Midweek Poem

Anticipation
by Amy Lowell

I have been temperate always,
But I am like to be very drunk
With your coming.
There have been times
I feared to walk down the street
Lest I should reel with the wine of you,
And jerk against my neighbors
As they go by.
I am parched now, and my tongue is horrible in my mouth,
But my brain is noisy
With the clash and gurgle of filling wine-cups.

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After pondering a comment from Stacy that she usually doesn't "get" poetry, I realize that I can say the same thing, especially when it comes to modern poetry. The few poems I think I do "get" somewhat I have begun posting here. Thanks to Stacy's comment, I've decided that if I'm going to keep posting these "Midweek Poems" (and I am), I should add a short tag at the end to explain what about the poem attracted me, and/or what I think it means.

Regarding "Anticipation," I get the idea that the author is so in love (or in lust) with her beloved that it's as though she's actually drunk in his presence. She's normally a very reserved person, but her beloved causes her to lose all inhibitions. And it ends by her saying that although at the moment she's parched (lonely and reserved again), in her mind she's busy "anticipating" the next time see can see him and get "drunk" with his presence again.

If that's what she is saying, then I know that feeling. It's powerful, and indeed intoxicating, don't you think?

By the way, Carly Simon would later go on to make a great ketchup commercial with this same theme.