Origination Point
About sixty lines into the poem, the speaker explains the origin of the story about to be told. What is most remarkable about this origination point is its total absence of remarkability. Even the metaphor describing the situation is mundane:
"Not long ago I was
In a bed and not sleeping,
But, rather, wakeful,
Like a man who sleeps yet is awake"
Beware the Beauty
A little lesson in the nature of romance is offered to men who fall for attractive women. It is presented softly enough, becoming little more than a friendly piece of advice. But read between the lines and it is easy enough to sense something simmering beneath:
"For this is the snare
Which destroys, distorts, and overcome beauties.
The man who sees her thinks of nothing else,
For her beauty always increases, grows lovelier, and reaches higher;
It defeats every ill."
Not a Battlefield
Pat Benatar was wrong. Love is not a battlefield. Well, okay, it can be a battlefield. But more likely is the metaphor situated here by the speaker.
"But since I, captured, surrendered myself a prisoner,
Trusting and believing in your sweet mercy
Like a prisoner."
Cuckoldry
You may not be familiar with this symbolism, but for a lover to be cuckolded by his beloved is to wear a green hat. Yeah, sure, the horns are a symbol far more well known, but this is the kind of stuff you just don't make up on the spur of the instant. Look it up.
"But when a lover serves in hope,
Very Sweet Thoughts makes him sharp and eager,
So it's not unusual
For his love to give him a green hat."
Other Headgear
There is another headgear to wear besides that of the cheated upon. Or, maybe even for the cheated upon. It is all about the deep emotional pain one feels. The speaker is correct here, but there is no immediately available symbolic hat of green, just pure metaphorical imagery:
"But the man who lives in sorrow deserves
A head covered with sad
And bitter care."
