The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
By Derek Walcott
Love After Love by Derek Walcott is a beautiful and intimate celebration of self-rediscovery and acceptance. The poem speaks to the moment when, after years of looking outward for validation and love, you finally turn inward and reconnect with your true self. It envisions a reunion where you welcome yourself home with open arms, embracing the parts of you that have been neglected or forgotten.
Walcott invites you to cherish and nourish your own soul, to give yourself the love and care you once reserved for others. The imagery of sharing a meal and savouring life’s moments symbolises an act of self-love and reconnection, urging you to feast on the richness of your own existence and embrace the wholeness within.