To Be In Love

To Be In Love


To be in love 
Is to touch with a lighter hand. 
In yourself you stretch, you are well. 
You look at things 
Through his eyes. 
A cardinal is red. 
A sky is blue. 
Suddenly you know he knows too. 
He is not there but 
You know you are tasting together 
The winter, or a light spring weather. 
His hand to take your hand is overmuch. 
Too much to bear. 
You cannot look in his eyes 
Because your pulse must not say 
What must not be said. 
When he 
Shuts a door- 
Is not there_ 
Your arms are water. 
And you are free 
With a ghastly freedom. 
You are the beautiful half 
Of a golden hurt. 
You remember and covet his mouth 
To touch, to whisper on. 
Oh when to declare 
Is certain Death! 
Oh when to apprize 
Is to mesmerize, 
To see fall down, the Column of Gold, 
Into the commonest ash.


To Be In Love strays from the typical African-American subject matter that Gwendolyn Brooks is known for. The imagery in the poem is striking, with color often being noted and other sensory details dwelled on. Examples of this is the mention of blue and red that the speaker goes on to say she sees so vividly through her lover's eyes. There is much allusion to the idea of two souls as one when being in love: "you know you are tasting together."

There are many religious allusions in the piece such as ash and Columns of Gold and water. The poem explores Love and the joining of two souls, and has an upbeat mood and tone. There is sporadic rhyming, but no evident rhyme scheme. It is more free verse