farewell and one by Shelley titled When the Lamp is Shattered.

Time must come when each person will depart this world. One lover leaves behind the other in a shadowy world of memories, some painful and some comforting. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s To Helen, John Donne’s The Dream, and Matthew Arnold’s Longing express these parting sentiments.

Words are sweet and chocolates sweeter, but there is something more substantial that ranks far higher. What is said and what is given matters not nearly as much as how one behaves. It all boils down to relationship. If a person behaves like a jerk 364 days a year, why would they think that a few nice words and some flowers on Valentine’s Day will warm their beloved’s heart? If the behavior doesn’t match the love tokens, the giver will be seen for what they are -- shallow and phony.

On the other hand, if a person is characteristically decent, considerate, and caring, then words and trinkets become icing on the cake. Sweet trifles take on a special meaning rather than something akin to crude barter material.

Love, indeed, makes the world go round. Practice it and reap the rewards. Happy Valentine’s Day, lovers!

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).