Valentine’s Day inspires words of love which come more easily to some than to others. Not everyone can wax as eloquent as Shakespeare whose Romeo & Juliet sets the standard for romantic suffering. Even the modern adaptation of Shakespeare in Love portrays the anguish of separation without saying “I love you.” The poignant dispute –is it the lark or the nightingale– suffices nicely.
Flash to Jerry Maguire’s (Tom Cruise) line, “You had me at hello” and his slightly sappier one, “You complete me.” Again, no “L” word — but convincing sentiments from the heart.
Not to be confused with “tough love,” love can be tough – at least when writing about it or uttering the word. If you’ve ever heard the legendary folksinger Spider John Koerner talk about his Midwestern, Scandinavian upbringing, he jokes “Did you hear the one about the Norwegian who loved his wife so much he almost told her?”
So in the spirit of the season, here are some words you can use when “Love” just isn’t one of them:
- You make me a better person
- You inspire me
- You make me laugh
- You’ve changed my world
- Was there life before you?
- Look at what we’ve built together
- Thank you for being there
- I’m listening
- The kids are at Grandma’s
- I filled up your window washer fluid
- I’ll call you when I get there
- Remember when we first met?
- You look fantastic!
- I’m so proud of you
- Of course you can do it
- We’ll get through this together
- Where are you? I’ll pick you up.
- I’m sorry
- You can use mine
However, if it’s longing and desire you want, what better voice than poetry? Remember the repressed love between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett (Browning)?
She wrote: “Thy touch upon the palm… Doom takes to part us, leaves thy heart in mine with pulses that beat double.” Only after she professed her love in Sonnets from the Portuguese did she write: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach…”
But so much for Victorian verse. A book of Pablo Neruda’s Selected Poems turned up in my Christmas stocking. Now that man knows how to write about love! In Body of a Woman he celebrates “white hills, white thighs, you look like a world lying in surrender”… yet from Tonight I Can Write, he mourns , “My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.”
So whether you settle down with a book of verse, a tear-jerker movie, or a Barry White CD this Valentine’s Day, one thing’s certain. Sometimes Love means – never having to say it.
Tags: alternatives, expression, love, poetry, romance, Valentine's Day, word choice
Categories: Creativity, Reflection