Part Three: Love

I ’M wife; I ’ve finished that,

That other state;

I ’m Czar, I ’m woman now:

It ’s safer so.



How odd the girl’s life looks

Behind this soft eclipse!

I think that earth seems so

To those in heaven now.




This being comfort, then

That other kind was pain;

But why compare?

I ’m wife! stop there!

#9 meaning in the title

The title for this poem does not seem to fit the poem because there are no obvious emotions of love expressed. The woman in this poem is not only reminiscing on a earlier life she had, but is also comparing her life then to her life now. Her title "Love" could either be a reference to her younger life or her present one. Although she states "this being comfort then. That other kind was pain," which would cause the reader to assume her life now is better, her unwillingness to delve too deep into her past casts doubt on her love for her present life. Her use of the word "safe" to describe her preference for being a wife also does not fit under the description of love. Love is not safe. But this woman seems very scared of anything that isn't safe, demonstrated by her constant reaffirmation that she is a wife, "finished that,"and "stop there." This woman may be trying to convince herself she loves this safe life, but her fear to venture into the dangerous territories of her past impede on her discovering her true emotions.