Everything Is Free by George Elliott Clarke
"The sun melts down, spreads gold around."
Everything Is Free
by George Elliott Clarke
Wipe away tears,
Set free your fears:
Everything is free.
Only the lonely
Need much money:
Everything is free.
Don’t try to bind
The love you find:
Everyone is free.
Your lover’s yours —
Surrender force:
Everyone is free.
The sun melts down,
Spreads gold around:
Everything is free.
The rain is spent
Lending flowers scent:
Everything is free.
The love you live,
The life you give:
Everything is free.
Whylah Falls (2001)
Clarke’s poem feels like a gentle reminder that not everything in life needs to be earned or justified. There’s a warmth in the way he repeats “Everything is free,” almost as if he’s trying to calm a part of us that’s always bracing for loss. The image of the sun “spreading gold around” stays with you — it’s such a simple moment, but it captures how much beauty we overlook because we’re too busy worrying. I love how he treats love with the same generosity he gives to nature: something that can’t be owned, only welcomed. The poem moves with an easy softness, like a friend speaking quietly so you’ll actually listen. And by the end, there’s this small but real sense of relief, as if the world might still offer kindness without asking anything in return. It’s a light poem, but it lingers in a very human way.
Clarke’s poem feels like someone quietly reminding you that not everything in life needs to be chased or earned. There’s a softness in the way he repeats “Everything is free,” as if he’s trying to reassure a tired part of us that keeps forgetting this. What struck me most is how he turns simple things — sunlight, rain, scent — into small acts of generosity that we often overlook. The poem moves with an easy rhythm, almost like a conversation you didn’t realise you needed. And when he speaks of love as something that can’t be owned or forced, it lands with a kind of gentle truth. It’s a piece that doesn’t preach; it simply nudges you to notice what’s already being offered. By the end, you’re left with a quiet warmth, the sense that life still gives freely if we stop long enough to receive it.