When You Say "I Love You"



When you say "I Love You" what does it really mean?
Is it deeply heartfelt or mindless routine?

When you say "I Love You" what does it stipulate?
Is it sturdy promise or mere carnal bait?

When you say "I Love You" what does it represent?
Is it empty babble or informed consent?

When you say "I Love You" what does it symbolize?
Is it happy union or mock compromise?

When you say "I Love You" what does it register?
Is it wobbly fledgling or chiefly mature?

When you say "I Love You" what does it manifest?
Is it rightly complete or return request?

When you say "I Love You" what does it signify?
Is it precisely true or bad-mannered lie?

When you say "I Love You" what does it really mean?
Is it deeply heartfelt or mindless routine?
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Submitted on February 05, 2010

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
3

Quick analysis:

Scheme AA bb cc dd xx ee ff AA
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 718
Words 139
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Wallace Dean LaBenne

Professor, therapist, author and poet. more…

All Wallace Dean LaBenne poems | Wallace Dean LaBenne Books

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    "When You Say "I Love You"" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/90938/when-you-say-"i-love-you">.

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    Who wrote the poem "Love After Love"?
    A Rabindranath Tagore
    B Robert Burns
    C William Shakespeare
    D Derek Walcott