Poetry Review: Will You Still Love Me if I Love Her? by Elfie

willl you still love me if i love her

Will You Still Love Me if I Love Her? chronicles a complex relationship between sexuality and an unchanging world.

Elfie opens her chapbook with the following:

Family,

I barely ever talk to you

about my private life.

(Will You Still Love Me if I Love Her?, Elfie)

This unfortunately rings true for many of us. Will You Still Love Me if I Love Her? explores the struggle of addressing sexuality in complicated social units. Elfie’s chapbook opens up the wound of sexuality and family, demonstrating both its powerful and powerless position. As the collection progresses, the poetry roots deeper questions about sexuality’s relationship to the rest of the world, departing from personal relationships into a wider scope of questioning.

The poem ‘Ungodly’ is, I believe, one that anchors the collection thematically. Elfie writes:

I’m being chased by the devil

but I’m being chased towards God.

(Will You Still Love Me if I Love Her?, Elfie)

The relationship between religion and sexuality is undeniably a complex one. The poem applies a similar rhetoric towards familial issues and that of religion. With the narrator of the collection being ‘convinced that [they are] evil’, there is certainly an ominous tone to the work. The religious aspect to the text bleeds into the next poem, ‘Traction’, where the poet writes:

The world is changing, Father.

And it will not wait for you.

(Will You Still Love Me if I Love Her?, Elfie)

Evidently, ‘Father’ is ambiguous. Yet, the reader’s interpretation of the phrase will hit home regardless of their background. Indisputably a bold claim, Elfie remains to be influential with her words. Contrasting the opening and closing lines of Will You Still Love Me if I Love Her?, from ‘my first kiss’ to greater religious apprehensions, it is clear that the poet has taken great care to map sexuality onto contemporary societal concerns – allowing readers to sketch their own experiences into the collection in a fluid and gratifying manner.

About the poet

Elfie is a writer and poet, mainly of LGBTQ+ and mental health themes works, from Derbyshire, England. She has a Master of Arts in publishing and dreams of owning her own press. When she isn’t consumed by words, Elfie plays the piano and watches horror films with her grandparents.

About the book

You can buy Elfie’s chapbook Will You Still Love Me if I Love Her? here.

Follow Elfie on Twitter at @elfieinbloom.