Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Love Poems for a Non-Believer" by Sandra Cisneros is a deeply intimate and evocative exploration of desire, vulnerability, and the longing for connection. Through vivid imagery and tactile sensations, Cisneros conveys the complex emotions involved in missing someone deeply, and the ways in which physical absence is felt and compensated for through imagination and memory.

The poem opens with the speaker running her hand along her own body, tracing the contours and curves as a way of bridging the gap created by the absence of her lover. The invocation of touch—the "flat of my thigh / curve of the hip / mango of the ass"—serves not only as an act of self-comfort but also as an imaginative conjuring of the lover's hand on her body. This sensuality is underscored by the musical language used to describe the body's landscape ("thrum of ribs / arpeggio of the breasts / collarbones you adore").

The poem then shifts to a darker, more vulnerable contemplation of the power dynamics within the relationship. The speaker's acknowledgment that her lover could "cup / it with one hand / Yank the life from me / If you wanted" reveals a profound trust and the potential for harm that exists in intimate relationships. This vulnerability is further highlighted by the speaker's admission that she has cut her hair, removing a means of physical control ("You can’t tug / my hair anymore").

Cisneros skillfully uses the contrast between warmth and coolness, softness and potential violence, to illustrate the paradoxes of love—the way it can both sustain and endanger, comfort and control. The imagery of touch returns as a source of tenderness and connection, with the "hands cool / along the jaw / skin of the eyelids / nape of the neck / soft as a mouth," suggesting a deep familiarity and gentleness between the lovers.

The poem culminates in the metaphor of an apple split in half, symbolizing the opening up of the self to another, the exposure of the "heart / of the heart / of the heart" that is usually hidden. This act of revealing one's deepest self is described as both desirable and terrifying, something "we want to reel / back as soon as it / is suddenly unreeled like silk / flag." The comparison to a "prayer call / of a Mohammed" imbues this moment of vulnerability with a sacred quality, suggesting that the deepest form of connection approaches the divine.

"Love Poems for a Non-Believer" ultimately suggests that love, in its most profound form, is akin to religion—a matter of faith, devotion, and the willingness to be vulnerable in the face of the unknown. Cisneros captures the longing for a connection that transcends the physical, reaching towards the spiritual, even when such a connection is fraught with the risk of pain and loss. Through its lush imagery and emotional depth, the poem invites readers to contemplate the beauty and complexity of love and the courage required to fully embrace it.

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