Love Poem no. 2

To the Harbormaster

By Frank O'Hara

    I wanted to be sure to reach you;

though my ship was on the way it got caught   

in some moorings. I am always tying up   

    and then deciding to depart.

(Read the rest here.)

Frank O’Hara, “To the Harbormaster” from Meditations in an Emergency. Copyright © 1957 by Frank O’Hara. Reprinted with the permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc., www.groveatlantic.com.

Source: The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara (1995) 

William Blake!

(Source)

One of my favorite movies about love (and baseball) is Bull Durham. In the following scene, the characters are arguing about, well, everything, including a line from one of William Blake's books, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.  While I can't really recommend the work, I'm crazy about the way this scene uses the idea of his poetry.

Also, I aspire to be Susan Sarandon's character. Since she's got a good 5-10 years on me, it may actually be a realistic goal. I probably only need 2-3 years to acquire a Southern accent, gussy up my wardrobe, learn about baseball and memorize a selection of pithy aphorisms from the Romantic poets.

Love Poem no. 1

(Source)

As Valentine's Day approaches, I'll be sharing a few of my favorite poems, books, movies and assorted cultural artifacts about love, in no particular order.

Dedication

By Franz Wright

 

  It’s true I never write, but I would gladly die with you.

  Gladly lower myself down alone with you into the enormous mouth

  that waits, beyond youth, beyond every instant of ecstasy, remember:

  before battle we would do each other’s makeup, comb each other’s

                   hair out

 

(Read the rest here.)

Source: Poetry (December 2009).

via the Poetry Foundation