Passion? Not hers who fixed me with pure eyes—
One hand among the deep curls of her brow,
I drank the girlhood of her gaze with sighs:
She never sighed, nor gave me kiss or vow.
So have I seen a clear October pool,
Cold, liquid topaz set within the sear
Gold of the woodland, tremorless and cool,
Reflecting all the heartbreak of the year.
Sweetheart? not she whose voice was music-sweet,
Whose face loaned language to melodious prayer;
Sweetheart I called her.—When did she repeat
Sweet to one hope or heart to one despair!
So have I seen a glad flower’s fragrant head
Sung to and sung to by a longing bird,
And at the last, albeit the bird lay dead,
No blossom wilted, for it had not heard.
Love Poem by Madison Cawein
Meaning of the Poem ‘Unrequited’ by Madison Cawein
Madison Cawein’s ‘Unrequited’ is a poignant meditation on one-sided love, portraying a speaker deeply moved by a woman who remains emotionally untouched by his devotion. The poem explores the pain of loving someone who does not return that affection: her gaze is pure and steady, but she never “sighed, nor gave me kiss or vow.”
Cawein uses rich natural imagery to highlight this imbalance: the beloved is like a cool, beautiful October pool, reflecting the speaker’s sorrow without absorbing it; or like a flower serenaded by a bird, unmoved even after the bird dies from longing. In each comparison, the woman is serene, distant, and unaware – untouched by the heartbreak she inspires.
Ultimately, ‘Unrequited’ captures the quiet agony of loving in silence, where passion is met with indifference, and emotional beauty is admired but never shared.
