Love this "LOVE POEM"

This is my reflection on a love poem ... it’s titled “Love Poem”. =P Here is the poem for you to read, and then my reflection to follow. 

Love Poem

I want to write you
a love poem as headlong
as our creek
after thaw
when we stand
on its dangerous
banks and watch it carry
with it every twig
every dry leaf and branch
in its path
every scruple
when we see it
so swollen
with runoff
that even as we watch
we must grab
each other
and step back
we must grab each
other or
get our shoes
soaked we must
grab each other

First, I realized that the title is straight forward with what the writing will be about. This sets a mindset of a comfortable and personal feeling to the poem, instead of being disclosed in a strict literature style writing. The author sets the poem by describing it as headlong. David Hand figured out that, Headlong is defined as rushing in a manor which is reckless. This could be describing their “creek”, or love. The love between the lovers was so intimate a that they went with a constant speed, a flow, ignoring the fact that not much thought was being considered. This imagery and symbolism of flow, turns out to flow through the rest of the poem as a strong motif. 

To stick to this motif and also add more details, the author added more exaggerated and visual terms. First, she mentions the creek, then about how it’s so dangerous. A creek is like a peaceful miniature river, known to create calm and satisfying feelings ... yet she portrays it as an adventure (this was an interesting thought we had come up with in my poem group). This shows how every moment the author spent with her lover, was more than it seemed. It is also mentioned that this creek is thawing, which represents a season of change (as Jasmin had put it) . Spring brings about new life, new starts, and is all together a refreshing time. With this sense of freshness, she goes into how all their hesitations, thoughts, flaws, and other negatives are washed away/past. Scruple means hesitation caused from doubt with moral flaws. The creek, or their love, washes these away. 

Towards the end, the author does a great job tying the poem altogether. The “step back” and “grab each other” pieces go together, to signify their need for each other. They also describe their belief to let the old pass and embrace the new, as they still stay in check not to slip back into the past. At least that is my interpretation of the ending, with some influences by my peers in the poem group.