First Quatrain: “Thou comest! all is said without a word”
The speaker in “Sonnet 31” finds herself rethinking one of her earlier episodes of doubt that returns to her from time to time despite her growing confidence in the love of her beloved. She excitedly exclaims, “Thou comest!”—as if she is utterly surprised that he should return.
She reports that neither speaks, and she sits in his gaze somewhat as children would do “in the noon-sun.” Their souls are engaged and “tremble” at the “inward joy,” even though they hardly understand the meaning or eventual consequences of that joy. As is often the case with this speaker, she is somewhat taken aback by her own emotions.
Second Quatrain: “Yet prodigal inward joy. Behold, I erred”
The speaker feels as “prodigal” now as she has felt quite early in this budding relationship. As the reader has seen many time before, the speaker’s confidence waxes and wanes. First, she trusts the strength of this new love and then again a “doubt” will creep into her mind.
The speaker has begun to employ code words that hint of a marriage ceremony which she, no doubt, has difficulty believing will ever come to fruition. She, indeed, wonders if the two of them will ever stand and take the vows of husband wife.
First Tercet: “By a mutual presence. Ah, keep near and close”
She offers a pathetic plea, half to her belovèd and half to her own pride, begging that his love remain “near and close,” as she calls his assistance “dovelike.” She now understands, however, that she will continue to experience those doubts, and likely her “fears would rise” repeatedly.
The speaker continues to assert that her belovèd has a “broad heart,” and she believes in his ability to remain stable, an eventuality which seems to give her a feeling of steadiness. She cannot trust her own ability to trust, but she can keep faith that her belovèd will remain strong enough to lift her out of her slough of constant doubt.
Second Tercet: “Brood down with thy divine sufficiencies”
Taking comfort in her belovèd’s strength and endurance, she asserts that she will be able to endure life in the simple knowledge of being loved by such a strong soul. Again, speaking half to her beloved and half to her own soul, she likens her own soul to baby birds that have been left “to the skies.”
But as those “callow birds” are nurtured by “divine sufficiencies,” she determines to strive to attain and keep the faith that will eventually lead her to her own self-sufficiency. But she will also continue to implore and glorify the relationship with her belovèd, in whose glow she will continue to bask as she proceeds on her journey toward love and fulfillment.
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Linda Sue Grimes - As a writer, researcher, and SRF devotee, Linda Sue Grimes has studied poetry and practiced Kriya Yoga for over thirty years..
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