Love Is Not All - A poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay - Love Is Not All

Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink
Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain; 
Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink 
And rise and sink and rise and sink again; 
Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, 
Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone; 
Yet many a man is making friends with death 
Even as I speak, for lack of love alone. 
It well may be that in a difficult hour, 
Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, 
Or nagged by want past resolution's power, 
I might be driven to sell your love for peace, 
Or trade the memory of this night for food. 
It well may be. I do not think I would.

Added: on February 21st, 2007 at 2:42 PM | Viewed: 19075 times | Comments and analysis of Love Is Not All by Edna St. Vincent Millay Comments (15)

Love Is Not All - Comments and Information
Poet: Edna St. Vincent Millay Poem: Love Is Not All Comment 15 of 15, added on June 16th, 2007 at 7:40 AM. Yipee! I my heart swells to know others have found Millay. I too found her in high school! The wonderful Millay will now be with you always... I am now 45 and read her many times during the year when I wish to refocus. Luck to all in your jounrey. Loni from United States Comment 14 of 15, added on March 5th, 2007 at 2:09 AM. The desire to live life to the fullest, perhaps not wisely, but passionately, is also shown in her sonnet, "Love is not all." This lyric is a regular verse sonnet follows the traditional format for a Shakespearean sonnet, but uses antithesis and somewhat shocking imagery to express her thoughts on love. Deveel from United States Comment 13 of 15, added on February 21st, 2007 at 2:42 PM. This poem is the best by far of all the poems that I have read. It's defines what love is for most people. Here's my analysis of it: Love is something that we do not need to live physically but emotionally we die without it. Loyd from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Love Is Not All, has received 15 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay with others on the American Poems poetry forum!

Poem Info
Poet: Edna St. Vincent Millay Poem: Love Is Not All Last read: Jul 25 2008, 3:04AM Viewed 19075 times. Added on February 21st, 2007 at 2:42 PM.

Millay Info
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