Composed of three rhyming couplets, this deceivingly simplistic poem expresses a wealth of feeling and demonstrates skill with metaphor, wrapped in a tender declaration of public transport-related love.
The subject of this particular piece of poetry, the ‘fair academy maiden,’ is left intentionally ambiguous by the poet in an attempt to convey the uncertainty of unrequited love and longing affection. This not only helps the reader empathise with the poet, but also encourages them to recall their own memories of unrequited love, thus ensuring a more immersive experience.
After addressing his intended, the self-declared Romeo describes her as not only beautiful, but so beautiful that she is borne down with it (‘with beauty you are laden’). He or she understands what a weight such beauty must be to carry, simultaneously complimenting the maiden whilst demonstrating the ability to look past the superficial.
The third and fourth lines of the poem are fairly lacklustre and straightforward, expressing the hour the poet became smitten followed by a somewhat predictable personification of his soul as property. The rhyme present in this couplet is also the least successful, stringing together phonetic sounds that, whilst similar, do not match and are in fact jarring. It is possible, however, that the poet intended these lines as a clever play on the theme of transportation – the idea that falling in love on a train could result in something so pedestrian.
The lovestruck poet concludes with an ultimatum that the maiden meet him for coffee, providing a final accolade on the sweetness of her eyes. The juxtaposition of the bitter (coffee) and sweet (toffee) within the same notion speaks worlds about the poet’s view of romance, relationships and the unity of opposites; they would complement and balance each other if only they could be together.
A love poem worthy of recognition.
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