This poem came into my life at a time when I was feeling the deep pain of loneliness, and unrequited affection. I would take long walks at night, admiring the stars, in awe of the universe. The poem voices for me both the impossibility and the possibility of loving the darkness.
- This poem and foreword appear on page 16 of
An Invitation to Poetry, a New Favorite Poem Anthology
The More Loving One
- W. H. AudenLooking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.
From Homage to Clio by W. H. Auden, published by Random House.
Copyright © 1960 W. H. Auden, renewed by The Estate of W. H. Auden.