Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem, "Love Is Not All" describes how love cannot fix the physical problems and struggles we deal with, but in the end love is what we cling to in order to keep living. She says in lines 9-14 "In well may be that in a difficult hour, pinned down by pain and moaning for release, or nagged by want past resolution's power, I might be driven to sell your love for peace, or trade the memory of this night for food. It well may be. I do not think I would." This shows that although love has no physical purpose, it cannot heal broken bones or fix a sinking ship, that desire to love and be loved is something that we humans cannot live without.
Elizabeth Bishop's poem, "One Art" contrasts with the previous poem. She has a sense of aloofness about losing the one she loved. The experience was compared to losing a set of keys or losing her mother's watch; it wasn't hard to do. While Millay says that she would fight for her love, Bishop states that it isn't difficult to give up on it. She doesn't imply that dealing with the aftermath of the breakup is difficult, but the separation itself does not take much. I'm assuming she means like if you neglect a plant, it's easy for it to wilt and die away. Similarly, if you neglect your relationship it dies away just as easily as the plant.
I find Millay's poem to be closer to my viewpoint. I believe if you love something enough that nothing can get in the way. Call me a romantic, but I believe in human willpower. I feel as though it's the same concept as your first love - you never forget them and they never forget you even if you've found someone else in your life. It may be rare, but I think if people truly loved one another they could have the willpower and endurance to make the relationship work despite obstacles.
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