Plato on Love

"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet."

-Plato

Plato, the great ancient Greek philosopher, in his Symposium, offered an explanation for love and the desire to be with another person.

He described the original race of men as having four legs, four arms, two faces - double of everything that we have today. He said there were three sexes: "the man was originally the child of the sun, the woman of the earth, and the man-woman of the moon, which is made up of sun and earth."

Mankind was powerful - so powerful that we rebelled against the gods. The gods knew a punishment was due. But they did not want to destroy us, for that would mean they would lose all the nice sacrifices and piety we had to offer. Zeus decided that the best punishment would be to split each and every one of us into two, so that we'd be "diminished in strength and increased in numbers" and thus more profitable to the gods.

Since then, we have all been searching for our other half. The original male "children of the sun" each became two homosexual men. The original female "children of the earth" each became two homosexual women. The original adrogynous "children of the moon" each became one man and one woman.

In embracing (and, more specifically, in making love) we are attempting to bring two halves together and thus be more complete and happy. If we find that one person who is our "other half," this is an especially amazing experience, and we find ourselves constantly desiring to be in each other's presence.

A couple (love) poems

Sometimes I wonder why I write poetry. It tends to be mediocre, at best, and there are other things I can write with far more skill. Still, I have my poetic side, and every now and then it asserts itself.

musings from afar

where are you, my love?
at this moment
are you awakening
from a restful nap,
or are you strolling down
a suburban street,
rejoicing in the soft breeze
and the sounds of the birds?
are your thoughts bent on me,
or does another
demand your attention?
do you wish,
as I do,
that I was beside you?




Melt

Like a candle,
the flame of our love
melts me into liquid wax.
My head goes first,
and all my rational thought
is stripped away,
replaced only by a desire
to be one with you.
Inch by inch,
the melting progresses;
my arms go,
and I become helpless
in your embrace;
my torso joins
the liquid progression,
and my heart is released
and flows down my body
to add to the pool
growing in your arms.
The rest of my body
follows suit,
and at last the flame is spent.
My outside cools
and hardens, now,
protecting the part
closest to you,
kept warm enough
by the contact with your skin
to remain liquefied.