The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Walcott, Derek. “Love After Love.” All Poetry, https://allpoetry.com/love-after-love.

Note that all parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

“Love After Love” is a four-stanza free-verse poem that originally appeared in Derek Walcott’s 1976 collection Sea Grapes. It was written in the middle of his life on the brink of a second failed marriage, and is believed to have been influenced by this period of personal turmoil. The poem is a celebration of solitude and self-love, encouraging the reader or listener to re-embrace their own identity after a period of heartbreak. The speaker uses both domestic and spiritual imagery to convey the importance of self-care.