Love and Loss

Where it surfaces

• The Lament of a Vanquished Beau

  The speaker's heartbreak over losing his best girl to a rival.

• The New Moon

  The moon is portrayed as a virgin waiting for her lover, evoking themes of romantic anticipation.

• To a Dead Friend

  The speaker's deep affection for the friend is evident in the profound sense of loss and inability to find joy.

• My Loves

  The speaker prioritizes romantic love over the beauty of nature.

• When Sue Wears Red

  The speaker's love-fire burns sharp like pain, indicating intense romantic passion intertwined with a sense of longing.

• A Black Pierrot

  The poem centers on the pain of unrequited love and the emotional aftermath of rejection.

• The Last Feast of Belshazzar

  The 'jewel-heart of a virgin broke' and the 'sob of a silken whore' evoke lost innocence and hidden grief amid the feast.

• My Beloved

  The speaker's desire to immortalize the beloved's beauty reflects deep love and the fear of loss through time.

• Fire-Caught

  The gray moth's fatal attraction to the flame mirrors unrequited or destructive love, ending in loss.

• Fascination

  The poem centers on a declaration of love and physical attraction, highlighting the theme of romantic desire.

• To F. S.

  The poem centers on the love for a departed friend and the emptiness left behind.

• Young Bridge

  The poem centers on grief and the emotional devastation of lost love.

• Soledad

  The poem reflects on nights of love and the pain and passion that have left scars.

• To the Black Beloved

  A deeply affectionate address to the beloved, exalting their intrinsic worth and spiritual purity.

• Summer Night

  The speaker's aching desire for someone or something reflects a profound sense of loss and unfulfilled longing.

• Songs to the Dark Virgin

  The poem's passionate desire to be consumed by and for the beloved, culminating in annihilation, reflects a love that is both adoring and destructive.

• Strange Hurt She Knew

  The 'strange hurt' suggests a deep emotional pain, possibly from love or loss, that paradoxically draws the speaker toward suffering.

• Lullaby

  The lullaby expresses deep maternal or protective love, with an undercurrent of loss implied by the need to soothe and protect the child.

• Salome

  Passion's bliss is rendered ashen in the face of death, highlighting the loss inherent in mortal love.

• The Ring

  Love is portrayed as a masterful but painful force, evoking both devotion and fear.

• Midwinter Blues

  The speaker's enduring love despite betrayal and abandonment, culminating in a vow to love only him until death.

• Gypsy Man

  The speaker's love for the gypsy man leads to her financial and emotional ruin, illustrating love as a painful, inescapable affliction.

• Ma Man

  The speaker's passionate, joyful devotion to her man highlights the theme of love and its intoxicating power.

• Love Song for Lucinda

  Love is depicted as a seductive force that brings both enchantment and pain, echoing the theme's exploration of love's bittersweet consequences.

• Minnie Sings Her Blues

  Minnie's intense love for her man is coupled with a fear of losing him, which would lead to suicidal despair.

• Listen Here Blues

  The loss of innocence and the bitter lesson of trusting men, framed as a blues lament.

• Fortune Teller Blues

  The speaker's intense fear of losing her man drives the entire poem, culminating in a threat of self-destruction.

• Wide River

  The poem centers on the speaker's profound love and the agony of separation from their beloved, with the river symbolizing an insurmountable barrier.

• Autumn Note

  The poem mourns the departure of a loved one, intertwining personal loss with the seasonal decline.

• For Dead Mimes

  Pierrette and Pierrot are united in death, suggesting enduring love beyond loss.

• Misery

  The speaker's lament over a man who has done her wrong, central to the poem's emotional core.

• Bad Luck Card

  The poem centers on the pain of unrequited love, which is described as 'awful, awful hard' and is the catalyst for the speaker's despair.

• Beale Street Love

  Love is portrayed not as tender but as brutal and destructive, intertwined with physical pain and a disturbing cycle of abuse.

• Dressed Up

  The speaker's new clothes cannot fill the void left by a lost lover.

• Sun

  The barren hearts suggest emotional emptiness or loss.

• Suicide

  The poem centers on the speaker's profound grief after her 'sweet good man' leaves, driving her to suicidal thoughts.

• The Cat and the Saxophone

  The possessive refrain 'my baby don't love nobody but me' hints at both desire and the fear of loss in a fleeting encounter.

• To a Little Lover-Lass, Dead

  The speaker's grief and the lover-lass's eternal search for love highlight themes of love and loss.

• Blues Fantasy

  The speaker laments her man's departure, a central theme of the blues tradition.

• Poème d’Automne

  The trees are likened to courtesans waiting for lovers, but winter will strip them bare, leaving only the cold's caress—a poignant image of lost love and harsh aftermath.

• Harlem Night Song

  The poem's refrain 'I love you' and the shared night journey emphasize romantic love.

• Ardella

  The poem's intimate address and reliance on the beloved's eyes and songs to complete the night and sleep suggest a deep, possibly romantic, attachment.

• Pierrot

  Pierrot's abandonment of Pierrette and his pursuit of many loves highlight the tension between romantic idealism and the loss of committed love.

• Natcha

  Love is commodified and offered for a price, blending intimacy with transaction.

• To the Dark Mercedes of “El Palacio de Amor”

  The poem mourns Mercedes' fate, blending beauty with doom and loss.

• Mulatto

  The son's yearning for paternal love is met with rejection, embodying the loss inherent in a family fractured by racism.

• A Letter to Anne

  The speaker's overwhelming sense of loss and longing for Anne, as every aspect of the world reminds them of her.

• In the Mist of the Moon

  The poem captures a moment of idealized love and longing for Nanette.

• Day

  The loss of loved ones is central, as 'all the friends you’ve loved will go away.'

• Passing Love

  The poem captures the pain of a love that cannot be fully expressed and is destined to end.

• Song for a Dark Girl

  The dark girl's love for her young lover is violently taken away, leaving her with a broken heart and a 'naked shadow' of love.

• Gal's Cry for a Dying Lover

  The speaker's desperate cry for her dying lover highlights the pain of impending loss and the depth of her love.

• Desire

  Desire is portrayed as a double death, emphasizing the loss and ephemeral nature of intimate connection.

• Bulwark

  The shattered relationship and the broken bowl represent a love that could not be sustained, leading to separation and loss.

• Tapestry

  The poem evokes lost love through the image of wrinkled old beldams dreaming of old amours.

• Bad Man

  The speaker's violent behavior toward his wife and mistress is tied to his emotional pain and inability to cope with his blues.

• Closing Time

  Memories held by the river and moon evoke a sense of lost love or a lost life.

• Cora

  Cora's heartbreak and vow to shut out love reflect the pain of lost affection and betrayal.

• Workin’ Man

  The speaker's unreciprocated love and the betrayal by his partner underscore a profound sense of loss and emotional isolation.

• Baby

  The protective warning is rooted in love and the fear of losing the child.

• Evil Woman

  The poem depicts a toxic relationship where love has turned to threats and violence, highlighting the loss of affection and trust.

• A Ruined Gal

  The speaker mourns the loss of her chance at love and marriage, feeling unworthy and abandoned.

• Young Gal's Blues

  The speaker asks what a young gal can do when love is gone, and pleads for continued love to avoid being blue.

• Hard Daddy

  The speaker's blues stem from a troubled relationship with her man, and her father's rejection deepens her sense of loss and isolation.

• Nonette

  The poem explores a toxic love that brings pain and death, yet ends in mutual heartbreak.

• Lover's Return

  The poem explores the pain of a lover's return after abandonment, highlighting the emotional toll and the eventual rejection.

• Spring for Lovers

  The poem celebrates the fantasy and desire of love in spring, yet subtly acknowledges the transience of beauty and the inevitable withering of the heart's bright flower.

• Afro-American Fragment

  The longing for Africa is portrayed as a profound loss, a love for a homeland that exists only in fragments and distant memory.