# Stolen Salvias explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ameen Rihani.

## What happens

The speaker addresses bleeding salvias, expressing a wish that the thief who stole them had taken his heart instead. He recalls a night when his beloved crowned him with stars and playfully 'slew' him, and he questions why he should resist if she chooses to steal him as well.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Loss

The speaker's longing for his beloved and the pain of separation, symbolized by the stolen salvias and the wish to be stolen himself.

### Desire and Restraint

The tension between the speaker's desire to be taken by his beloved and his momentary hesitation, questioning why he should refuse.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker who laments the stolen salvias and recalls his beloved's past actions.

### Beauty

The beloved who crowned the speaker with stars and playfully 'slew' him, associated with the theft of the salvias.

## Key lines

> O, bleeding blossoms, tell, were my heart there⁠— There in your bed, Would that sweet thief that stole you unaware Have stolen it instead?

The speaker wishes the thief who took the salvias had taken his heart instead, implying a desire to be with his beloved.

_Expresses longing and the wish for union with the beloved._

> She then would slay me⁠—wash the face of night With my bold blood⁠— Ay, she would show that yours is not as bright And not as good.

The beloved would metaphorically kill the speaker, using his blood to wash the night, demonstrating that the salvias' red is inferior to his.

_Highlights the intensity of the beloved's power and the speaker's devotion._

> O, scarlet salvias, why should I refuse When I’m with you? Why should I chill my lady, if she choose To steal me too?

The speaker questions why he would resist being stolen by his lady when he is already with the salvias, suggesting acceptance of his fate.

_Reflects surrender to desire and the inevitability of love's theft._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/stolen-salvias
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters