Love and Lost (A Poem)

Love and Lost
by Matthew Stalbaum

you have lost
again. it was dear
this time (it always was), you won't
be the same (you never

are, you
are gray and blue, are sorrow
for a time, shaped
by the loss, a void, and

alive, still - there is more

to lose (it will all be
dear, time knows how much
we'll have to lose, how much

left to love) still, when all
is lost, more to lose
and love, still

-7/18/11
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I stopped giving some commentary on these poems, but I kind of miss that, so I'll say a few words after each one.

I've been trying to edge away from really general, abstract poems like this one, but something about this one works for me for some reason. It came out of this idea I've always had, that mankind ultimately has the capacity for an endless reserve of hope, that we could continue on against even the bleakest circumstances. People always talk about how much we have to lose, or what a man would do when he's lost everything. But I choose to think of it as, even if someone has lost everything, there are still things left to love. I tried to weave and tangle up the pessimism and optimism in this poem so people could have differing interpretations - even after reading my background commentary, hopefully you can still read darker tones in it.