# A Possibility explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The chapter speculates on a world without love, where the absence of romantic affection would turn humans into solitary, wise but lonely creatures, ending all poetry and courtship.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Communication

The chapter explores the essential role of love and romantic bonding in human life, imagining a chilling world without it.

## Key lines

> If the wicked gods were willing (Pray it never may be true!) That a universal chilling Should ensue Of the sentiment of loving⁠— If they made a great undoing Of the plan of turtle-doving, Then farewell all poet-lore, Evermore.

If the cruel gods decided to eliminate love from the world, all poetry and romance would end forever.

_The speaker prays this never happens, highlighting love as the foundation of poetic inspiration._

> If there were no more of billing There would be no more of cooing And we all should be but owls⁠— Lonely fowls Blinking wonderfully wise, With our great round eyes⁠— Sitting singly in the gloaming and no longer two and two, As unwilling to be wedded as unpracticed how to woo; With regard to being mated, Asking still with aggravated Ungrammatical acerbity: “To who? To who?”

Without love, humans would become like solitary owls, wise but alone, unable to pair up and endlessly questioning their solitude.

_The owl metaphor emphasizes the loneliness and confusion of a loveless existence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/a-possibility
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters