'Tis Better to Have Love and Lost Than Never to Have Loved At All,' Alfred Lord Tennyson

"Love's Secret" by William Blake

Love's Secret
by William Blake

Never seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind doth move
Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart,
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears.
Ah! she did depart!

Soon after she was gone from me,
A traveller came by,
Silently, invisibly:
He took her with a sigh.

When Love Leaves Without a Sound

There are times in life when love seems too delicate to speak aloud. We carry it in our hearts like a candle in a quiet room, hoping the slightest breeze will not extinguish it.

When I read the poem by William Blake, I first thought he was writing about love that slipped away because it was written. But then, something deeper occurred to me. What if the woman he loved had died?

The poem speaks of someone who departs just after hearing the words I love you. And then a traveler comes by silently and invisibly. He takes her with a sigh. That image stayed with me. Who travels silently and invisibly and takes people away with a sigh? It feels like death.

So perhaps this poem is not only about the fear of revealing love. Perhaps it is about how we sometimes confess our love too late, or just in time, only to lose the one we love. And maybe it speaks to something many of us come to know in our bones. That love and loss often arrive together. One following the other quietly like a shadow behind the light.

This speaks to what happened with Pat. I loved her so much and still do. There were many things I wish I had said sooner. Things I wish I could say now. Blake does not give us closure. He leaves us with mystery and silence and a sigh. That is often how real loss feels. We are left wondering if love should be spoken or left quietly in the heart.

But maybe what matters most is not whether love is told or hidden. Maybe what matters is that it was felt deeply and truly, even if only for a moment.