Coming Back to Myself 'A Reflection on Love after Love'

Derek Walcott’s poem Love after Love touched me deeply the first time I read it. It talks about something we often forget, loving ourselves after giving too much to the world. Right now, this poem feels even more personal because I’m about to start work in a new place, far from my hometown. My family wants me to settle there, but deep inside, I know I won’t. I can’t.

My real home is not made of concrete walls or job offers. It’s where my mornings begin with familiar sounds, where the tea tastes better even if it’s the same brand, where I know every street by heart. It’s where my heart beats slow and steady not fast and anxious.

When Walcott writes, “You will greet yourself arriving at your own door,” I feel he’s speaking to me. In this busy life, I’ve been a son, a teacher, a professional but I forgot just to be me. Everyone talks about “settling down,” but I’ve learned that real peace isn’t in big cities or jobs with titles. It’s in knowing who you are and where you truly belong.

I may leave for work, but I’ll never leave behind who I am. I’ll come back not just physically but to the self I often put aside. Like Walcott says, there will be time to sit, eat, and smile with the person I’ve always been.

In the end, “Love after Love” isn’t just a poem. It’s a mirror reminding us not to lose ourselves especially when the world tells us to change.

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