in all honesty — Summary

I don't know what to do with your love, Plant it somewhere where the grass Meets The earth until it breaks into a run, Maby? Until it arrives in our back yard with dew Drops Falling on to the porch as though they were Tears Instead of rain Do I feed it? Treat it hungry? Do I can it your name?

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The speaker has been given someone's love and has no idea what to do with it. Instead of answering, they try out ideas. Maybe they could plant it where the grass meets the earth and let it spread until it reaches "our back yard." The words "our back yard" suggest a shared home, though the poem never says whether that home still exists.

The images are small and domestic: dew, a porch, drops falling. The speaker says the drops fall "as though they were / Tears / Instead of rain," which hints at sadness without stating it outright. The odd line breaks, with single words like "Meets," "Drops" and "Tears" left hanging, make the poem feel hesitant, as if the speaker keeps stopping to think.

The last two questions are the strangest. Feeding love, treating it "hungry," or canning it with a name on the jar sounds like both caring for it and trying to preserve something that may be slipping away. The mood is tender, uncertain and quietly sad.

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