"St. Valentine" by Metzinger‘Enamoured’: A Love Poem by Margaret Coats The Society February 22, 2025 Love Poems, Poetry 5 Comments . Enamoured String me a strand of pure white pearls supernal, Warming my throat as quivering fingers do, Roughened but figuring tenderness eternal, My love is wholly kind, old, young, and true. Swing me sweet swirls of redolent effervescence From blossoming branches of heady magnolia sprung, Dewy ambrosia of long continued presence, My love is wholly true, kind, old, and young. Cling to me, reassuringly collecting Our whirl of delights conserved a thousandfold, Savoring fruits of fervor and reflecting, My love is wholly young, kind, true, and old. Sing me resounding rhapsody sforzando, A skillful skirl of fluency refined, Combined with purling murmuring scherzando, My love is wholly old, young, true, and kind. Bring me to see the beatific vision, The universe in cordial order slowly Atwirl in perfect luminous precision, My love is kind, old, young, and true and holy. . sforzando: forcefully scherzando: playfully . . Margaret Coats lives in California. She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University. She has retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 5 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson February 22, 2025 I am “enamored” with the skillful word dexterity in this melodious poem with the order of the last line alternating while continuing the beautiful rhyming scheme. The cherry on the top was changing “wholly” to “holy” in the last line of the last verse. This is truly a poem composed by a brilliantly inspired intellect. Reply Paul A. Freeman February 22, 2025 Where to start? Each stanza involves a sense – touch, smell, touch, sound, taste – and begins with an -ing verb + ‘me’, that specifically leads into the sense that is the topic of the verse. The fourth line endings of the verses, using the reordered adjectives ‘kind’, ‘old’, ‘young’, ‘true’ and ‘holy/wholly’, each rhyming with the endings of the second lines, is new to me but very effective. And the language. As sophisticated as the mechanics of the poem, the language brings the vivid imagery to life – and occasionally sends me scurrying (metaphorically) for the dictionary. Great stuff, Margaret. One I’ll be perusing a few times, I imagine. Reply Cynthia Erlandson February 22, 2025 I agree with Roy and Paul — there are so many brilliant devices and effects in this poem. I, also, loved the re-arrangement of each verse’s final line, as well as the initial “ing” words, and the arrangement of the stanzas by senses, which Paul pointed out. I was also delighted by your “ando” words (and other unusual vocabulary). Reply Joseph S. Salemi February 22, 2025 The poem is a beautiful piece, and as Paul points out, it is truly synaesthetic in its deliberate references to the five senses. In fact, the poem begins and develops with language that strongly suggests the speaker’s love (both emotional and carnal) for a spouse or a lover, but ends with an unambiguous spiritual mention of the beatific vision, and the insertion of the word “holy” in the repetend, with deliberate word-play on the word “wholly.” The poem is more complex than the title “Enamoured’ suggests. There are many instances of female saints who were “espoused” to Jesus in a union that was analogous to actual marriage (St. Catherine De’ Ricci is a famous example, and I will publish a poem on her soon here at the SCP). But while this poem might be read in that metaphorical way, I think it more likely that the speaker is describing a deep relationship with a human spouse, and how the joys of that relationship have been crucial in helping the speaker to holiness and the eventual beatific vision. Their marriage has been sacramental, and all of its fleshly delights have been a foreshadowing of heavenly bliss. One minor point: I think the word “A-twirl” needs its hyphen, since this is usually the case with the old /a-/ present participles that substitute for the regular /-ing/ forms. And Margaret’s use of the older form is a touch of great skill here, because she clearly wants to maintain the /-ing/ sound for the initial word in each quatrain, and for the several other instances throughout the poem where the /-ing/ form is employed (warming, quivering. blossoming, savoring, purling, etc.) Reply Warren Bonham February 22, 2025 I’ve never seen anything like this one. You continue to set the bar ever higher. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Roy Eugene Peterson February 22, 2025 I am “enamored” with the skillful word dexterity in this melodious poem with the order of the last line alternating while continuing the beautiful rhyming scheme. The cherry on the top was changing “wholly” to “holy” in the last line of the last verse. This is truly a poem composed by a brilliantly inspired intellect. Reply
Paul A. Freeman February 22, 2025 Where to start? Each stanza involves a sense – touch, smell, touch, sound, taste – and begins with an -ing verb + ‘me’, that specifically leads into the sense that is the topic of the verse. The fourth line endings of the verses, using the reordered adjectives ‘kind’, ‘old’, ‘young’, ‘true’ and ‘holy/wholly’, each rhyming with the endings of the second lines, is new to me but very effective. And the language. As sophisticated as the mechanics of the poem, the language brings the vivid imagery to life – and occasionally sends me scurrying (metaphorically) for the dictionary. Great stuff, Margaret. One I’ll be perusing a few times, I imagine. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson February 22, 2025 I agree with Roy and Paul — there are so many brilliant devices and effects in this poem. I, also, loved the re-arrangement of each verse’s final line, as well as the initial “ing” words, and the arrangement of the stanzas by senses, which Paul pointed out. I was also delighted by your “ando” words (and other unusual vocabulary). Reply
Joseph S. Salemi February 22, 2025 The poem is a beautiful piece, and as Paul points out, it is truly synaesthetic in its deliberate references to the five senses. In fact, the poem begins and develops with language that strongly suggests the speaker’s love (both emotional and carnal) for a spouse or a lover, but ends with an unambiguous spiritual mention of the beatific vision, and the insertion of the word “holy” in the repetend, with deliberate word-play on the word “wholly.” The poem is more complex than the title “Enamoured’ suggests. There are many instances of female saints who were “espoused” to Jesus in a union that was analogous to actual marriage (St. Catherine De’ Ricci is a famous example, and I will publish a poem on her soon here at the SCP). But while this poem might be read in that metaphorical way, I think it more likely that the speaker is describing a deep relationship with a human spouse, and how the joys of that relationship have been crucial in helping the speaker to holiness and the eventual beatific vision. Their marriage has been sacramental, and all of its fleshly delights have been a foreshadowing of heavenly bliss. One minor point: I think the word “A-twirl” needs its hyphen, since this is usually the case with the old /a-/ present participles that substitute for the regular /-ing/ forms. And Margaret’s use of the older form is a touch of great skill here, because she clearly wants to maintain the /-ing/ sound for the initial word in each quatrain, and for the several other instances throughout the poem where the /-ing/ form is employed (warming, quivering. blossoming, savoring, purling, etc.) Reply
Warren Bonham February 22, 2025 I’ve never seen anything like this one. You continue to set the bar ever higher. Reply
