“We Have Not Long to Love” by Tennessee Williams

This week, I’m looking at the writing of Tennessee Williams, but not a play; A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie are probably his most famous works, but Williams wrote poetry too. “We Have Not Long to Love” emphasizes seizing the moment, and making the most of the time we have on this planet:

We have not long to love.

Light does not stay.

The tender things are those

we fold away.

Coarse fabrics are the ones

for common wear.

In silence I have watched you

comb your hair.

Intimate the silence,

dim and warm.

I could but did not, reach

to touch your arm.

I could, but do not, break

that which is still.

(Almost the faintest whisper

would be shrill.)

So moments pass as though

they wished to stay.

We have not long to love.

A night. A day….

Much of the poem stresses the fleeting nature of life, how nothing is permanent. He gets right to the point in the opening lines: “We have not long to love./Light does not stay.” (1-2). We all have limited time to live; the days pass so quickly. But the “light” Williams refers to can also be interpreted as the happy times in life. None of us can be happy forever, so we must relish the moments when we are. As the next four lines imply, life is more often difficult, and “coarse fabrics are the ones/for common wear” (5-6). It’s much easier to go through life with a protective layer, or thicker skin.

Tennessee Williams

As Williams goes on to describe a situation between two lovers, it’s plain to see that working to preserve the present moment in life is what the writer finds important. Though there is “silence” (7) between the couple, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes the quiet, serene times are the best. As Williams states, this particular moment is “intimate…/dim and warm” (9-10). The poet does not wish to change the atmosphere of the room. He “could” (11) draw attention to himself and initiate conversation, but he chooses not to. Doing so would ruin the moment; it would “break/that which is still” (13-14). The calm that exists between them is what Williams appreciates. It is so perfectly peaceful that even “the faintest whisper/would be shrill” (15-16).

By maintaining the quiet, time seems to slow, and moments seem to linger. As Williams puts it, “moments pass as though/they wished to stay” (17-18). By not breaking the silence, the poet is able to feel like he is in control of time, and he can savor it more. The concluding lines reiterate the overall theme of the poem: “We have not long to love./A night. A day….” (19-20). Williams wants to cherish each moment, because they slip away so easily, so quickly. Whether human connection lasts “a night” or “a day” (20), or many years, time always continues to pass, so we must appreciate the present moment. Every second should count, and we should not take anything, or anyone, for granted.

Related Reading:

• “Seeing the Beauty in Both Life and Death” (SevenPonds)
• A biography of Tennessee Williams