Love After Love

Love After Love, by Derek Walcott, is a beautiful poem that reminds me of someone who has just gotten out of a long relationship. This stage of their life had temporarily changed them, and maybe not necessarily for the better. This person had lost his or herself along the way, and now that they are alone they must find who they were prior to the relationship. Feeling as if he or she has been broken in half, they must reconcile with who they once were in order to be whole once again.  Focusing every ounce of attention on the person they were with, they now are forced to face themselves and see themselves for who they truly are because it is all they have left. Sometimes complete dedication is a downfall. Cathexis needs to be contrasted in order for a healthy relationship and a healthy life, but when you are absolutely infatuated with someone, it can be hard to see that. Finally finding his or her self is a great feeling because they have finally realized that they have had this great being inside of them, it just was shaded because all of the light was being directed toward the other person. Love After Love describes the revelation of a person who has found the importance of themselves, and has realizes that they weren't even expecting this to happen. They had lost themselves so much along the way that they had no hope in recovering what they had before such an immense devotion. Now that it is over, they have to take down the remnants of what once was and focus on what their life has become. Rather than staring at the pictures and letters from the person who is now irrelevant to their lives, they have to sit down and attempt to love themselves. Life was not wasted loving this person, but now they must focus on what is left ... and what is left is themselves. This type of self awareness is absolutely necessary in the hopes of living life the way they want, the way they have always pictured it to be. Why sit around and bask in the sorrow of what is no longer there? They can now take life on and live it out according to their rules. If they find someone to enliven this newfound soul, that is wonderful. But if not, at least they love themselves and see the world for what it is, which is beautiful.