May 18, 2014
-
Better to have loved and lost?
“Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.”
-A.L. Tennyson
I used to think this quote was for stupid romantics. In a way, it has become that. But just recently I learned it was not a poem about heartbreak in the lover’s sense– it is a requiem, written for Tennyson’s friend– his best friend– who passed away.
Knowing that now, I realize that this quote really resonates with me. There are a laundry list of things that I could say to argue the romance of the quote. “If a man abuses your love, and breaks you down and sends you crying– there is no way that your scraps of happiness can ever equate to the depths of your unhappiness.”
But it’s not about excusing anyone who may have hurt you, it’s not about anyone who broke your heart– it’s about someone who loved you and you loved in their entirety who was untimely ripped from your life.
Tennyson’s got it right, I think. That a friendship so strong brings so many happy memories and moments of happiness that are just so much better than that pang of sadness which comes with death, or just simply drifting apart. And of course, despite how much you may miss someone who is never coming back– the pain of now will not take away from the happiness that their presence brought you.
And here I started off the blog post thinking I’d be talking about how stupid the hopeless romantic is.
=}
Happy birthday PoPo.
