1
Modern love is that which comes much
To those who do not wish to feel
The shocking nature of its touch
Upon which it does not seem real.
2
Those who find despair in the dark
Will never taste another’s love
Until they find and hear the lark
As he sings his praise to the dove.
3
It arrives quicker than you think
But it can leave you just as fast.
Fate lives and dies swift like a wink;
Like a crowded room, it won’t last.
4
She knows that true love is a storm.
Two perfect souls do rarely meet
Before the world makes them conform
And their connection takes its fleet.
5
It takes too much to join two parts,
So love lives in a middle state,
(Still, Love depends on our two hearts)
And if it passes, all will wait.
6
But when the giddy heaven wins
Against the torn down Earthly smoke,
Two become one and so begins
A bond like the earth to Oak.
7
When paths so destined do both meet,
And Fate takes this round’s victory,
That love will flourish as concrete
In all the world’s supremacy.
8
Therefore Love which holds them near
And defies the odds of poor Fate,
Is rare as when the night is clear
And will for none a lifetime wait.
Written for a 17th century poets class. Inspired by Marvell.