Love Poem

Love Poem

By John Frederick Nims

My clumsiest dear, whose hands shipwreck vases,
At whose quick touch all glasses chip and ring,
Whose palms are bulls in china, burs in linen,
And have no cunning with any soft thing

Except all ill-at-ease fidgeting people:
The refugee uncertain at the door
You make at home; deftly you steady
The drunk clambering on his undulant floor.

Unpredictable dear, the taxi drivers’ terror,
Shrinking from far headlights pale as a dime
Yet leaping before apopleptic streetcars—
Misfit in any space. And never on time.

A wrench in clocks and the solar system. Only
With words and people and love you move at ease;
In traffic of wit expertly maneuver
And keep us, all devotion, at your knees.

Forgetting your coffee spreading on our flannel,
Your lipstick grinning on our coat,
So gaily in love’s unbreakable heaven
Our souls on glory of spilt bourbon float.

Be with me, darling, early and late. Smash glasses—
I will study wry music for your sake.
For should your hands drop white and empty
All the toys of the world would break.

Summary of Love Poem

• Popularity of “Love Poem”: “Love Poem” by John Frederick Nims, a renowned American poet and academic, is an anti-ideal love poem. The poem speaks about the flaws and humanness of the speaker’s beloved. It also exhibits his devotion and infinite love for the lady who, despite being imperfect, marks the center of his life. Although many poems appeared on the same topic, yet the speaker’s representation of anti-ideal love philosophy makes this poetic piece popular across the globe.  
• “Love Poem” As a Representative of Love: The poem illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of his beloved as well as his unshakable love for her. It begins as he recounts negative attributes of his beloved by addressing his beloved as “my clumsiness dear” following a series of strange comparisons to show the damages caused by her. Despite this flaw, she provides him the desired comfort of home. Then, the poet highlights how she shows blundering ineptitude when confronting a difficult situation. Obviously, she seems flawed, yet she looks like an expert in words, people, and love. This unique and gentle quality has eclipsed all her shortcomings, making the speaker love her unconditionally. Therefore, he wants to embrace her love and believes that life would be joyless and silent without her clumsiness.
• Major Themes in “Love Poem”: Loving someone regardless of imperfections and celebrating love are the major themes of the poem. The poem follows a light-hearted and romantic mood to show the infinite love of the speaker for his beloved. Following a humorous tone, the poem highlights the imperfections that his beloved shared. Throughout the poem, he talks about the clumsiness of his beloved and the seriousness of his love for that woman. She is not at all perfect and an epitome of ideal love, but he still loves her and adores her. To him, she is unique. Hence, he ignores all her weaknesses and embraces her wholeheartedly.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Love Poem”

literary devices are tools that empower writers to use powerful diction to create style within meanings. In fact, these devices help them convey their feelings, emotions and distinct impressively. Frederick Nims, too, has employed some literary devices whose analysis is as follows.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “You make at home; deftly you steady” and the sound of /o/ in “Our souls on glory of spilt bourbon float.”
2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /w/ in “world would” and /s/ sound in “the solar system.”
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “Forgetting your coffee spreading on our flannel” and the sound of /t/ in “You make at home; deftly you steady.”
4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“Except all ill-at-ease fidgeting people:
The refugee uncertain at the door
You make at home; deftly you steady
The drunk clambering on his undulant floor.”

5. Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate any statement for the sake of emphasis. Nims exaggerates the beauty of his love throughout the poem such as “Unpredictable dear, the taxi drivers’ terror” and “My clumsiest dear, whose hands shipwreck vases.”
6. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Nims has used imagery in this poem such as; “All the toys of the world would break”, “Shrinking from far headlights pale as a dime” and “Be with me, darling, early and late.”
7. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different in nature. In this poem the poet compares his beloved with strange things to covey his ideas about love such as; “Whose palms are bulls in china, burs in linen” and “My clumsiest dear, whose hands shipwreck vases.”
8. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The expressions like “shipwreck vases” and “bulls in China” symbolizes the carelessness of his beloved.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Love Poem”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. William Blake has used end rhyme in this poem such as “sake/break”, “coat/float” and “dime/time.”
2. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.

3. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABCB rhyme scheme in each stanza and it lasts until the end.
4. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are six stanzas in this poem with each having four verses.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines from “Love Poem” are useful to use in a discussion marked by love and the difficulty people face to be with the one they love dearly.

“Be with me, darling, early and late. Smash glasses—
I will study wry music for your sake.
For should your hands drop white and empty
All the toys of the world would break.”