“Someone Complete” and “All For One”: Two Short Poems on Devotion

Devotion is a big word for something that usually shows up in small ways. It is the meal made after a long day, the call returned, the hour given when there were other things to do. Two short poems by Jonathan Anthony Burkett, “Someone Complete” and “All For One,” describe that kind of love from both sides: what he hopes to find, and what he promises to give.

Two short poems on devotion

Someone Complete

Someone sweet, so special, and complete
Feeling my every desire
Every moment and time
That she looks at me

In need of nothing much from me
But my time and love
That I desire to provide
For that honest, understanding
Strong and loving special someone
That I’m in need of

For she is someone complete
And perfect for me

— Jonathan Anthony Burkett, Neglected But Undefeated (2012)

All For One

Nurturing, Providing, and loving you passionately
May that be, my number of responsibilities
As one to the end, forever more
That’s how long I desire, our love to last for
Providing for you many loving and joyful memories
In hours of darkness, as well as brightness
I plan to supply for you
For your love for me and happiness
Is all that matters to me

— Jonathan Anthony Burkett, Neglected But Undefeated (2012)

What the poems ask for, and what they offer

“Someone Complete” is not a list of demands. The person it describes is “In need of nothing much from me / But my time and love.” The qualities the speaker hopes for are simple and steady: honest, understanding, strong and loving. There is nothing here about money, looks or status.

“All For One” turns the camera around. It is the speaker’s side of the promise: “Nurturing, Providing, and loving you passionately / May that be, my number of responsibilities.” He does not plan to love only in good seasons. He plans to provide joyful memories “In hours of darkness, as well as brightness.”

Read together, the poems make a fair exchange. One person asks for time and love. The other promises to give them, “forever more.” That balance is what devotion looks like when it is healthy: both people giving, both people receiving.

Where this longing comes from

Jonathan’s memoir, Neglected But Undefeated (2012), helps explain why these themes run so deep for him. Raised with love by his grandparents in Westmoreland, Jamaica, he spent his teenage years in South Florida asking whether anyone besides his grandmother and grandfather would ever truly love him. After brain surgery in 2006, when he set new goals for his life, the last one mattered most: “And one definite thing: I wanted to be ready for a family, because that’s what my heart craved the most.”

His grandfather, Arnold Burkett, whom his neighborhood called “Doctor,” shaped his idea of what a man owes the people he loves. Doctor taught him to be truthful, never to put his hands on a woman in violence, and that every good woman deserves a good man. Years later, praying through one of his hardest moments, Jonathan said he wanted a family, a good woman, and children who would one day thank him for being a good father.

Lines very close to “All For One” also appear, written as prose, among the sayings in the memoir’s “My Quotes” section.

Devotion takes time, not perfection

Notice what is missing from both poems: grand gestures. The speaker does not promise diamonds or fame. He promises nurturing, providing and time. That is good news for anyone who worries they have nothing impressive to offer. Most people do not need a perfect partner. They need a present one.

Jonathan names the real cost in one of his sayings: “a healthy relationship requires Sacrifice and Dedication.” Sacrifice here does not mean giving up who you are. It means choosing the relationship again and again, especially when it is inconvenient, and keeping your word on the ordinary days as well as the special ones.

Healthy devotion versus losing yourself

There is a difference between devotion and disappearing. In the memoir, Jonathan warns that constantly seeking someone to fill the love you lost can tear you down, especially if you let the wrong person in too deep. Devotion works best between two people who are both whole enough to give. A few ways to tell the difference:

• Healthy devotion is mutual. Both people give time, care and attention. If only one person is providing, it is not a partnership.
• It keeps your values intact. You can love someone deeply and still be honest, keep your faith and say no.
• It leaves room for your own life. Friends, family, work and rest still matter.
• It feels safe. You are never afraid of the person you are devoted to.
• It grows you. Over time you become more patient and generous, not smaller and more anxious.

If you notice the opposite, giving everything while receiving little, or feeling afraid, talk with someone you trust. Love should never cost you your safety or your sense of self.

Practicing devotion this week

You do not need to wait for an anniversary. Pick one line from “All For One” and live it on purpose. “Providing for you many loving and joyful memories” might mean planning a simple evening together. “In hours of darkness” might mean showing up for someone on a bad day without being asked.

And if you are still waiting for your “someone complete,” use the time well. Become the honest, understanding, strong and loving person you hope to meet. You can read more of Jonathan’s poems and his full story in Neglected But Undefeated on the books page, and find more of his sayings on the quotes page.

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