I Would Live In Your Love
Sara Teasdale
I would live in your love as the sea-grasses live in the sea,
Borne up by each wave as it passes, drawn down by each wave that recedes;
I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me;
I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul as it leads.
It is National Poetry Month so my poetry list-serves have really ramped up for April. This one popped through as part of an examination of metrical poetry; you can hear the rhythm within the lines, especially if you read it aloud. It seems to be more and more rare in contemporary poetry nowadays (Sara Teasdale wrote in the very early twentieth century) but I like it, especially when the rhythm supports the images...waves, heartbeats, love. I never thought of it this way but the excerpt that accompanied the poem mentioned how today, fewer and fewer poems use this "anapestic rhythm," but instead we hear it in places like rap. I knew there was a reason I like rap!
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