Category Archives: love

BOOKS: “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes

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The Weary BluesThe Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available online — Lehigh University

Langston Hughes was one of the greats of 20th century American poetry, and The Weary Blues was his first collection (1926,) containing some of his most beloved (and anthologized) pieces, including: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “I, too, sing America” [a.k.a. Epilogue; which plays off Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing.”] I’ve always loved how Hughes used the rhythm of repetition and the technique of standing in for the everyman (as he famously did in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” but in other of his poems as well.) He also had a gift for concision.

These sixty-nine poems deal in a wide range of themes including race, travel, love, etc. Music, be it Jazz or Blues, is an ever-present force in Hughes work. In addition to the aforementioned classics, among my favorite pieces from the collection are: “Winter Moon,” “March Moon,” “‘The Night is Beautiful'” [a.k.a. Poem,] “When Sue Wears Red,” “Water Front Streets,” “Long Trip,” “Seascape,” “Suicide’s Note,” “Songs to the Dark,” and “Lament for Dark Peoples.”

I’d highly recommend this collection for poetry readers.

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PROMPT: Love Now

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Daily writing prompt
What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?
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Absurdity.

PROMPT: Soulmates

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Daily writing prompt
Do you believe in soulmates? Why or why not?
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I know I found someone who can tolerate me for prolonged periods. There can’t be more than four such people in the universe. So, do what you will with that.

PROMPT: Positive Example

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Daily writing prompt
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
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I’m not sure I understand the question. I generally associate the feeling of love with positivity, but the wording suggests a contrast to the negative examples of feeling loved.

Also, not sure whether “where” is meant to refer to a part of the body, a city, a region, a country, a room of the house, etc.

“Song” by James Joyce [w/ Audio]

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My love is in a light attire
     Among the apple trees,
Where the gay winds do most desire
     To run in companies.

There, where the gay winds stay to woo
     The young leaves as they pass,
My love goes slowly, bending to
     Her shadow on the grass.

And where the sky’s a pale blue cup
     Over the laughing land,
My love goes lightly, holding up
     Her dress with dainty hand.

“A Decade” by Amy Lowell [w/ Audio]

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When you came, you were like red wine and honey,
 And the taste of you burnt my mouth with its sweetness.
 Now you are like morning bread,
 Smooth and pleasant.
 I hardly taste you at all for I know your savour,
 But I am completely nourished.

“To the River” by Edgar Allan Poe [w/ Audio]

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Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
         Of crystal, wandering water,
     Thou art an emblem of the glow
             Of beauty—the unhidden heart—
             The playful maziness of art
     In old Alberto’s daughter;

     But when within thy wave she looks—
             Which glistens then, and trembles—
     Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
             Her worshipper resembles;
     For in my heart, as in thy stream,
         Her image deeply lies—
     His heart which trembles at the beam
         Of her soul-searching eyes.

PROMPT: Romantic

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Daily writing prompt
What’s your definition of romantic?
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With a big-R, it’s a philosophical and artistic movement that served as a counterweight to the Enlightenment by advocating for Idealism (versus Materialism) and spirituality (if not necessarily religiosity.)

With a small-R, it’s the skill or proclivity to advance conditions for amorousness.

That’s why capitalization matters.

“To a Husband” by Amy Lowell

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Brighter than fireflies upon the Uji River
   Are your words in the dark, Beloved.

“Down By the Salley Gardens” by William Butler Yeats [w/ Audio]

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Down by the salley gardens
   my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens
   with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy,
   as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish,
   with her would not agree.

In a field by the river
   my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder
   she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy,
   as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish,
   and now am full of tears.