The Look

by Sara Teasdale

Strephon kissed me in the spring,
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed at all.
Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,
Robin's lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin's eyes
Haunts me night and day.

Ooh… someone’s got an arrière-pensée… it’s a French word meaning "hidden agenda". And it’s none other than Colin.
Strephon and Robin both showed affection to the girl, unlike Colin, who only looked at the girl. The look of Colin’s eyes was haunting, just as what the poem described. Could it be admiration?
In the last stanza of the poem suggest that the two boys in the poem, Strephon and Robin, were lost. But Colin stayed.

THE STORY

In my own point of view, I think the girl had many suitors, like Strephon and Robin. The two men were determined to show affection to the girl, but in different settings: Strephon on spring, and Robin in fall. But a young man named Colin, I think, was in love with the girl even before Robin and Strephon, though he never told the girl. Maybe because he never had the courage to do so.
The next stanza insinuates that the two men, Robin and Strephon didn’t stay that long in love with the girl. That is, they became lost and nowhere to be found by the girl. But still, Colin stayed. I do think that Colin was madly and deeply in-love with the girl, who was the object of fantasy by men like Strephon and Robin.

MEN LIKE THESE…

How do we, girls, tell if the man we choose is going to be patient and loving? We ask: is it for real? Forever? Promise? We can never tell… if we are blind…
There are men who have decent intentions to the girls they liked or loved, perhaps. But it’s certain that there are also men who don’t really care at all! They just court you for the sake that they want someone just for show! If these guys have had enough of you, then it’s gonna be sorry! Sorry for he doesn’t want you anymore. Sorry for he’s been sick of you already. Or maybe it’s just painfully SORRY for he no longer loves you…

It’s heartbreaking… but that’s the truth! Some men will leave the girls they thought they could spend their lives with.

But looking on the brighter side, there are also men who have profoundly showed us girls with great respect and dignity… these men are the ones with character. And these men are worthy to be called "lover". If we look at these type of men closely, we would be happier if we fall in love with them.

And showing love is not just through embraces, sweet and passionate love, expensive gifts, or kisses… one look of love is already a sign!

It’s much sweeter than anything else…