Poetry Journal #1 - To Earthward

Love at the lips was touch
As sweet as I could bear;
And once that seemed too much;
I lived on air

That crossed me from sweet things,
The flow of ** was it musk
From hidden grapevine springs
Downhill at dusk?

I had the swirl and ache
From sprays of honeysuckle
That when they're gathered shake
Dew on the knuckle

I craved strong sweets, but those
Seemed strong when I was young;
The petal of the rose
It was that stung.

Now no joy but lacks salt.
That is not dashed with pain
And weariness and fault;
I crave the stain

Of tears, the aftermark
Of almost too much love,
The sweet of bitter bark
And burning clove.

When stiff and sore and scarred
I take away my hand
From leaning on it hard
In grass and sand.

The hurt is not enough;
I long for weight and strength
To feel the earth as rough
To all my length.

-Robert Frost


The first time that I read this poem, I thought it was a love poem, seeing imagery of musk, roses, honeysuckles... but upon multiple readings I think it is a poem of bitterness toward love. The writer seems to have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with love, stating that "love at the lips was touch as sweet as I could bear," that it was almost too much to handle, which ties in with the stanza "I craved strong sweets, but those seemed strong when I was young; the petal of the rose it was that stung." Most times we hear of the roses's thorns as an imagery for the hurt that comes along with a thing of beauty, objectification, or love. However in To Earthward the part that stings is actually the petal, the most beautiful, tender, and delicate part of the rose.

I think that the writer, in this case, is not speaking to an audience. The way in which it is written reminds me almost of a musing, an internal dialogue that the author has with himself. The line which has the break "The flow of ** was it musk" leads me to believe that this is the case.

What struck me in this poem were the last two stanzas. The writer seems to have been caused great pain by love, and yet says "The hurt is not enough" which is a difficult line to discern. I find it ties back to the line "I lived on air" as he now seems very grounded in the earth, the dirt, the sand. He states "I long for weight and strength, to feel the earth as rough to all my lenth." This is a VERY different place to end the poem from where it began in lightness and air. Again, if the air was the lightness of love, the earth seems to be the reality, the pain. And so I was really struck by "The hurt is not enough" as though he wants more of it, despite the pain, with his desire to "feel the earth as rough to all my lenth."

I think this poem is very mysterious because as the reader we are never sure if he loves or hates love, wants it or despises it. Though, my opinion is that all are true. He both loves and hates it, wants it and despises it, and so is in complete conflict with himself. This leads us, as the audience, to wonder ourselves.