“Love After Love” is written in the second person. The speaker addresses the reader as “you.” Since we are given no information about the speaker’s identity, we can only make inferences, based on the language and tone of the poem.
From the get-go, this speaker comes across as confident, even prophetic, boldly predicting what will happen to “you” (“The time will come”). Ordinarily, this type of person can grate on our nerves (back off, buddy), but the message is about love (aww), so we cut the speaker some slack. All those softly emotional words—”elation,” “smile,” “welcome,” “heart”—seem to suggest a warmly encouraging personality.
Notice, though, how the speaker subtly shifts from the future tense to imperative verbs: “Give,” “Take down,” “peel,” “Sit. Feast.” It could be that this speaker is being a little bit pushy. At the same time, these command reflect a kind of unshakable confidence. The speaker in that light is just a helpful guide with strong convictions, unusual insight, and—most importantly—compelling life advice.