help writing love poems

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How to Write a Love Poem

Last Updated: May 24, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alicia Cook . Alicia Cook is a Professional Writer based in Newark, New Jersey. With over 12 years of experience, Alicia specializes in poetry and uses her platform to advocate for families affected by addiction and to fight for breaking the stigma against addiction and mental illness. She holds a BA in English and Journalism from Georgian Court University and an MBA from Saint Peter’s University. Alicia is a bestselling poet with Andrews McMeel Publishing and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including the NY Post, CNN, USA Today, the HuffPost, the LA Times, American Songwriter Magazine, and Bustle. She was named by Teen Vogue as one of the 10 social media poets to know and her poetry mixtape, “Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately” was a finalist in the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,017,970 times.

Writing a love poem can be a challenge, as you want to avoid being too sappy or sentimental, but still sincere. You may want to write a love poem for your partner or spouse as a romantic gesture or to celebrate a special occasion, such as your anniversary as a couple. To write a love poem, start by brainstorming ideas and thoughts. Then, write the poem using sensory detail and unique descriptions. Polish the love poem and present it in a thoughtful way so the recipient knows it came straight from the heart.

Sample Love Poems

Brainstorming Ideas for the Love Poem

• For a love poem about your romantic partner, you may write, “sexy in the morning,” “greatest laugh in the world,” and “always optimistic in the face of adversity.”

• For example, you may write about traveling with your partner and how you felt overwhelming love for them during that experience.
• Reader Poll: We asked 691 wikiHow readers, and 57% of them agreed that the memory they cherish the most about their relationship is the moment they first met their partner or felt sparks fly . [Take Poll]

• “Sonnet 40” by William Shakespeare [2] X Research source
• “Flirtation” by Rita Dove [3] X Research source
• “Having a Coke With You” by Frank O’Hara [4] X Research source
• “Video Blues” by Mary Jo Salter [5] X Research source
• “[love is more thicker than forget]” by e.e. cummings [6] X Research source

Writing the Love Poem

• You may also choose a form based on whether you want the poem to rhyme or have a very rigid structure.
• For example, for a love poem for a romantic partner, you may go for a traditional sonnet form.

• For example, you may describe the sound of the glasses clinking on the table at the romantic restaurant where your partner proposed.

• For example, you may use a metaphor like, “My partner is a fierce tiger.”
• You can also use a simile like, “My partner is as bright as a peacock on a cold winter day.”

• For example, rather than use a cliche like “My love is like a red rose,” you may write, “My love is like a hothouse orchid” or “a prickly cactus.”

• For example, you may include a line about how your partner makes funny faces when they are upset.

Polishing the Love Poem

• You should also look over the poem to make sure there are no spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.

• You can also present the poem with a small gift to celebrate your love for the person.

Community Q&A

Tips from our Readers

• When you're writing your love poem, make sure that it's respectful and age appropriate. If not, the other person might be freaked out!
• Don't repeat the word "love" over and over again. Introduce new words on each line to make your poem more interesting.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.powerpoetry.org/actions/6-tips-writing-love-poem
• ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50426/sonnet-40-take-all-my-loves-my-love-yea-take-them-all
• ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/35278/flirtation
• ↑ https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/having-coke-you
• ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47549/video-blues
• ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/22224/love-is-more-thicker-than-forget
• ↑ https://lewisu.edu/writingcenter/pdf/sensory-details-resources-final-update-1-1.pdf
• ↑ (use humor and wit) with https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/40068/Louie_washington_0250O_17282.pdf?sequence=1

About This Article

If you want to write a love poem, start by making a list of the words that come to mind when you think about the person, such as "sexy in the morning" or "greatest laugh in the world." Alternatively, write down a moment when you felt particularly loving towards them. When you start writing the poem, focus on sensory descriptions like sound, smell, and touch. As you write, try to include metaphors by comparing one thing to another and make your sentences unique to avoid cliches, like "my love is like a red rose." To find out how to polish the poem and how you should present it to your loved one, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Love poems have tried to capture the essence of love since the dawn of poetry itself. Because love is a highly personal and variable experience, no two love poets will approach the topic in quite the same way. As a result, a corpus of beautiful love poems has emerged throughout our many millennia of writing and sharing poetry.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration, preparing for Valentine’s day, or trying to write love poems of your own, the examples included in this article will help you express the fantastic complexity of love. Along the way, we’ll discuss how to capture this convoluted emotion in language, and provide tips on how to write a love poem of your own.

Before we examine romantic love poems, let’s address the hardest part first. How do you write about love?

At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet. —Plato

How to Write About Love

Love is complicated, ineffable, and constantly changing. It is a feeling, an experience, and a decision you constantly make. Our interpretations of love vary across languages, cultures, religions, time periods, and individuals. Love can transform, destroy, renew, and strip down. And no two loves are ever the same. How do we write about it?

Because love is highly specific to the poet writing about it, the best love poems often make use of literary devices , especially metaphor and imagery , to convey the poet’s unique experiences.

Take these two excerpts from love poems, which describe the experience in vastly different ways:

All I want is to finally take off my cowboy hat and show you my jeweled

horns. If we slow dance I will ask you not to tug on them but secretly I will want that very much.

—From “ My Kingdom for a Murmur of Fanfare ” by Kaveh Akbar

Compare this with the following:

I feel kind of, I don’t know, like my inner space heater and TV and washing machine are all going at once.

—From “ Party ” by Kim Addonizio

These two excerpts come from poems that approach love from different directions. Kaveh Akbar’s poem acknowledges the sense of monstrosity inherent to being loved: the desire to hide the worst parts of yourself from your lover, but also to have those parts undressed by them.

Kim Addonizio’s poem, by contrast, looks at the experience of falling in love with someone and feeling your entire brain and heart activated by them.

Both poems make use of metaphor and imagery to expand upon the poet’s experience of love. Additionally, each poem focuses on a singular aspect of love. Rather than trying to fit every dimension of love into a single piece, these beautiful love poems dwell on the specific, utilizing particular details, events, and images to connect to broader romantic experiences.

To summarize, the best love poems do the following when talking about love:

• Utilize metaphor and imagery.
• Focus on specific events, details, and experiences.
• Connect personal experiences to universal emotions through poetic forms and devices.

Love Poems and Clichés

A popular concern for writers working on love poems is the unintentional use of clichés. A cliché is an already-written phrase that has been overused in literature and conversation, to the point that nearly everyone recognizes the phrase instantly.

As you would expect, there are countless clichés about love. Roses are red, violets are blue; absence makes the heart grow fonder; love is blind; love at first sight; love comes when you least expect it, etc. These sayings are trivial, overused, and, quite frankly, they are often untrue.

How do we avoid them? Sometimes we can’t. But in our own love poems, what we can do is subvert clichés or rewrite them to our advantage.

Take the below excerpt, from the poem “ One Art ” by Elizabeth Bishop:

This is, essentially, the cliché “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Yet, it isn’t that cliché at all: the poet has imbued this stanza with specificity and emotional depth. She suggests that, though loss seems to be disaster, it is anything but. While she cannot tell the reader what loss means to them, there is a sense of hope here, a sense that loss does not have to be disaster, no matter the pain.

In your own love poems, rely on depth and specificity. A cliché becomes cliché when it is too universal, describing similar experiences without any emotion or detail. Let your words take the form of the love you’re describing, and you won’t need clichés to communicate what is your own unalterable voice.

Examples of Romantic Love Poems

Let’s take a look at how poets have addressed the question of love in their writing. From short love poems to long ones, from the romantic to the anti-love, and from the works of classic and contemporary poets, let’s examine some poems that are almost as infinite as love itself.

Romantic Love Poems

These romantic love poems perfectly transcribe the poet’s experiences of romance, while also giving the reader a window into that experience.

“The Two Times I Loved You the Most In a Car” by Dorothea Grossman

It was your idea to park and watch the elephants swaying among the trees like royalty at that make-believe safari near Laguna. I didn’t know anything that big could be so quiet.

And once, you stopped on a dark desert road to show me the stars climbing over each other riotously like insects like an orchestra thrashing its way through time itself I never saw light that way again.

Grossman’s poem connects the specific to the universal. By describing two specific moments in time that the poet experienced with the person she loves, this poem shows the reader what it’s like to have your perception transformed , quite literally, as a result of love itself.

“Other Lives and Dimensions and Finally a Love Poem” by Bob Hicok

My left hand will live longer than my right. The rivers of my palms tell me so. Never argue with rivers. Never expect your lives to finish at the same time. I think

praying, I think clapping is how hands mourn. I think staying up and waiting for paintings to sigh is science. In another dimension this is exactly what’s happening,

it’s what they write grants about: the chromodynamics of mournful Whistlers, the audible sorrow and beta decay of Old Battersea Bridge. I like the idea of different

theres and elsewheres, an Idaho known for bluegrass, a Bronx where people talk like violets smell. Perhaps I am somewhere patient, somehow kind, perhaps in the nook

of a cousin universe I’ve never defiled or betrayed anyone. Here I have two hands and they are vanishing, the hollow of your back to rest my cheek against,

your voice and little else but my assiduous fear to cherish. My hands are webbed like the wind-torn work of a spider, like they squeezed something in the womb

but couldn’t hang on. One of those other worlds or a life I felt passing through mine, or the ocean inside my mother’s belly she had to scream out.

Here, when I say I never want to be without you, somewhere else I am saying I never want to be without you again. And when I touch you in each of the places we meet,

in all of the lives we are, it’s with hands that are dying and resurrected. When I don’t touch you it’s a mistake in any life, in each place and forever.

Hicok’s poem meanders from idea to idea like light orbiting a black hole, but when the poem reaches the center, everything clarifies. The speaker’s contemplation of different realities brings us to the point: any dimension where the speaker doesn’t have the object of his love is a wasted dimension.

“​​How Do I Love You?” by Mary Oliver

How do I love you? Oh, this way and that way. Oh, happily. Perhaps I may elaborate by demonstration? Like this, and like this and no more words now

Tender as ever, Mary Oliver’s poem is certainly up for interpretation, but each “like this” seems to represent a kiss for the poet’s lover. The fact that the poem ends without a period suggest something open-ended and ongoing about this love, and for the reader, each “like this” might suggest some different but equally meaningful demonstration of desire.

Other romantic love poems include:

• “Want” by Joan Larkin
• “Name” by Carol Ann Duffy
• “Macrophobia (Fear of Waiting)” by Jamaal May
• “Love Letter” by Nathalie Handal
• “Love” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• “Every Day You Play” by Pablo Neruda

Short Love Poems

Brief and sweet like a mid-winter kiss, these short love poems will warm your heart in the coldest of months.

“On a Train” by Wendy Cope

The book I’ve been reading rests on my knee. You sleep.

It’s beautiful out there – fields, little lakes and winter trees in February sunlight, every car park a shining mosaic.

Long, radiant minutes, your hand in my hand, still warm, still warm.

This short free verse poem captures a small moment in time in which life—still, tranquil, and mundane—abounds with the beauty of love and warmth.

“Hummingbird” by Raymond Carver

Suppose I say summer , write the word “hummingbird,” put it in an envelope, take it down the hill to the box. When you open my letter you will recall those days and how much, just how much, I love you.

Although Carver’s short poem is deeply personal—the reader doesn’t understand what “summer” or “hummingbird” specifically refers to—we can still connect to the poem’s themes of nostalgia and epistolary love.

“Coda” by Octavio Paz

Perhaps to love is to learn to walk through this world. To learn to be silent like the oak and the linden of the fable.

To learn to see. Your glance scattered seeds. It planted a tree. I talk because you shake its leaves.

Paz’s poem acknowledges a certain humanness to love. We are not born with perfect capability to love and be loved; we must learn how to love, and constantly work at that learning. But, when we learn to love, it “plants a tree”—it propagates, scatters seeds, flourishes between two lovers’ eyes.

Other short love poems include:

• “Our Story” by William Stafford
• “I Did Think, Let’s Go About This Slowly” by Mary Oliver

Sonnet Love Poems

A sonnet is a 14 line poem with a “volta,” or surprising shift in language, that usually occurs between lines 6-8. Depending on the time period and location of the poet, the sonnet may have additional requirements, like certain meters or rhyme schemes. While sonnets can discuss many things, they have a history as short love poems, so let’s take a look at romance in 14 lines.

“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date; Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm’d; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

One of the most famous love poems in literature, “Sonnet 18” begins with the time immemorial line “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The poem compares the speaker to a beautiful day, yet makes one key distinction: while summer days are transitory and impermanent, the object of the speaker’s desire will be eternally beautiful, for the speaker’s love imbues her with a loveliness not even death can steal.

“Entanglement” by Carmen Giménez Smith

We love what’s best in our beloved, what’s worst in them. You have to like what time does. Each day I talk to the part of me that is my beloved from a tiny telephone in me. I communicate in the clicks and beeps of our abbreviated tongue. Love is a long trial, a wending, and an uneven effort. I hate the word faith, but that’s all there is. Only the last one standing knows the score. Think of the types of violence on a continuum, and toward the mildest end is love. I’m torn by you! I scream when my beloved pulls at our bond. I’m an alien host or we are two yous subsumed by a single body. The beloved says, You changed my brain; and I am at that mercy, which is meant as a warranty for longevity, but there is no real promise: you keep knowing each other and knowing each other.

Few love poems are as all-encompassing as this sonnet. The speaker describes love’s many contradictions: loving the best and worst in people; equal partnership versus unequal efforts; love versus violence; self and other versus the singularity of two lovers; trust and faith versus a lack of promise. At the end of it all, love is a constant act of learning about each other as both people, inevitably, grow and change.

“Maundy Thursday” by Wilfred Owen

Between the brown hands of a server-lad The silver cross was offered to be kissed. The men came up, lugubrious, but not sad, And knelt reluctantly, half-prejudiced. (And kissing, kissed the emblem of a creed.) Then mourning women knelt; meek mouths they had, (And kissed the Body of the Christ indeed.) Young children came, with eager lips and glad. (These kissed a silver doll, immensely bright.) Then I, too, knelt before that acolyte. Above the crucifix I bent my head: The Christ was thin, and cold, and very dead: And yet I bowed, yea, kissed – my lips did cling. (I kissed the warm live hand that held the thing.)

On Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter), Christians line up to kiss the feet of the crucified Jesus Christ, which represents, among other things, the washing of Jesus’ feet and the loving humility which Jesus commanded. This poem boldly subverts that religious tradition, as the speaker offers forbidden love to the boy holding the crucifix, rather than the crucifix itself. Much can be interpreted from this symbolic gesture, but regardless of interpretation, this poem’s proclamation of queer desire (in the United Kingdom during World War 1, no less) proves both transgressive and deeply romantic.

Other sonnets include:

• “Sonnet 29” by William Shakespeare
• “Sonnet VII” by Hartley Coleridge
• “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Lost Love Poems

Like love, heartbreak is a deeply personal experience, and no two heartbreaks are the same. Nonetheless, these lost love poems might provide a bit of solace.

“Are All the Break-Ups in Your Poems Real?” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

If by real you mean as real as a shark tooth stuck in your heel, the wetness of a finished lollipop stick, the surprise of a thumbtack in your purse— then Yes, every last page is true, every nuance, bit, and bite. Wait. I have made them up—all of them— and when I say I am married, it means I married all of them, a whole neighborhood of past loves. Can you imagine the number of bouquets, how many slices of cake? Even now, my husbands plan a great meal for us—one chops up some parsley, one stirs a bubbling pot on the stove. One changes the baby, and one sleeps in a fat chair. One flips through the newspaper, another whistles while he shaves in the shower, and every single one of them wonders what time I am coming home.

Deftly moving between humor and heartbreak, this poem fills the emptiness of lost love with wit and imagination. Imagining a home filled with ex-lovers-turned-husbands, the poet reflects on what it means to feel desired, regardless of the factual nature of these relationships. By writing this poem in the form of a sonnet, Nezhukumatathil subverts many conventions of love poetry, getting to the core of love—whether real or imaginary.

“The Paleontologist’s Blind Date” by Philip Memmer

You have such lovely bones , he says, holding my face in his hands,

and although I can almost feel the stone and the sand

sifting away, his fingers like the softest of brushes,

I realize after this touch he would know me

years from now, even in the dark, even

without my skin. Thank you , I smile—

then I close the door and never call him again.

The use of “blind date” in the title of this contemporary sonnet is a very effective pun . While the poem itself might be describing a blind date, what’s more compelling is the speaker’s assertion that this almost-lover would know the speaker even if blinded, “in the dark.” The speaker’s decision to never call this almost lover demonstrates a certain fear of being known, or perhaps, a fear of the quickness with which he would have been known.

“One Last Poem for Richard” by Sandra Cisneros

December 24th and we’re through again.

This time for good I know because I didn’t throw you out — and anyway we waved.

No shoes. No angry doors.

We folded clothes and went our separate ways.

You left behind that flannel shirt of yours I liked but remembered to take your toothbrush. Where are you tonight?

Richard, it’s Christmas Eve again and old ghosts come back home.

I’m sitting by the Christmas tree wondering where did we go wrong.

Okay, we didn’t work, and all memories to tell you the truth aren’t good.

But sometimes there were good times.

Love was good. I loved your crooked sleep beside me and never dreamed afraid.

There should be stars for great wars like ours. There ought to be awards and plenty of champagne for the survivors.

After all the years of degradations, the several holidays of failure, there should be something to commemorate the pain.

Someday we’ll forget that great Brazil disaster.

Till then, Richard, I wish you well.

I wish you love affairs and plenty of hot water, and women kinder than I treated you.

I forget the reason, but I loved you once, remember?

Maybe in this season, drunk and sentimental, I’m willing to admit a part of me, crazed and kamikaze, ripe for anarchy, loves still.

Among break up poems, this one reigns supreme. The poem’s honesty, vulnerability, and insight into the speaker’s relationship drudges feelings of tenderness and nostalgia—and this despite the many years of anger and frustration described in the poem.

Other lost love poems include:

• “An Empty House is a Debt” by Diana Khoi Nguyen
• “Postcard I almost send to an almost lover” by Emily Wilson
• “To the Dead” by Frank Bidart

Love Poems About Yearning

It is only natural to want the people we do not have. Whether seeking past loves or future ones, these are some of the best love poems about yearning.

“Warming Her Pearls” by Carol Ann Duffy

for Judith Radstone

Next to my own skin, her pearls. My mistress bids me wear them, warm them, until evening when I’ll brush her hair. At six, I place them round her cool, white throat. All day I think of her,

resting in the Yellow Room, contemplating silk or taffeta, which gown tonight? She fans herself whilst I work willingly, my slow heat entering each pearl. Slack on my neck, her rope.

She’s beautiful. I dream about her in my attic bed; picture her dancing with tall men, puzzled by my faint, persistent scent beneath her French perfume, her milky stones.

I dust her shoulders with a rabbit’s foot, watch the soft blush seep through her skin like an indolent sigh. In her looking-glass my red lips part as though I want to speak.

Full moon. Her carriage brings her home. I see her every movement in my head…. Undressing, taking off her jewels, her slim hand reaching for the case, slipping naked into bed, the way

she always does…. And I lie here awake, knowing the pearls are cooling even now in the room where my mistress sleeps. All night I feel their absence and I burn.

The speaker of this poem uses her mistress’ pearls as a symbol for unmet desires. Notice how the speaker never has direct physical contact with her lover, but that the pearls are the primary vehicle for touch. The warmed pearls are the speaker’s way of expressing love to her mistress, taking the place of the affection she desires but cannot have.

“Little Crazy Love Song” by Mary Oliver

I don’t want eventual, I want soon. It’s 5 a.m. It’s noon. It’s dusk falling to dark. I listen to music. I eat up a few wild poems while time creeps along as though it’s got all day. This is what I have. The dull hangover of waiting, the blush of my heart on the damp grass, the flower-faced moon. A gull broods on the shore where a moment ago there were two. Softly my right hand fondles my left hand as though it were you.

It’s hard not to include every poem Mary Oliver has ever written in this article. No, she’s not a love poet by trade, but her work explores what it means to be alone in the world, and how that loneliness can be a wellspring of both isolation and connection, both joy and despair, both emptiness and beauty. This poem is no different: in the slow, dim moments of waiting for love, the speaker still manages to find beauty and connection in the soft but certain motions of nature.

“Scheherazade” by Richard Siken

It is equally difficult not to include every piece by queer poet Richard Siken in this section about yearning. Siken’s poems abound with obsession, desire, and self-destruction—though at the center of these emotions, writes Louise Glück, lies an immovable sense of “panic.” In “Scheherazade,” the speaker yearns for a love that will ruin both him and the object of his affection, perhaps because that is the only type of love he has ever known (or believes he deserves).

Other Beautiful Love Poems

Although the following poems are a little harder to categorize, they are equally valuable contributions to the age-old conversation about love.

• “Corpse Song” by Margaret Atwood
• “O Small Sad Ecstasy of Love” by Anne Carson
• “Turing Test_Love” by Franny Choi (live reading)
• “I Think Love is Something That Happens to Other People” by Michael Gray
• Aubade Beginning in Handcuffs by torrin a. greathouse
• “Detail of the Fire” by Richard Siken

Before reading this, you may want to read our guide on how to write a poem . It covers the basics of poetry writing, and how to distill emotions, experiences, and images into language. We will be approaching the topic of how to write a love poem in much the same way: clarifying emotions, delving into experiences, and sharpening images.

Do you want to write a poem for your beloved? Here are some tips to keep in mind.

“Every love has its landscape.” –Rebecca Solnit

How to Write a Love Poem: Write About Specific Moments

What moments stand out to you in the history of your relationship? Often, the best love poems start from these key moments. Additionally, eschew the urge to write about grand, sweep-you-off-your-feet love. It is often the mundane and quotidian which reveals to us the true nature of our love.

For reference, read the above love poems “On a Train” by Wendy Cope and “The Two Times I Loved You the Most In a Car” by Dorothea Grossman.

How to Write a Love Poem: Magnify Your Emotions

Love is not a singular emotion. When we love someone, it raises all sorts of emotions, and we often experience our feelings in a sort of constantly-moving kaleidoscope. What the poem does for us is freeze the kaleidoscope in place and magnify our feelings, crystalizing them in language.

How do certain moments with your beloved make you feel? “Zoom in” on those feelings with imagery, metaphor, and other literary devices. In Bob Hicok’s poem about alternate realities, he writes “When I don’t touch you it’s a mistake in any life, / in each place and forever.” A literary theorist might describe this as a hyperbole, but to poets, we know precisely the intensity of this feeling.

How to Write a Love Poem: Consider Sound

Sound often sets the mood of the poem, and considering your word choice will help you refine your piece. Unless you’re writing a heartbreak poem, focus on building euphony, which is sweet-sounding language built upon consonance, assonance, rhyme, meter, and rhythm.

A great example of euphonious love poetry comes from “Coda” by Octavio Paz: “Your glance scattered seeds. / It planted a tree. / I talk because you shake its leaves.” The combination of rhyme, rhythm, and “s” sounds makes this a delightful set of lines, capable of repeating themselves over and over again in your heart.

How to Write a Love Poem: Be Vulnerable and Imperfect

Pardon the use of this cliché, but really, write from the heart. Romantic love poems are built on honesty and vulnerability. It can often feel embarrassing to admit the intensity of our feelings, but our intensities belong in poetry.

Take any of the above love poems. Imagine each poet shared their poem with the object of their desire. Would the poet feel secure and self-satisfied? Have you met poets?

Take a risk, write what you feel, and be vulnerable with the page. Don’t strive for perfect, strive for real . It is when we can be honest with ourselves that true, meaningful, productive love can form, both with ourselves and with the people we love most.

Write the Best Love Poems at Writers.com

Sharpen your craft and write honest, beautiful love poems at Writers.com. Whether you take our workshop on love poetry or one of our upcoming poetry classes , you’ll discover all the possibilities that poetry offers to you, your emotions, and the words you wish to send to your beloved.

Sean Glatch

[…] SatyaPriya poetry, writing February 1, 2023 1 Minute How to Write a Love Poem […]

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom

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How to Write Love Poems

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I once responded to a girlfriend’s love poem by critiquing its imagery. That relationship didn’t last long. After all, who was I to ignore Oscar Wilde ’s bromide, “All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling”? Isn’t it heartless to greet florid devotion with a red pen, to rebuff earnest swoons with a call for better metaphors? But as always, this Valentine’s Day will prompt reams of gushy, heartfelt doggerel, reminding us that the greeting card industry relies on mass consumption of singsong rhymes to accompany the roses and chocolate-covered cherries. At other times of the year, we don’t see a rush for Easter villanelles or Arbor Day sonnets. But the love poem? That is universal. And as with anything universal, it’s damn hard to do without coming off as lovesick teenagers fumbling with scansion and sentiment.
 To talk about this particular challenge, we invited four poets to discuss the art of the love poem, all of them poets who reinvent the subject not as lace and violets but as a shattered display window, “an ache and a kink,” “the black pulse of dominoes,” or “a bird/trapped in the terminal”—anything but what we’ve come to expect.

Adrian Blevins

What’s the most pressing challenge in approaching a love poem? The trouble is not really the poetry but the feelings. We are raised on such cockamamie folklore that it’s all rather depressing when experience teaches us that the prince is not going to come riding in on his white horse. Oh, I’m not saying he doesn’t show up sometimes. But he’s not a prince, for one thing. And there’s no horse. And she’s not Cinderella either. Because, though he is fond of her cleavage and various things she might sometimes do or say, she’s got the worst taste in music he’s ever encountered. The problem with love poetry is that it must be felt and written by humans, who never feel one feeling at a time. I mean, love has fear in it. And guilt and misery and a special kind of hallucinating loneliness (says James Wright ). The problem for the poet is how to get such a hodgepodge into one coherent space. Where do you think most bad love poems go astray? The trouble, again, is not the poetry but the heart. Even people who are trained to tell whatever truth is at hand have a hard time expressing this truth because, for one thing, they are so unknowing. I mean, we don’t really understand ourselves. We try and we try, but we’re a work in progress and mere mortals besides. Bad love poetry is bad because it is trite. Triteness is bad because it’s untrue, and untrueness is bad because it is a waste of time and energy and, somehow, unjust. As a younger poet, did you ever fumble with the bad, saccharine attempts at love poems that most of us write? What can we learn from those fumbles? The difficulty of being a young poet is not only or even mainly the problem of being an inexperienced line or image or metaphor maker, for these are problems a devotion to the tradition can fix. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the problem with the young poet is that she’s an inexperienced feeler. So she makes all kinds of mistakes with people. Mostly herself. I have indeed written the most hackneyed and hideous love poems imaginable. Abstract, yes, and if not full of purple flowers, full of something bad, anyway—somebody kneeling in front of somebody else holding some kind of ridiculous object! I think the most important thing any poet or writer can do to improve his or her odds of writing a good poem of any type is to learn continuously how to pay attention. Poetry is not about how we feel, of course. It’s about how we feel about how we feel. Knowing how we feel about how we feel requires an almost ungodly attentiveness or consciousness—an otherworldly watchfulness and vigilance. As does—maybe? —love?

“The Way She Figured He Figured It” was originally published in The American Poetry Review . Adrian Blevins’s The Brass Girl Brouhaha (Ausable Press, 2003) won the 2004 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Blevins is also the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writer’s Foundation Award, a Bright Hill Press Chapbook Award for The Man Who Went Out for Cigarettes , and the Lamar York Prize for Nonfiction. A new book, Live from the Homesick Jamboree , is forthcoming from Wesleyan University Press. Blevins teaches at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Rebecca Hoogs

What’s the most pressing challenge in approaching a love poem? The most pressing challenge is to not write only love poems. I feel like I don’t approach love poems; they approach me. Usually I’m trying to avoid them, like at a party. When forced to confront them, when it’s just the two of us left at the long, picked-over buffet table, I try my hardest to counter cliché and easy sentimentality. This is why I took the approach of confronting cliché head-on in “Another Plot Cliché.” When love itself is a cliché, and almost every metaphor for it feels spent, the only approach is to turn those clichés inside out, push them so far that they explode and hopefully turn into something. The etymology of “cliché” traces back to “stamped in metal.” I want to turn our contemporary abstractions back into their original concrete (or metal) states. Where do you think most bad love poems go astray? There are so many places a bad love poem can go astray! Taking the poem or yourself too seriously is dangerous. Or they go astray when the author isn’t willing to find the edge. A good love poem lives in a tense state. If there’s no tension in the love, there’s no tension in the poem. “I love you, you’re perfect,” no matter how prettily said, is boring. Is there a difference between a “love poem” and a poem about love? Here’s a theory: what if “love poems” are poems that are in the thick of love, first blush, white-hot? In a love poem, the love still comes first. And perhaps a poem about love is less about the feeling than the relationship. It’s about the work that goes into making love still a feeling. A poem about love is always trying to get back to being a love poem, but there’s that tension again.

Another Plot Cliché My dear, you are the high-speed car chase, and I, I am the sheet of glass being carefully carried across the street by two employees of Acme Moving who have not parked on the right side because the plot demands that they make the perilous journey across traffic, and so they are cursing as rehearsed as they angle me into the street, acting as if they intend to get me to the department store, as if I will ever take my place as the display window, ever clear the way for a special exhibit at Christmas, or be windexed once a day, or even late at night, be pressed against by a couple who can’t make it back to his place, and so they angle me into the street, a bright lure, a provocative claim, their teaser, and indeed you can’t resist my arguments, fatally flawed though they are, so you come careening to but and butt and rebut, you come careening, you being both cars, both chaser and chased, both good and bad, both done up with bullets that haven’t yet done you in. I know I’m done for: there’s only one street on this set and you’ve got a stubborn streak a mile long. I can smell the smoke already. No matter, I’d rather shatter than be looked through all day. So come careening; I know you’ve other clichés to hammer home: women with groceries to send spilling, canals to leap as the bridge is rising. And me? I’m so through. I’ve got a thousand places to be.

“Another Plot Cliché” was originally published in Poetry. Rebecca Hoogs is the author of a chapbook, Grenade (2005), and her poems have appeared in Poetry , AGNI , Crazyhorse , Zyzzyva , The Journal , Poetry Northwest , The Florida Review , and others. She is the recipient of fellowships from the MacDowell Colony (2004) and Artist Trust of Washington State (2005). She is the Director of Education Programs and the curator and host of the Poetry Series for Seattle Arts & Lectures.

Cyrus Cassells

What’s the most pressing challenge in approaching a love poem? The most pressing concern is conveying intimacy without shutting the reader out of the ecstatic feelings limned in a love poem—to give just enough information without lapsing into a dynamic akin to voyeurism and exhibitionism. Where do you think most bad love poems go astray? Bad love poems usually go into gauzy “soft focus,” ignore revealing details, and refuse to accurately and specifically portray real intimacy or the Beloved. Is there a distinct aesthetic for a queer poet writing about love? My goal in my homoerotic book of love poems, Beautiful Signor , was to claim traditional romantic tropes, primarily from the troubadour and Sufi traditions, for the gay community, to testify that we have “moons and Junes” as well. I wanted to create a springtime “garden” that straight people could walk into, too, and feel at home. So no, I don’t think there’s necessarily a distinct aesthetic, but I do believe that a queer poet writes with a keen sense of how love is often hindered or even imperiled by society’s and the traditional family’s rampant fears and prejudices.

Beautiful Signor All dreams of the soul End in a beautiful man’s or woman’s body. —Yeats, “The Phases of the Moon” Whenever we wake, still joined, enraptured— at the window, each clear night’s finish the black pulse of dominoes dropping to land; whenever we embrace, haunted, upwelling, I know a reunion is taking place— Hear me when I say our love’s not meant to be an opiate; helpmate, you are the reachable mirror that dares me to risk the caravan back to the apogee, the longed-for arms of the Beloved— Dusks of paperwhites, dusks of jasmine, intimate beyond belief beautiful Signor no dread of nakedness beautiful Signor my long ship, my opulence, my garland beautiful Signor extinguishing the beggar’s tin, the wind of longing beautiful Signor laving the ruined country, the heart wedded to war beautiful Signor the kiln-blaze in my body, the turning heaven beautiful Signor you cover me with pollen beautiful Signor into your sweet mouth— This is the taproot: against all strictures, desecrations, I’ll never renounce, never relinquish the first radiance, the first moment you took my hand— This is the endless wanderlust: dervish, yours is the April-upon-April love that kept me spinning even beyond your eventful arms toward the unsurpassed: the one vast claiming heart, the glimmering, the beautiful and revealed Signor.

Beautiful Signor was published by Copper Canyon Press in 1997. Cyrus Cassells is the author of four acclaimed books of poetry: The Mud Actor , Soul Make a Path through Shouting , Beautiful Signor , and More Than Peace and Cypresses . His fifth book, The Crossed-Out Swastika , is forthcoming in 2010 from Copper Canyon Press. Among his honors are a Lannan Literary Award, a Lambda Literary Award, the William Carlos Williams Award, two NEA grants, and a Pushcart Prize. He is a professor of English at Texas State University–San Marcos.

Craig Arnold

What’s the most pressing challenge in approaching a love poem? For a poet at the beginning of the 21st century, I think the most difficult thing is how to navigate this brave new world, where we’re in the midst of making up our collective mind about what it means to be men and women. In the Western tradition most love poems have assumed a male poet writing to or about a female object, who can accept or refuse the offering but who doesn’t otherwise say much, and the formal conventions of poetry have crystallized around that assumption. There are those wonderful Provençal troubadour poems that imagine the poem as a dialogue, a back-and-forth between two mutually desiring individuals, but those are among the few exceptions. Now when we sit down to write poems to our lovers—or to the people we hope will be our lovers—we’re more likely to be thinking: What am I responding to? How do I hope this person will respond? How is this part of an ongoing conversation? With “Bird-Understander” I wanted to say not, as an Elizabethan courtly sonneteer might have said, “Look, I made your words into poetry, aren’t I fabulous?” but rather “Listen, what you said to me, it’s already poetry, better than anything I could write, and it would make me happy simply to have you see that.” Where do you think most bad love poems go astray? Any love poem has to strike a careful balance between the particular and the common. As a lover you feel as though you and your beloved are the most intensely particular people in the world—“Never again a love like this,” as Roddy Lumdsen says. But the fact is that you’re submitting yourself to what is possibly the most common or universal human experience, and that sometimes the most direct and most accurate expression of that experience may, in fact, be the language of cliché. I’m thinking about the duet that Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman sing on the rooftop in Moulin Rouge , which is just a pastiche of trashy pop songs, and in some way that’s what all love poetry is leaning toward. But when you think about [it], what is a cliché, if not a poem that won? We feel that so many love poems are bad, or clichéd, but I suspect that what we dislike about them are not the clichés, but the experience of being in love itself. As poets we like to think that we’re original, and it embarrasses us to remember how utterly unoriginal we can be—the sudden appeal of the corniest things, the mood swings, the crying at movies and the like. Let’s face it, nobody in love is original. We all feel and do pretty much the same things, make fools of ourselves in the same ways, and hopefully come through it alive and well and happily in bed with someone else. But that’s also precisely the appeal of love poetry, the intensely humbling nature of the experience it tries to describe. As a younger poet, did you ever fumble with the bad, saccharine attempts at love poems that most of us write? What can we learn from those fumbles? It’s hard to say. I came into my writerly existence in the 1980s, the Decade of Irony, when it was very uncool to express any sort of strong feeling directly or plainly. If you wanted to be taken seriously as a writer, you learned to police yourself for any signs of sincerity, to cloak them in irony and diffidence and perhaps a certain obscurity. A while ago, my first lover sent me a copy of a poem I wrote when I was maybe 19, and what strikes me about it now is, though I clearly meant it as a gesture of love, I didn’t frame it as such. Rather than I addressing you , it was all in the third person, a sketch of a character from a noir novel, a sort of Philip Marlowe–like individual smoking underneath a window. It was a stealth love poem, a meta–love poem, a sort of “I have this friend who’s in love with you” kind of poem. The habit of indirection was already very strong in me, as it was with other poets of that era. So I think the danger then was actually not being too saccharine, but rather of being too cool, too frigid. Now the danger is probably being too caffeinated—I’m thinking of the maniacally antic poems of the New New New York School, whatever generation of that we’re on now. So one can fumble by being too cool, and one can fumble by burying the truth of one’s feeling under a heap of jagged and jarring images. I think Creeley, of all people, was able to hit the right note, plain and plaintive and wistful and awkward—what he brings out is the awful hesitancy of that moment where you’re holding out this little offering to somebody else and hoping to hear Yes I said yes I will yes . And what you’re risking is a certain kind of sentimentality. But for my money, I think it’s better to risk the sentimental and fail, than aim for frigidity and succeed.

Bird-Understander Of many reasons I love you here is one the way you write me from the gate at the airport so I can tell you everything will be alright so you can tell me there is a bird trapped in the terminal    all the people ignoring it    because they do not know what do with it    except to leave it alone until it scares itself to death it makes you terribly terribly sad You wish you could take the bird outside and set it free or    (failing that) call a bird-understander to come help the bird All you can do is notice the bird and feel for the bird    and write to tell me how language feels impossibly useless but you are wrong You are a bird-understander better than I could ever be who make so many noises and call them song These are your own words your way of noticing and saying plainly of not turning away from hurt you have offered them to me    I am only giving them back if only I could show you how very useless they are not

Craig Arnold’s second book of poems, Made Flesh (Copper Canyon), is guaranteed to get you a hot date for Valentine’s Day.

Jeremy Richards is a poet and journalist living in Seattle. His work has appeared widely, including in The Spoken Word Revolution Redux , McSweeney's , Rattle , The Morning News , and on National Public Radio's Morning Edition , Day to Day , and All Things Considered . "Nietzsche! The Musical," for which he wrote the book...

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Craig Arnold earned his BA in English from Yale University and his PhD in creative writing from the University of Utah. Arnold’s second collection of poetry, Made Flesh (2008), is...

Adrian Blevins’ The Brass Girl Brouhaha was published by Ausable Press in 2003 and won the 2004 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Blevins is also the recipient of a Rona Jaffe...

Born in Dover, Delaware in 1956, Cyrus Cassells grew up in the Mojave Desert near Los Angeles, California. He earned a BA from Stanford University. In 2019, his poetry collection...

Creating tension in love poetry.

Rebecca Hoogs is the author of a chapbook, Grenade (2005) and her poems have appeared in Poetry, AGNI, Crazyhorse, Zyzzyva, The Journal, Poetry Northwest, The Florida Review, and others. She...

I had an excellent poetry professor in college who told us at the beginning of the semester that if we wrote happy love poetry, we wouldn't do well in the class. Not because he would punish us, but because it just wouldn't work. It was good advice.

It all depends on what you want to achieve by writing a love poem. If you're aiming to be compared as a poet to Yeats or other great poets, it's advisable to stick to other subjects. love is...a mushy, far from serious subject.

Thank you for these! I'm reminded of what Jeanette Winterson wrote: "'I love you' is always a quotation. You did not say it first and neither did I..." But poems like these (I especially love 'Another Plot Cliche') prove that there are still interesting and beautiful ways to say and re-say it. pastfirst, since when is love "far from serious"? As far as I'm aware it's been battling death for the top spot in serious poetry topics since before Shakespeare (whose best poems were love poems). Read your Yeats (and the "other great poets" you cite) a little more closely; you might find titles like these of particular interest: "A Poet to his Beloved," "He Gives his Beloved Certain Rhymes," "He Remembers Forgotten Beauty," and "Beautiful Lofty Things," which includes in its litany the love-packed line, "Maud Gonne at Howth station waiting a train."

I think all poems are love poems.

I've just read your poem about love and it needs a little more study on my part. I didn't know love could be so complex, but you need to know again that you have my simple straight forward love! XXXOOO

let us not over think love, it just is and is a glorious mystery, now and forever. your breath ripples the air carressing me again and again again

A writing prompt: First tell the truth about someone you loved & lost; the whole truth. Next, Tell the truth about the one who will always be with you, despite your every effort to lose her or him. Again, tell the whole truth The love poem lives somewhere in between those two stanzas.

If you are really in love with someone, you don't have to think about what to write. It just... does.

What a fun read, particularly since I've been bloodying my forehead on a love poem started yesterday... great thoughts in the interviews and great poems... I was not familiar with 3 of the poets interviewed but now plan to rectify that.

You cannot write about love in it's entirety, it is much too complex a subject for that. Like the universe, it is huge, simply too vast to comprehend as a single entity, and much of it is unseen. We therefore have to rely on our emotive eye to fill in the gaps in our knowledge, our vision, and our inexperience on the subject. At this point our poem collapses because we find it difficult to separate what we need to say, from what we feel we should say. No matter what we do we cannot separate our emotions from our writing as the one can not exist without the other, nor should we want to. What we can do however, is exert the very firm hand of control on the emotional content of a poem, and balance this with all the technical ability we have at our disposal. To overcome some of the problems writing about love poems I try writing about a) an old relationship I have had where the memories still remain, but any anger and frustration are long since spent b) or write about the love of someone very close to you e.g. parents or siblings as you see their relationship. I personally find it quite remarkable the difference time, distance and perspective can bring to the type of love poem I end up writing. I still use emotion when doing this, and therein lies the difference, "my emotions do not use me". At least not in the same ruthless manor as they do when I write about love from a purely personal aspect. If I ever learn to marry the experience of the latter to the raw energy of the former I just might get somewhere (someday). And finally. You do not have to tell someone you love them, they already know if you do or not. This is because, love, like poetry, works best if you show - don't tell.

Perhaps the reason we always have, and always will, write love poems is because it is too complex a thing for one poet to ever say? Collectively, page by page, year by year, we might know more to know...

I will have to read through it all again. Significant to me was each poet's point of view. Each sentiment expressed as genuine concern and an understanding of that human need for self-expression. I may sound like a hopeless romantic when I say this but I believe that the last person on Earth--the last one of our kind will be a poet. When poetry can no longer be created, mankind will perish. Love is energy and very powerful if it is expressed unconditionally. When a love poem puts human feelings down on paper, regardless of whether those feelings are dark or happy thoughts, it is a small but significant movement toward civility. That delicate civility stands between us and Chaos. Love poems tell us that the poet can appreciate the influence our emotions can have upon our behavior and upon the way in which we choose to view the world in a philosophical speculation of how things might be. Most of us walk through life being told by the rule-makers and law-givers how things should be or must be. But, when I read love poems, I learn how my precious fellows feel about themselves and about those others to which they mean no harm. Whether they are well-written according to an academic standard of excellence or poorly written, fumbling expressions of the ache and the yearning felt by another human being, I like reading them all because they make me feel so safe and comfortable about the future of my kind.

I very much agree with Noah. The words just come out when you are in love with someome; or when you love someone. I also agree with Adrian Blevians; knowing how we feel about what we feel. I cannot just sit down and write a poem, just because I may want to write a poem. I have to feel it. I have to know that I understand what I am feeling, then it all flows out. Sometimes I think my hand processes those feelings before my mind gets a chance to. I don't believe that one should spend so much time wondering what words to use to express how they feel. Just write it. If you spend so much time on how you should voice those feelings, you may forget some of the things you wanted to express in the first place. You can spice it up after it's written down. Any true feelings spoken from a loving heart is POETRY!

I love! There is no conditions. There were. They were fulfilled. I do not infatuate. I did, but that was long ago. I love, NOW!

Love poems.....there has to be a balance of craft, art and feeling - and then transcend them both. Other than that, love poems are like any other poems - more accessible for the most part. You can't approach a love poem based only on emotion. But it still has to be there - alchemized into poetry. I have often felt the presence of a "glass ceiling" between myself and the so-called "better" poets, or at least the "very publishable" ones. Nobody said this would be easy.

i've been writing for 6 years, and then i wrote the most terrible love poem, i wish i could take it back, it stops me from writing any more. now i try to just stick to catching random transmissions. love is a difficult energy to harness.

I suspect that the secret of writing a good love poem is in not trying too hard. Don't worry about things like cliches, just write whatever comes out, like you always do, then go back through and edit like you always do. Your gears will naturally shift from stupefied lover mode to articulate poet mode, and whatever cliches came blundering out will begin disappearing along the way simply because poets don't produce cliches when in poet mode top gear.

Beautiful piece. Makes me think: why must we insist on originality, anyway? Is anyone (in love or not) ever really original?

writing love poem is freeing u of ur emotions. some may say it is original n some will say it is not original. but the thing is - its new to u, it is urs, just write it out, it will help u, n hu knows u may help the one hu gonna read it.

I once went looking for the perfect love poem to read to someone with sounding like I'm reading a greeting card, and discovered there is no perfect love poem. Every occassion has it's invidual memory and that memory can be a source for a narrative love poem where things are not told but shown through vivid images and metaphors. I was just listening to the poem "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose," being sung by John McDermott and I liked the poem a little better and appreciated the days when love poems were in song form. I've tried to write a love poem in song form and turned it into an act of remembering amusing anecdotes that I wanted to share with the one I love. If you could blend image and rhyme together to make a song that doesn't sound cliche to your ear then you know your poem is good. I rarely rhyme in my poetry so I can now appreciate those poems that express something well. Some poets probably never publish their love poems because the memory is so stong and private and setimental to them. Poems that are more objective criticism of love affairs like William Carlos William's book "Journey To Love," can reach a level of originality without being too sentimental. In essence, love poetry to me is just casting a net into the ocean of memories and coming up with a fish you can eat with the one you love.

listen poet is somethinggOOd

love poems should be able to send a message.

lol nice love poem you influnced me to write them

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Beginner’s Guide to Writing a Love Poem

• Post author: anna
• Post published: January 2, 2024
• Post category: writing
• Post comments: 0 Comments

Poetry is an under-appreciated art form. But reading and writing poetry, especially love poems, allow us to express our deepest, most mysterious emotions and convey our feelings in creative, impactful ways. This beginner’s guide provides essential steps and tips to help you write a heartfelt love poem.

Step 1: Write From the Heart

Writing a poem from the heart means drawing from your personal experiences and emotions to convey an authentic connection and deep affection for your loved one. Below are some tips, with examples, on how to effectively do this.

Be Genuine and Express Personal Emotions

Your love poem should express what you truly feel for that person. Authenticity is more powerful than any cliché. Don’t just say “I love you”; describe why and how you love them.

For example, in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous love poem, “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways,” she explains the depths of her love:

Each line presents a different aspect of her love, showing a deep connection and a love that is both vast and personal.

Reflect on your feelings, not just on common love phrases

It’s easy to fall back on common love phrases, such as “love at first sight,” “my heart beats for you,” “you’re my everything,” etc., but we’ve heard them so often that they can be repetitive and lack personal connection. Instead, try to capture the essence of your feelings. Consider the poets who write about the small, often overlooked details.

For example, in Pablo Neruda’s “One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII”, he talks about his love in an immaterial and intimate way:

Neruda ventures past typical declarations of love, describing his emotions through unique objects and unusual themes (darkness, secrecy), which allows readers to see his authentic feelings.

Jot Down Words or Phrases that Come to Mind When You Think of the Person You Love

To create a poem that resonates deeply, list down specific words or phrases that come to mind when thinking about your loved one. These could be about their physical attributes, the way they make you feel, the specific actions they do, or the experiences you’ve shared together.

In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, he describes his beloved in comparison to a summer’s day:

Shakespeare uses specific imagery to highlight his love’s beauty and temperament. Similarly, you can use this method to brainstorm words and phrases that best capture your specific feelings.

Writing from the heart isn’t about perfect rhymes or complex vocabulary; it’s about portraying an authentic emotional connection. So relax, dig deep into your feelings, and let your heart guide your pen.

Step 2: Choose a Theme

Choosing a theme for your poem helps focus your thoughts and emotions into a definitive course. It’s the approach you decide to take when expressing your love. Love poems can be silly, romantic, passionate, raunchy, sexy, and sometimes they touch on multiple themes. When starting out, it’s often best to stick to one theme. With practice, you can branch out. Here are some detailed explanations of how to choose a theme for your love poem.

Reflect on the purpose of your poem: expressing love, capturing a moment, describing a specific feeling

Your poem could have different purposes. For instance, you may want to pen an affirmation of your love, chronicle a particularly touching moment, or describe an intense emotion.

When expressing love, consider the timeless poem “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron. Here, Byron admires the beauty – both physical and moral – of an unnamed woman:

He has chosen to express his love by focusing on her beauty through vivid comparisons.

When a poem captures a moment, think of Robert Herrick’s “To The Virgins, to Make Much of Time”:

While this is technically a “why you should have sex with me” poem, it works for love, too, as Herrick captures a moment in time, reminding everyone to cherish what they have while they have it.

When describing a specific feeling, you can draw inspiration from E.E. Cummings, who explores the feeling of wholeness in his love poem “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in”.

In the poem, Cummings beautifully communicates the completeness felt when in love, showing that love is not just an emotion but an integral part of oneself.

Consider Using This Theme to Guide Your Poem’s Structure and Content

Your chosen theme should help dictate the structure and content of your poem.

For example, if you’re expressing admiration, like Lord Byron, you may choose to use a consistent pattern of rhyming couplets. If you’re capturing a fleeting moment like Robert Herrick, a short, sweet, carpe diem-inspired verse may suffice. If you’re exploring an in-depth feeling like E.E. Cummings, you may opt for a less rigid, more open structure that allows for deeper introspection.

Use your theme as a guide to create a structure that complements and enhances your love poem. In every case, the theme can lead to more focused, direct, and powerful expressions of love. Your chosen theme is the glue that binds every piece of your poem together, creating coherence and resonance.

Step 3: Create a Structure

The structure of your poem plays a crucial role in the way your message is received and understood. Here’s how to build a structure for your love poem.

Choose a Poem Format: Sonnet, Haiku, Free Verse, etc.

There are many formats to choose from when writing a love poem. The easiest one is free verse, which doesn’t rhyme, and can be any length you want. As a beginner, you’ll probably want to avoid the more traditional forms (sonnets, villanelles, etc.) but if you want to give it a go, then don’t let a little iambic pentameter stop you! Haikus are a nice and short form and can pack a real punch, but still require some planning, since you only have 17 syllables to work with.

Modern poets have been bending and blending traditional formats to create resonating love poems. Poet Terrance Hayes, for instance, invented a new type of sonnet, which he named the “golden shovel” after Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem, “We Real Cool.” In the format, poets take a line from another poem and use each word in the line as the end word in their own poem. Here’s an example from his poem, “The Golden Shovel”:

Choosing a specific poem format can guide your writing process and potentially enhance your poem’s emotional impact.

Determine Your Poem’s Length

A poem’s length doesn’t determine its merit or emotional impact. Short or long, the importance is conveying your feelings effectively. In Nayyirah Waheed’s minimalist style, she can create powerful imagery in just a few lines, like in her poem “salt.”:

On the other hand, long poems can provide room for broader narratives and detailed exploration.

Decide on the Rhyme Scheme (if any)

Traditional forms often have strict rhyme schemes; however, modern poetry embraces the freedom to rhyme or not. Poet laureate Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb,” (a love poem to America) delivered at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration, showcases a mixed rhyme scheme:

Creating a structure that suits your message and style allows your poem to flow naturally and increases its potential of touching the reader’s heart.

Step 4: Use Figurative Language

Figurative language uses figures of speech to convey meanings different from their literal interpretation. It helps create an emotional connection, evokes vivid imagery and adds a layer of complexity to the poem. Let’s expand on this.

Employ Metaphors and Similes to Create Vivid Imagery

A simile uses “like” or “as” to make a comparison, while a metaphor makes a direct comparison. Both can greatly enhance your poem by painting vivid pictures in the reader’s mind and illuminating your experiences in unique ways.

Consider Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” where he uses a beautiful metaphor to illustrate a sense of longing:

Vuong directly replaces the concept of a sentence with his desire to be free, pointing to a deeper level of emotional yearning.

Similarly, in “Where You Are Planted,” Sarah Kay uses simile to express her love:

Kay shows how love is not singular or static, with a tree’s existence extending beyond itself, just like her love for the person goes beyond just being ‘in love.’

Use Symbolism and Personification to Convey Emotions

Symbols can express complex ideas without needing explicit explanation. And personification (attributing human characteristics to inanimate objects or abstract concepts) can add depth and originality to your expressions.

Rupi Kaur uses both in her poem “Milk and Honey”:

In Kaur’s work, voice symbolizes her identity, strength, and femininity. Her and her lover’s fear of it represents their struggle with her power and individuality.

Whether you use metaphors, similes, symbolism or personification, the key lies in using these tools to paint a vivid imagery and convey your emotions effectively in novel ways.

Step 5: Be Specific

Being specific in your poem can intensify feelings, create personal connections, and add a layer of authenticity. Let’s explore this in detail.

Write About Specific Moments, Experiences, or Attributes of Your Loved One

Including details about unique moments and attributes makes the poem more personal and lets the reader see your love as you do.

Consider Langston Hughes’s poem, “Madam and the Rent Man”:

Hughes gives life to an everyday encounter, making it compelling and memorable. Similarly, when writing a love poem, describing the way your loved one laughs or how their eyes light up in the morning sun can create strong mental images for your readers.

Show Your Feelings, Rather Than Just Telling Them

The phrase “show, don’t tell” is a golden rule in writing. It’s more engaging to show your feelings through actions, thoughts or dialogue than simply to state them.

The poem “Gate A-4” by Naomi Shihab Nye is an excellent example of showing emotions:

Nye does not explicitly say she felt a connection with the old woman, but through her actions and words, readers can feel the deep human bond that emerged in that setting.

Using specific details and showing—rather than telling—emotion can add depth to your love poem, making it a more immersive and emotionally resonant read for your audience.

Step 6: Edit and Revise

Editing and revising is a critical part of the writing process. This step allows you to refine your language, fix any errors, and ensure your poem resonates with your intended message and emotion.

Review Your Poem for Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling Errors

While creative writing does allow some leeway with grammar and punctuation for stylistic purposes, it’s crucial to make sure the text is clear and understandable. e.e. cummings, for example, famously used nontraditional punctuation and grammar in his poetry. However, it was always done with intent, for a clear, emotional impact:

Here, cummings’ unusual punctuation and grammar create an intimate, conversational tone and pace, letting the reader feel the poem’s immediacy—a stuttering, graceless, language-breaking kind of feeling, a love that trips over the tongue.

Make Sure Your Poem Flows Seamlessly and Effectively Communicates Your Emotions

Reading your work aloud can help identify areas that may not flow smoothly. Check that nothing hinders the transition from one line, idea, or stanza to the next.

Consider “What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade” by Brad Aaron Modlin. The poem captivates the reader with its smooth flow and vivid imagery:

Each of Modlin’s lines run seamlessly into the next, creating vivacious and diverse imagery that encapsulates experiences of ordinary life.

Edit and Revise Your Poem to Find the Perfect Balance

Striking a harmonious balance among expressing emotions, using imagery, and maintaining the desired tone is often achieved through revising.

Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Love Is” showcases a balanced approach:

Giovanni combines the simplicity of her language with powerful emotional expression and evocative imagery. The tone is maintained throughout, making the poem coherent and resonant.

Vigorous editing and revising can turn a good poem into an amazing one. Don’t be afraid to trim unnecessary words or add more detail to create a piece that fully represents your feelings and experiences.

Now you’re ready to write a heartfelt love poem! Use this guide to craft a poem that will capture your feelings and resonate with the person you love. And remember, writing is a skill that takes practice, patience, and a willingness to fail. No one writes a masterpiece without a lot of shitty first drafts (as Anne Lamott put it). Give yourself the grace to mess up and be imperfect. Especially with love poems, (to break my own rule and use a cliche) it truly is the thought that counts most of all.

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• How to Write Perfect Love Poems (+ 5 Great Examples to Inspire Your Heart and Mind!)

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This article explores what love poems are, how to write the perfect one, and our favorite contemporary examples

What are love poems , how to write love poems, choose your subject carefully , find your form, have a sensory focus, consider metaphors, don’t be afraid to get vulnerable, 5 examples of great love poems, love and friendship by emily bronte, she walks in beauty by lord byron, love by carol ann duffy, yours by daniel hoffman, for him by rupi kaur.

Valentine’s Day is closer than you think! So, what better time to explore love poems and romantic rhythms?

Research any book of poems and you’ll find one of the most prolific themes of them all is, of course, love.

Love offers a range of emotions that can be thoroughly explored through poetry. 

But how do you crack the code of writing a love poem that doesn’t sound cliché and allows the reader to immerse themselves into the visual you’re trying to create?

Time to get in touch with our feelings…

Love poems are written pieces that conveys any form of love and the various emotions that stem from it.

This can include romantic love, sibling love, a love for a pet, or love for the great outdoors—anything that impacts you greatly! 

Think of love poems as a window into your heart for the reader to peep through. Powerful, right? 

People take different approaches to writing love poems. Some go down a humorous route and compose limericks while others create ballads to add drama and emotion.

Freelance writers may feel like poetry is for other types of writers, but the practice is quite relevant to your craft !

Love is a complex theme to explore, so love poems need to creatively communicate certain aspects of it rather than attempt to tackle the emotion or experience as a whole.

This means the poet should aim to explore feelings of being in love, feeling a lack of love, yearning for love, and so on.

What’s your inspiration?

Who or what is your muse?

Consider why you are writing a passionate poem. Once you’re clear on your subject and intent, it becomes a lot easier to let those  words naturally flow. 

Between sonnets, free verses, haikus and all other poetry forms, you’ll want to find the form that feels right for you.

If you’re not sure how about this, let’s take a look at each form in a bit more detail: 

Sonnet’s are known as a daily old form of poetry used by none other than Shakespeare himself! Originating in the 13th century, sonnet comes from the Italian word for “little song,” and it is typically made up of 14 lines. Most sonnet poems center themselves on love so it could just be the perfect form for your next passionate piece of writing.

As a more modern, popular style of poetry, free verse gives the writer a lot of liberation in how many lines and stanzas they can work with.  Although the freedom of this poetic form seems like an easy option to choose, it actually is more tricky because of the lack of guidance!

This ancient Japanese poetry form became globally renowned for its complete simplicity. Consisting of only three lines and only five syllables on the first and third line, Haiku form is a fun activity for anyone to try out—though it may not be your best bet for an intimate love poem.

Evoking a dramatic and emotionally-driven story, ballads use a set form of four lines with a rhythmic scheme. You’ll find most pop songs these daycare ballads even though they originated from written poetry. 

Most poems center themselves on imagery to create a clear picture in the minds of readers, and love poems are no different. 

They tend to rely on senses, symbolism and figurative language to connect with their audience and convey a particular message. 

Think about what details you can draw from your subject. Andre Breton does a great job of pulling out the intricate details in his ode to a woman who he has not met, ‘Always for the first time’ where he describes his feelings as a “hopeless fusion of your presence and absence.”

If there is anything that love poems are notorious for is their brilliant use of metaphors that can make you feel all sorts of emotions in one line! 

Love poems are experts of comparisons in a bid to create flatter, however  we’d recommend not over-using them. Instead add metaphors in places where you want the reader to feel or see something, otherwise the poem can become a little over-sappy!

Getting vulnerable with your poem is essentially the key to making it a genuine and gripping read. While it’s easy to immerse ourselves into a fictional story for children’s poems and that of similar style, love poems require honesty and raw emotion. The more realistic you are about your experience, the better your poem will be. 

We end up dealing with writer’s block not because we can’t think of what to say, but because we fear letting the words in our mind come onto paper. But in reality, that’s what makes a great love poem!

In need of love poetry inspiration?

We’ve rounded up a list of our most adored poems that really touched our hearts.

Love is like the wild rose-briar, Friendship like the holly-tree— The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms But which will bloom most constantly? The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring, Its summer blossoms scent the air; Yet wait till winter comes again And who will call the wild-briar fair? Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now And deck thee with the holly’s sheen, That when December blights thy brow He still may leave thy garland green.

She walks in beauty, like the night  Of cloudless climes and starry skies;  And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes;  Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

you’re where I stand, hearing the sea, crazy  for the shore, seeing the moon ache and fret for the earth. When morning comes, the sun, ardent,  covers the trees in gold, you walk 

I am yours as the summer air at evening is  Possessed by the scent of linden blossoms,  As the snowcap gleams with light  Lent it by the brimming moon.  Without you I’d be an unleaded tree Blasted in a bleakness with no Spring.

no,  it won’t  be love at  first sight when  we meet it’ll be love  at first remembrance  ‘cause i’ve recognized you  in my mother’s eyes when she tells me,  marry the type of man you’d want to raise your son to be like.

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• Writing Tips

5 Tips on How to Write a Love Poem

4-minute read

• 14th February 2021

With Valentine’s Day upon us, what better way to declare your love than with a poem ? We even have five top tips to help you write a love poem:

• Read a range of love poems to get some inspiration.
• Decide what type of poetry you want to write.
• Think about the feelings you have for the person you are writing to.
• Find a way to make your poem unique and personal.
• Proofread your poem to make sure it is error free.

For more detail on writing romantic verse, watch the video or check out our guide below.

1. Read Some Classic Love Poems

Love has long been a favorite topic for poets. Famous examples include “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns, “Sonnet 18” by Shakespeare, “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron, and “How Do I Love Thee” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

These are classics of the genre, so they’ve shaped the language and style we expect from love poems today. But many modern poets have come up with new and interesting ways of saying “I love you” in poetry as well.

John Cooper Clarke, for instance, imagines himself as a vacuum cleaner :

I wanna be your vacuum cleaner Breathing in your dust I wanna be your Ford Cortina I will never rust

If you like your coffee hot Let me be your coffee pot You call the shots I wanna be yours

Similarly, Frank O’Hara finds passion in the ordinary in “Having a Coke with You,” while Roger McGough keeps it short and sweet in the four-line poem “Beguiling.”

These examples show you don’t have to stick to a serious or overused formula.

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2. Choose a Poetry Form

There are many forms of poetry . Popular choices for love poems include:

• Sonnet – A style of poetry most associated with Shakespeare. At only 14 lines long , a sonnet is perfect for expressing strong emotions.
• Acrostic – A poem in which the first letter of each line spells out a word (e.g., the name of your beloved).
• Concrete poetry – Poems in which the words form an image on the page. An easy option for a love poem would be a heart, but why not go for something more personal to you and the person you’re writing for?

Of course, you don’t have to restrict yourself to these styles. You could use free verse , which isn’t restricted by meter or rhyme, giving you free rein to express your feelings. But picking an established form can help if you’re not sure where to start!

3. Think About Your Feelings

Before you start writing your love poem, think about the feelings you are trying to express. Think about the person you are writing to and how you feel about them.

A huge range of feelings have been expressed in love poems down the ages, not just the basic idea of “love”! Whether you want to express joy, hope, passion, or fun, thinking about this first will help you set the tone of your poem.

4. Make It Personal

A good love poem should come from the heart. But how can you make sure that your poem feels truly personal? A few helpful tips include:

• Don’t use old-fashioned or overblown language, including words like “thee” and “thou,” just to sound like Shakespeare. Use your own voice instead!
• Avoid clichés , such as overused metaphors and similes about roses.
• Include references to things that make your relationship special. It may be a shared love of Partick Thistle Football Club, a passion for Scrabble, or a shared experience, but details like these can help to make your poem unique.

Aim to write a poem that nobody else could have written! It should express your feelings for the person you love, not a preconceived idea of what “love” should be.

5. Proofread Your Love Poem

Finally, to show you really care, proofread your love poem to make sure it is error free. A poem full of mistakes will not convince anyone of your love, after all!

Whether you are writing a sonnet or a haiku, our editors can help you with all your proofreading needs . Submit a free writing sample today to find out more.

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• Writing Poems About Love: A Guide to Capturing Emotions

Love, an emotion that has inspired countless poets throughout history, can be a captivating theme for writing poetry. It allows us to explore the depths of our hearts, expressing the intense joys and sorrows we experience in relationships. If you're looking to craft poems about love, this guide will provide you with valuable insights and examples to help you capture the essence of this powerful emotion.

Example Poem:

1. reflect on your feelings.

Before penning your poem, take a moment to immerse yourself in the emotions you wish to convey. Love can evoke a myriad of feelings such as passion, longing, tenderness, and heartache. Close your eyes and let your mind wander through the memories, sensations, and thoughts that love inspires.

Unspoken Whispers

In the twilight of your eyes, I find solace, A refuge for my restless soul.

Within your gentle touch, I'm consumed, Devoured by the flames of desire.

But when words fail, Love finds its voice, In the unspoken whispers of our hearts.

2. Use Vivid Imagery

To bring your love poem to life, incorporate vivid imagery that appeals to the senses. Paint a picture with words, allowing the reader to not only understand your emotions but also experience them. Engage all five senses whenever possible, making your readers feel the warmth of a touch, the fragrance of a flower, or the taste of a bittersweet kiss.

Scarlet Petals

In a garden of blooming roses, Your love unfurls like scarlet petals, Brushing against my skin.

Each touch, a gentle caress, Leaving traces of passion, Burning within my veins.

Your whisper, a delicate fragrance, I inhale, intoxicated, Drunk on this sweet elixir.

3. Play with Metaphors and Symbols

Metaphors and symbols can add depth and intrigue to your love poems. They allow you to express complex emotions in a concise and captivating way. Consider using metaphors to compare love to elements of nature, celestial bodies, or even everyday objects. Symbols can evoke universal meanings, creating a deeper connection with your readers.

Love's Symphony

Love is a symphony, Each note a tender caress, Strings of passion intertwining, Creating melodies in our chests.

Your laughter, a symphony's crescendo, Filling the air with pure delight, And when tears fall like raindrops, Love's music holds us tight.

4. Explore the Ups and Downs

Love is a journey filled with ups and downs, and your poems should reflect this reality. Capture the euphoria of falling in love, the bliss of shared moments, but also the heartache of loss or unrequited love. By embracing both the light and the shadows, you create a more authentic and relatable portrayal of love's complexities.

Love's Dance

We danced upon the moonlit shore, Love's rhythm guiding our every step, A symphony of laughter and joy, In this waltz, our hearts adept.

But as the seasons changed their tune, The dance grew sluggish, our feet unsure, Each step a painful reminder, That love's flame may no longer endure.

5. Experiment with Different Forms

Don't be afraid to experiment with different poetic forms when writing about love. From sonnets to haikus, free verse to ballads, each form offers a unique structure that can enhance the impact of your words. Let the form you choose complement the emotions you wish to convey, enabling your poem to resonate with readers on a deeper level.

Eternal Sonnet

Eyes meet across a crowded room, Love's spark ignites, sealing our fate, Two souls entwined, bound by this date, A sonnet of passion in full bloom.

With every word, our hearts enthrall, In fourteen lines, our love's story, A timeless tale of joy and glory, For love like ours, forever we'll scrawl.

So let this sonnet be our shrine, A testament to love's sacred vow, Through every season, yours I'll be, For in your arms, eternity's mine.

Writing poems about love is an endeavor that allows you to delve into the depths of your emotions, capturing the essence of this universal human experience. By reflecting on your feelings, using vivid imagery, employing metaphors and symbols, exploring the highs and lows, and experimenting with different poetic forms, you can create powerful and evocative poems that resonate with readers. So, pick up your pen and let love guide your words on this beautiful poetic journey.

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How to write a love poem

Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Westminster

Disclosure statement

Hannah Copley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Westminster provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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For many, this year’s Valentine’s Day will be like no other. If you are spending the day apart from your loved ones, and don’t fancy the card selection at your local Tesco, writing a poem can be a more personal way to reach out and connect. Indeed, to paraphrase John Donne, “more than kisses, [poems] mingle souls”.

Here are some poems to take inspiration from, as well as some prompts to help you get that first line on the page.

Make a list

In her sonnet, How Do I Love Thee , Elizabeth Barrett Browning demonstrates the effectiveness of staying power when it comes to writing romance. After setting out to count the ways, the poem sticks determinedly to its opening concept – how do I love thee – answering the question from every possible angle, reaching to “the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach”.

Read more: Poems for long distant loves in lockdown

How do I love thee demonstrates how incorporating a list within a poem can make for a persuasive and intimate piece of writing. We see this again, in an altogether sillier way, in Ways of Making Love , by Hera Lindsay Bird. In her poem, Bird unfolds a surprising and decidedly unsexy list of similes to “answer” the instructional title of the poem:

Like a metal detector detecting another metal detector. Like two lonely scholars in the dark clefts of the Cyrillic alphabet. Like an ancient star slowly getting sucked into a black hole.

Whether it’s heartfelt or more lighthearted, a list poem is an opportunity to remember the quirks that make up a relationship. Half prayer, half receipt, it can quantify the seemingly unquantifiable, as the need to find the next answer to the opening question forces you to think creatively and explore beyond the obvious.

Why not begin with a title like “Each Thing You Do”, and challenge yourself to at least forty lines. Or perhaps you might want to answer Barrett Browning’s original question in light of our 2021 reality:

I love you further than two metres; I love you beyond the limits of my daily walk.

Embrace desire

Ways of Making Love might not live up to the eroticism of its title, but Selima Hill’s Desire’s a Desire certainly delivers:

It taunts me like the muzzle of a gun; it sinks into my soul like chilled honey packed into the depths of treacherous wounds;

In this variation of the list poem, Hill takes longing as her starting point and recounts its effects in sensual, almost painful detail. Similarly, in Kim Addionzo’s For Desire , the poet celebrates what it is to want without restraint or guilt, whether that’s “the strongest cheese”, the “good wine”, or “the lover who yanks open the door / of his house and presses me to the wall”. In Fucking in Cornwall , Ella Frears embraces the less-than-glamorous realities of sex and desire:

The rain is thick and there’s half a rainbow over the damp beach; just put your hand up my top.

It may not be the stuff of the big-budget period drama, but it’s joyful in its nostalgia for the awkward fumbling of first love, as well as of the rainy delights of the English seaside.

Each of these poems celebrates the power of declaring longing and need; of articulating the body and what it wants.

Perhaps you’ll notice something familiar about the opening lines of Harryette Mullen’s Dim Lady :

My honeybunch’s peepers are nothing like neon. Today’s special at Red Lobster is redder than her kisser. If Liquid Paper is white, her racks are institutional beige. If her mop were Slinkys, dishwater Slinkys would grow on her noggin.

In this fast-paced ode, Mullen takes Shakespeare’s famous Sonnet 130 (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”) — itself a parody — and effectively scribbles all over it. While she maintains the style of the original, she substitutes almost every word with a contemporary reference to mass consumer culture, rendering the whole declaration — and the love industry — joyfully ridiculous.

Dim Lady demonstrates the power of the re-write and celebrates the fact that poetry – like love – can be a playful and adaptable collaboration. Like the Zoom pub quiz and online escape room, Mullen’s word substitution is a game that can be played at whatever distance.

Why not each take Sonnet 130 and come up with your own versions using a different frame of reference. Types of plant? TV programmes? Biscuit brands? Then swap and compare results.

And remember, whatever style you decide to try this Valentine’s Day, keep in mind the poet Les Murray’s sage advice:

The best love poems are known as such to the lovers alone.

When it comes to writing your own verse, remember, it’s the thought that counts.

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7 Tips For Writing A Love Poem

Even when words feel like they’re not enough to express your love, poetry can help. Equipped with legions of literary tools that move the soul, poetry can be an effective and touching way to show love.

Whether you’re lovesick, in love, or want to show a family member how much you love them, a love poem can be your answer. Even though poetry can solve the problem of feeling like you’re not saying enough, you still have to work hard for your love poem to speak.

Nervous? Not sure where to start in order to tackle this beast? We’ve got you covered with 7 tips on how to write a love poem for any occasion.

How To Write A Love Poem: 7 Tips

Think of your subject. Hone in on your inspiration, on your subject of love. Think about why you’re writing this. Do you want to reveal your love or show how deep it is? Think about what effect you want this poem to have. Once you understand the general intent of your poem and get in the zone, it’ll be a lot easier to let the words flow.

Form is your friend . Choose widley. Love poems are often characterized by romantic structures. One of Shakespeare’s most famous poems, “ Sonnet 18 ,” popularized the sonnet as a love poem structure. You can also try an ode or a ghazal . Each of these poem structures contributes to a different tone and vibe. Think about picking one that matches your subject and intention, or you can pave your own path.

Hyperboles can be good, but don’t get too cheesy . Love can take an incredibly powerful hold on your entire being, so it only makes sense that poems tend to describe such feelings with exaggeration. Oftentimes, hyperboles are extremely effective. But if you’re going to use one, make it original. 

Add specific details . Love comes through in the details you notice and capture, especially the ones that only you know. Think about what details and conclusions you can draw from these details. A great example of this is in Craig Arnold’s “ Bird-Understander ,” where he writes about his lover through her letters about a bird in an airport.

Think about your metaphors . Love poems tend to feel like they’re saying more than words because they are experts of comparisons. As you write your own, think about what metaphors you can use. Carefully pick one and think it through. Bonus points if you use something sensory, like a brilliant visual or specific smell. 

Get vulnerable . Expressing your love is inherently vulnerable, so it follows that love poems are challenging. If you catch yourself having writer’s block, reflect a bit. Are you hesitating saying more or putting yourself out there? Think about ways you can be vulnerable but still be comfy. Challenge yourself. The vulnerable love poems are the honest ones and, typically, good ones.

Be you . It’s easier said than done, but when you’re writing, stay true to you. Learning how to write a love poem isn't about making your writing sound too sappy or romantic or rhymey. Be sincere, be you and all your wonderful personality. It does sound corny, but the best love poems are those that come from your heart. 

Now you know how to write a love poem! Are you ready to try it out? Nerves are good, but don’t worry too much. Believe in what you have to say and that your words are valid. When you conquer this, join the other brave writers of this community and share your work on PowerPoetry.org . You can explore our other poetry resources too!

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How to write love poetry

By BBC Maestro

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Whether you want to surprise your significant other with a poem from the heart on Valentine’s Day, or want to add an extra special touch to your wedding vows, writing your own love poem is the perfect way to do it. 

Read on for an essential guide on how to write love poetry from the heart, with some beautiful insights from former Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

What makes a good love poem?

How to write a love poem.

• 1. Identify a subject
• 2. Decide on form
• 3. Choose your words
• 4. Consider imagery and symbolism
• 5. Be yourself

Love is one of the most common themes for poetry, but it can also be one of the trickiest topics to get right. How do you write love poetry that resonates without being too sappy? How can you express true emotion while avoiding clichés? Here are our three key elements of a good love poem.

Avoid clichés

It might be difficult to get right, but sincere emotion that avoids cliché is what elevates love poetry from run-of-the-mill to something spectacular. Carol Ann Duffy reflects on this in her BBC Maestro course, Writing Poetry . She says:

“The love poem is the most challenging poem to write because there’s the danger of cliché, the danger of tipping slightly into sentimental song lyrics. How do we avoid cliché in the love poem?”

Her solution for avoiding cliché? To be aware of it when you’re crafting your poem. That means, firstly, that you need to know what the clichés are when it comes to love poems. Reading widely should help you to become aware of the tropes used when talking about love, like the famous ‘roses are red, violets are blue’.

Knowing what the clichés are, then, can help you to avoid them in your own poetry. She advises to always be conscious of the words you’re using, saying:

“Scrutinise your poems, don’t go for the obvious, the first phrase that comes to mind. Or if you do use a cliché, revitalise it. Alertness to the words you’re using to construct the poem is essential.”

Looking at love through an unorthodox lens may also help you to avoid the predictable. Rather than comparing the object of your affection to a rose, for example, you could think of a different emblem for your love.

Carol Ann Duffy does this in her poem Valentine , in which she gifts her significant other an onion. The opening stanzas read:

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion. It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love.

Here. It will blind you with tears like a lover. It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief.

The poem highlights both the good and bad parts of an intense relationship through one central extended metaphor, an unusual Valentine’s gift of an onion. Various aspects of love and relationships are explored through the onion, giving a perspective that is, perhaps, more realistic than – as Duffy says herself in the poem – “a cute card or a kissogram”.

Explore the universal

Another thing that makes a love poem stand out is when it’s relatable to readers. Most love poems are written with a specific person in mind, and often refer to details that are unique to them. However, they resonate with readers because they also look beyond the specific to universal themes which almost anyone who has loved or lost can relate to.

Take the poem When you go by former Scots Makar, Edwin Morgan:

When you go, if you go, And I should want to die, there’s nothing I’d be saved by more than the time you fell asleep in my arms in a trust so gentle I let the darkening room drink up the evening, till rest, or the new rain lightly roused you awake. I asked if you heard the rain in your dream and half dreaming still you only said, I love you.

It’s a short poem and undoubtedly calls upon Morgan’s own experiences, but there’s a universality of experience – the remembering of a quiet, peaceful moment with a loved one after they’re gone – that anyone can relate to.

Carol Ann Duffy encourages you to draw upon your experiences when writing love poetry, while being mindful that it should also appeal to a broader audience. She says: “It doesn’t matter if you refer to a particular incident, as long as you’re confident that all lovers could relate to that poem.” One way to connect these individual experiences to universal emotions is with poetic devices like imagery and alliteration.

Heightened senses

“Nowhere are our senses more acute,” Carol Ann Duffy says, “than when we fall in love. We undergo a literal chemical change in our bodies: we produce oxytocin, the love hormone. The poetry equivalent of oxytocin is the love poem.”

The best love poems, then, plays on these heightened emotions with hyperbole and inventive language – or, conversely, they focus in on minute details or everyday events that are completely ordinary but, when in love, seem magical.

Take Carol Ann Duffy’s Tea, for instance. In this poem, she describes the very simple act of making a cup of tea for her loved one, as seen in the opening two stanzas:

I like pouring your tea, lifting the heavy pot, and tipping it up, so the fragrant liquid streams in your china cup.

Or when you’re away, or at work, I like to think of your cupped hands as you sip, as you sip, of the faint half-smile of your lips.

It highlights the heightened experience of love, even in the most everyday of acts. As Duffy explains:

“When we’re in love, we love to do ordinary things. They seem miraculous. We bestow upon the beloved a glamour, a magic that they don’t actually possess, but they do in our heightened state.”

She encourages you to explore language to match those elevated experiences, whether that’s through an exploration of the everyday as in Tea , or through a more elaborate declaration of love, as in Robert Burns’ famous poem, A Red, Red Rose in which he declares everlasting love that will endure even when the couple are separated. The opening two stanzas of that poem read:

O my Luve’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June; O my Luve’s like the melodie That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

As fair are thou, my bonie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will luve thee still, my Dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry.

In Tea and A Red, Red Rose , we have two quite different poems that approach love in two very different ways, but each shows how heightened language and the use of imagery can reflect the heightened experience of being in love and resonate with the reader.

Authenticity, universality, and heightened senses. These are three key ingredients of the perfect love poem, but how can you write your own? Here are our top tips.

1.     Think of a subject

Think about who or what you’re writing about, and what emotions you’re trying to convey. You might find it helpful to draw a mind map or simply jot some ideas down on a piece of paper to get your imagination going. Whether you want to express passion, hope, joy, beauty or even heartbreak and the sadness of love, this will help to form the basis of your poem.

2.     Decide on a form

You could go traditional and write a sonnet, or you could play with free verse. Working within an established form, like a sonnet or blank verse, might be useful to guide you – or you might prefer to let your words pour out, unencumbered by poetic conventions. Not sure which to use? Don’t worry, you can always experiment with different poetic forms until you find the one that best fits your subject and poetic style.

3.     Choose your words

As we mentioned before, the best love poems use heightened language to convey the heightened senses that come with love. You might express this through exaggerated language and hyperbole, or through more subtle literary techniques like anaphora and epistrophe .

4.     Consider imagery and symbolism

Part of the decisions you’ll make around language will be around what imagery to use in your poetry. Most love poems do include some sort of imagery, whether it’s the extended metaphor of the onion in Valentine , or the comparison to a summer’s day in Shakespeare’s famous Sonnet 18 . As Carol Ann Duffy says, “We experience the world physically and we must never forget to bring our senses into our language.”

5.     Be yourself

We’ve spoken about crafting poems that have universal appeal but often, the best love poems are inspired by first hand experiences. They may mention details specific to the poet’s beloved, but it’s the honesty and truthfulness of them that ensure they’re resonant with a wide audience. So, don’t be afraid to write from the heart, be a little vulnerable, and draw upon your own personal experiences and emotions when writing a love poem – especially if you’re dedicating it to a particular person for a special occasion.

Hopefully, these tips will get you started with writing your own love poetry. Look out for inspiration in the everyday, draw upon your own experiences and we’re sure that your poems will resonate.

Want to find out more about how to write poetry? Subscribe to Carol Ann Duffy’s BBC Maestro course, Writing Poetry , and learn how to draw upon your own experiences, play around with metre and rhyme, and find your unique voice.

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Poetry Meets Passion: 4 Approaches to Writing a Love Poem

From Shakespeare’s classic sonnets to Rupi Kaur’s shorter verses, love stands out as an enduring subject in poetry. With so much written about love, including whole anthologies , it can prove difficult to ward off cliches and to make such a universal, timeless emotion feel fresh. Of course, new poets don’t have to stumble alone. Some of poetry’s strongest voices have penned unforgettable love poems that we can all learn from. When you’re in love, you have to express it—here’s how.

Find the extraordinary in the ordinary, like Frank O’Hara

Love can be found in the exhilarating: Who wouldn’t adore a romantic vacation, fancy date, or thoughtful, over-the-top present? Despite this common perception of love, however, most see it in daily details, like the way they and their partner make a grocery list together, cuddle up while watching old films, or catch each other’s eyes while browsing used bookstores. Think about it—movie montages are made of these small, significant moments.  

In “Having a Coke with You,” one of my favorite love poems, O’Hara evokes this familiar strategy. He sets the poem while sharing a Coke with a lover, at 4 in the afternoon, and juxtaposes this seemingly common experience with grand, worldly imagery. 

“Having a Coke with you / is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, / Ir ún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne / or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona / partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian / partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt,” O’Hara writes. 

These details, like the lover’s orange shirt and affinity for yogurt, make the relationship specific, but also relatable to any reader. We could all swap these specifics for ones that describe someone we love, making the poem — and O’Hara’s experience of love itself — ageless and transcendent. 

Prompt: What’s something you do every day with the one you love? How could this become the setting of a poem? Include details and specific imagery.

Explore love through a singular metaphor system, like beyza ozer.

Do you and your partner share a fascination with dinosaurs, the paranormal, ‘90s hip-hop, or something else that’s unique and specific to you? That might not seem relevant to poetry, but beyza ozer’s poem “To Summarize a Galaxy,” suggests otherwise. 

This poem comes from ozer and their partner’s love of space. In the poem, this shared interest becomes an interesting, unexpected lens through which to examine love. 

“we are beginning to look like lightning or the frameworks of / buildings too far away or the line where the lake meets the sky. you are every 1996 space / exploration gone right & I am waiting for you to come home with a backpack filled with moon / rock & stardust to keep in our apartment. we find small jars to hide behind our pillows & fill / every corner with something only we have touched,” ozer writes. 

The overarching metaphor of space emphasizes so much about love: how all-consuming it can be, how special and miraculous it can feel, and how it can even seem to suspend gravity. Instead of directly stating these feelings — which could seem too sentimental — ozer lets the metaphor illustrate the point for them. 

Prompt : Hone in on a shared hobby, interest, or obsession between you and your partner. It can be anything you want — the weirder, the better. How can you reflect your love while writing about that overlying subject?

Run with a hypothetical, like tara skurtu .

Have you ever had a dream so emotional it felt real? Skurtu begins her poem “Morning Love Poem” with a retelling of such a dream.

The poem shows how a dream — specifically, a dream that the speaker accidentally killed her lover by feeding them something they were allergic to — can impact real life, often making us more perceptive. Dreaming plays a huge part in love: In addition to dreaming of a lover while asleep, people in love might day-dream about them throughout the day, or plan for the future in a dreamy, hopeful haze. A former professor of mine used to say, “Poems have their own truths.” While a dream might not represent a true event, it can still reveal truths about a relationship or about any experience, as well as provide an interesting entry point for a poem.

“Dreamt last night, I fed you, unknowingly / something you were allergic to. / And you were gone, like that. / … Sometimes, dreams slip poison, make the living / dead then alive again, twirling / in an unfamiliar room. / It’s hard to say I need you enough. / Today I did. Walked into your morning / shower fully clothed,” Skurtu writes, showing how a dream acted as a sort of reawakening.

Prompt : Write about love from the perspective of a dream or of a fear. What real-life truths linger in this imagined reality?

Acknowledge the past — and believe in better, like traci brimhall.

Sometimes, love ends. Sometimes, love results in heartbreak. Whether we mean to or not, almost all of us carry this baggage into new relationships and experiences. Like the speaker in Brimhall’s poem, we can be afraid to surrender to love again.

In Brimhall’s “Aubade With a Confederacy of Daisies,” the speaker acknowledges how past heartache can linger even in a new relationship, as well as broaches the fear and anxiety that can accompany falling in love. While most love poems don’t betray these less idealized feelings, Brimhall’s handling of them makes the poem a portrait of more mature, complex love — love that is all the more precious because the speaker knows how rare and fleeting love can be.

“Love gives me a toothbrush, a confederacy / of daisies, the top half of silk pajamas. And I am / afraid to heal, though kindness opens me like / a pinecone in fire. / … We are still new to each other. / We don’t know how much we will have / to forgive,” Brimhall writes.

Prompt : Let the ghost of a past heartbreak make an appearance in a love poem. What lessons can these different relationships teach each other?

Transform your love into poetry everyone will love. Happy writing!

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How to Write a Real Love Poem (Without Clichés or Bad Rhymes)

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It’s the time of year when my students write love poems. This arrival always surprises me—as spring’s green shocks after months of winter gray—but it shouldn’t. It’s as predictable as the city’s daffodils pushing through the trash to shiver in the wind.

Forget the saccharine of greeting cards and the singsong of Roses are red, violets are blue . Love poems can be moving, beautiful, romantic. Yes, they can express affection for a beloved person, but the poems we need most have skin in the game, and something more profound at stake.

It felt easier to write poems about longing and desire as a young woman, but as the years have passed, I’ve found that, just as sustaining a relationship isn’t always easy, writing love poems about a long marriage can be a challenge. How do you see the person you’ve lived with for decades as if for the first time? How do you make the 10,000th kiss romantic and new?

As much as we may want—or need—to write a love poem, it’s often difficult to find a language that adequately expresses the way we feel. For one thing, it’s hard to strike the right tone. When a poem is flooded with too much emotion, it becomes sentimental, even cheesy; but when a poem risks nothing, it leaves a reader cold.

The best love poems enact the hyperaware state of being alive we feel when we’re in love. Everything is suddenly technicolor: “There are days we live/as if death were nowhere/in the background; from joy/to joy to joy, /from wing to wing,/from blossom to blossom to/impossible blossom” Li-Young Lee writes , capturing love’s fleeting jubilance.

Rita Dove’s “Flirtation” works a similar magic, reminding us that “My heart/is humming a tune/I haven’t heard in years!” The poem encourages us not to miss the world’s deliciousness: “Quiet’s cool flesh—/let’s sniff and eat it./There are ways/to make of the moment/a topiary/so the pleasure’s in/walking through.”

The most powerful love poems, I think, address the fact that we are here now and one day won’t be. Keats’s “ Ode on Melancholy ” is an exquisite example. Keats knew immense suffering in his day—he lived through his generation’s pandemic and lost his mother and his brother to tuberculosis before succumbing himself at 25. Yet he admonishes the reader not to retreat from life but rather, “when the melancholy fit shall fall…then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose.” His advice? Move through the world embracing its pleasures, hearts open, despite knowing full well we will lose our beloveds, will indeed lose everything, on this whole spinning beautiful earth.

Love poems help us celebrate the gift of being alive even—perhaps especially—during challenging times. The past few years may have left us bruised—but are we done with life? I am still so into it. The buzz of meeting a friend for a drink now that we can once again meet friends for drinks, the student who wants to come by my (in-person!) office hours to “hang out and read poems,” my husband beside me as he sleeps. As I type, he is still here on earth breathing. And I am. “One day, I know, it will be otherwise,” notes the poet Jane Kenyon . But for now.

One afternoon, just when the city seemed to be emerging from the first crush of the pandemic, I was cutting through Central Park after an appointment. The meadow was mostly empty—folks still working from home, tourists hadn’t come back—but giant speakers streamed Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” that iconic love poem to New York City. The few of us out walking that morning were in luck—we could dance a little, maybe, or at least step with a bounce; no one’s looking. Life rebounding in New York City, the full force of it, joy! “People do know they’re alive,” says Alex Dimitrov in Love and Other Poems . The best love poems offer respite and revivify; they remind me that I, too, love being alive.

Soon the lilacs will bloom, but so briefly. Even more reason to seek them out and breathe in deep. And this is what I most want out of love poems: I want to embrace the powerful life force that surges up again and again despite the years passing, despite the heartache and disappointments, the losses and griefs, despite it all.

Ecstasies By Deborah Landau

In the xyzs of nights and days we stayed as if the conversation would go on forever, you, you, you—ample days of you, your beard accumulating a bit of snow, the gradual showing of bone, a grizzled diminishment. The stacked-up winters, each in its place. In this manner the years. Spooled out the other side as if in plain view— a field without you. Meanwhile we took good care, the greens were organic, honey sweetened the pot, the membrane between us stayed transparent and we took seriously our allegiance to dream. Flesh By Deborah Landau It must give pleasure but rarely it rarely does. But pleasure is so useful when it comes. Pleasure says this is your sort of place, your year, you live here. Pleasure’s the perfect swerve. It wins you back. Pain won’t take you nowhere. Chocolate on the tongue. Vodka. Velvet. Voila. A zipper slinking in its silver, its long slide down.

Deborah Landau is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently Skeletons (April 2023). Her other books include Soft Targets , The Uses of the Body , The Last Usable Hour , and Orchidelirium , which was selected by Naomi Shihab Nye for the Robert Dana Anhinga Prize for Poetry. In 2016, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The New York Times, among others. She is a professor at NYU, where she directs the creative writing program.

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How To Write a Love Poem

Love has been the ultimate poetry topic since poetry's beginning. It is one of the strongest emotions after all, and one that sometimes doesn't even feel like words will do it justice. Getting started on a love poem can seem daunting. It's deeply personal and when the subject is so meaningful there can be a lot of pressure to get it just right. We have heard that there are so many " rules " over the years when it comes to good poetry, and while there are certainly rules that make good writing in fact good, poetry is one of those forms of writing that can be much more subjective and "looser" in terms of the rules. This is especially liberating when it comes to writing about love.

There are certainly steps to take that can improve poetry writing in general, and many of these can be applied to writing about any subject. So, for beginners, and anyone who needs a refresher about poetry writing, general writing guidelines, and then most specifically writing about love, the below points will go a long way in leveling up those love poems or give you a place to start if you're ready to get those heartfelt feelings on paper.

1. Read other love poems for inspiration

Reading classic love poems will provide inspiration for writing love poems of your own. As a writer, it's always helpful to read, but even more helpful to read within the genre you want to write. Stephen King once said, If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or tools) to write. Reading and paying attention to details within writing you admire is a great way to get you thinking about the poetry you'd want to create yourself. And since we are discussing love poems, when reading these think about all the different ways poets say "I love you" within their work and what love means to you and how you'd want to express it metaphorically and symbolically. Reading is the most important thing any writer can do to improve and be inspired. Often when a writer is stuck or experiencing writer's block, the best advice is to read. Inspiration will follow!

2. Think about your feelings for the person/subject of your poem

Think about the person, creature, place, thing, the subject of your poem, and what feelings you want to express about them. Not all love poems have to simply have the message of "I love you" but rather can dig further into the depth of what love means to you when associated with something in particular. It could be a happy and joyous love or a tortured love. It could be about passion or the lack thereof. It could be about how different fun is with someone or something you love or when the fun is gone after love. There are a range of feelings to be expressed in love poems, so think about what your feelings are for your subject matter and let the words flow from there.

3. Start small

Think about a single moment or experience you shared with the person you want to write about. It's also helpful to write down any words or phrases you associate with them, and then start small utilizing those words, phrases, or that one experience. A short poem of a few lines or even less is a good way to get the creativity flowing and start to familiarize yourself with love poems and the emotion that comes along with them. Try writing a haiku or even a brief reflective idea that may either stand on its own or become incorporated into a longer poem later. Some of the most impactful and heartfelt writing can be short and simple but have endless depth. Simply getting started can be more than half the battle, so don't think you have to write a long narrative love story to make meaningful poetry. Quality outweighs quantity every time.

4. Write first, edit later

Nothing kills creativity like editing as you are writing. The first draft can (and often should) be full of liberties and mistakes and writing that might not even make sense because getting the ideas and feelings out is what first drafts are all about. Editing is a more technical part of the writing process, and it can impede the creative process. Don't think about how the poem isn't perfect or you can't find the right word or description just yet. Write first, the refining and perfecting will come later. But once you have your ideas in order, be sure not to neglect editing either. Love poems are deeply personal so looking at them from a technical angle might not feel right, but it is important to make the writing the best it can be.

5. Read your poems out loud

Reading out loud helps you pick up on the way the words sound and flow together in ways that you may miss or not realize while reading silently. This can allow you to see if your word choice is working well, if your sensory details are hitting the way you intended, and if your emotion is coming across in the way you envisioned. Reading aloud is important for any type of writing and should always be part of the editing process. This allows you to hear your poems from a reader's point of view.

6. Utilize literary devices

Using tools like metaphor, simile, personification, allegory, and so on are some of the things that make poetry so powerful. Poems are often known for being deep or even interpretative, and this is especially true for love poems. These devices invite the reader to think deeply and draw their own conclusions or link their own experiences to what they feel through the use of them.

7. Use sensory descriptions

Sensory descriptions are one of the most important aspects of good writing. They are about showing versus telling . This comes down to emotion, thoughts, feelings, and even expressing ideas in simpler ways without outright telling the reader in stiff language. Every few lines ask yourself if these are verses the reader can see, smell, hear, feel, and taste firsthand. If the answer is no, then you will want to infuse your lines with more sensory descriptions. This is especially true for love poems because we often associate our feelings with certain aspects that appeal to the senses. Perhaps a certain food reminds you of the subject of your love poem, so describe its taste, texture, and smell as an example. Always look to appeal to the senses, this is where powerful writing emerges.

8. Make it deeply personal

In order to make your love poem deeply personal, it should express ideas that are particular to the relationship you are writing about and are entirely unique. Try to avoid clichés , outdated language, and broad references because then it will seem like anyone could have written the piece and it could be about anyone. Be sure to include references and feelings that make up the special relationship and could only be about that relationship.

9. Choose the form of your poem

While free verse poetry has risen in popularity in the modern era, there are so many different forms of poetry that serve as a great starting point. Some writers do better when they have parameters they must stay within, plus it's a great challenge to get the creative juices flowing. Look up the different forms of poems like haiku, villanelle, quatrain, and so on , all with their own set of rules (number of lines, rhyme scheme, meter, etc.) to familiarize yourself with poetry in all its possible forms. Being able to incorporate versatility into your writing is always valuable, even if you do end up gravitating toward free verse poetry.

10. Write what you know

Writing what you know doesn't necessarily mean only sticking to topics you know about or have experienced firsthand. Writing what you know means there should be an emotional truth that you have experienced on some level and has been part of your life. Even fictional poems, or any work of art, will have pieces of the artist within the creation. To write a love poem, you will likely have a subject in mind when beginning, but even if you don't have only one subject you can draw upon multiple experiences and topics to bring together one feeling you know to be true. Whether fiction or nonfiction, emotional truth is what makes writing resonate.

Love is one of the core topics of poetry that has been around since the beginning, and this topic will not be going anywhere in the future. Love is a feeling everyone is familiar with, and everyone has their own ideas and associations with what it is about and all the complications that come along with it. This is one of the most powerful emotions for writers to focus on, and while taking into consideration all the tips for what makes writing standout, truly moving poetry will emerge in the name of love.

Header image by Debby Hudson .

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Love Poem Generator

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How to use the Poem Generator

The AI Poem Generator is an automated tool that uses advanced language technology to create unique and creative poems based on user-selected prompts and themes.

Using the AI Poem Generator is easy. Simply type in what you want the poem to be about and click generate. If you want to go into more detail, fill out the desired options from the dropdown menus, and the AI will create a poem for you instantly.

No, the AI Poem Generator is designed to assist and inspire creativity, not replace human creativity. In actual fact, we analyzed poetry created by art, and we see it more as a tool than a replacement for human poets . It augments the writing process by offering suggestions and generating content based on inputs. With this, the AI Poem Generator is best used as a tool to help spark your poetic writing.

We support any language, from English to Spanish, to French, to the likes of Mandarin. If you find the language you want the poem to be created in is not on the dropdown above, please get in contact with us , and we can tweak the generator to include your language.

Write a prompt to begin with of what you want the poem to be about. The more detail you go into here, adding keywords, the better. Once done, use the dropdown options to add extras, such as topics and forms (like a haiku, sonnet, limerick, etc.) until you feel you have enough information to create your unique poem. Once done, press the ‘Generate Poem’ button, and your masterpiece of poetry will generate!

The Poem Analysis AI Poem Generator utilizes a large language model to create poetry from prompts and options selected. This helps to create better results when it comes to creating poetry for the first time or for the seasoned poet, which we believe can help provide inspiration, especially when experiencing writer’s block.

The content generated by our AI poem generator is purely algorithmically generated and based on sophisticated natural language processing technology. The resulting poems are automatically generated and do not reflect the personal opinions, views, or intentions of Poem Analysis. We cannot guarantee the accuracy, relevance, or quality of the generated content, as it is created in an automated manner.

The poems produced by the AI poem generator are meant for entertainment, educational, and creative purposes only. They should not be considered as professional advice, opinions, or expressions of individuals. The poems may contain errors, inaccuracies, or inconsistencies, and users are encouraged to exercise their own judgment and discretion when interpreting or using the generated content. It is also recommended to generate to improve the quality of the output poem iteratively.

We are not responsible for any actions taken based on the generated poems, nor for any outcomes or consequences resulting from their use. Users of the AI poem generator acknowledge that the generated content is algorithmically produced and may not accurately represent their own thoughts, beliefs, or emotions, just like Poem Analysis. By using the AI poem generator, users agree to the terms of this disclaimer and understand that the generated content is automatically generated without human intervention. We reserve the right to modify, update, or discontinue the AI poem generator at any time without prior notice.

Please note that the AI poem generator is a creative tool and should be used with an understanding of its limitations and automated nature.

What is a Love Poem?

A love poem is a written expression of affection, passion, or admiration for someone or something.

Poetry is an art form and, combined with love, can produce pieces of sublime reading.

When it comes to writing a love poem using the poem generator tool, the following can help in generating great love poems:

• Is it for a person?
• Is it for a thing?
• Is it for a memory?
• Is it for a place?
• Love poems can be about a love for a wide range of things.
• Engage in Free Writing: Allow your thoughts and emotions to flow onto the page without concern for form or structure initially. This is best done by adding this flowing thoughts and emotions in the main input text area.
• Highlight Key Themes and Elements: Extract the most powerful phrases, images, or ideas from your free writing to form the backbone of your poem.
• Incorporate Poetic Devices: Experiment with rhymes, metaphors, and sensory details to enhance the emotional depth and imagery of your poem. The more experimentation you do with the filters of the Poem Generator, the more likely you will find something you will like.
• Add as much information as possible . The more information you can put into the poem generator, the more niche and accurate the results.
• Iterate : Nothing good was built quickly – try different prompts and filters to see what creates you, in your eyes, the best love poem.

Examples of Love Poems

Here are some of the best love poems  you might want to explore, to help you create a love poem:

• ‘ Mad Girl’s Love Song ‘ by Sylvia Plath
• ‘ [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] ‘ by E.E. Cummings
• Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

As well as this, you can get inspiration from the following resources:

• Best Love Poems for Her
• Best Love Poems for Him
• Best Deep Love Poems
• 10 Famous Short Love Poems
• Best Love Poems for a Boyfriend and for a Girlfriend
• Memorable Unrequited Love Poems
• Best True Love Poems

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• Relationships

How to Write a Love Letter and Poem

February is the month of love and a good time to write to a loved one..

Posted February 7, 2023 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

• Why Relationships Matter
• Find counselling to strengthen relationships
• The most important purpose of a love letter is to express strong feelings.
• Passionate love letters and poems can be born out of separation.
• When writing a love letter, it can help to keep a photo nearby of the letter recipient.

Considering February is the month of love, what better time could there be to write a love letter or poem to a beloved? To be loved and nurtured is a universal need. Being loved creates feelings of acceptance and harmony.

What Is Love?

In preparing this post, I cracked open two classic books about love: Rollo May’s Love and Will , and The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm. May emphasizes how we all yearn to have a love relationship greater than ourselves, and most do this to overcome a sense of loneliness . Sometimes, these relationships are long-lived and other times, the relationship is short-lived. In his book, Fromm also highlights the importance of love as the answer to the problems of human existence. The fact is that to love another person, you must love yourself first, and Fromm supports this premise.

Love can be thought of as a higher power or a state you fall in and out of. Whatever your stance or belief, the concept of love most often elicits positive emotions and connotations. Ever since receiving my first love letter from my grade school sweetheart, I knew that falling and being in love can be life-changing, eliciting powerful emotions such as joy and elation. There is a wonderfully indescribable feeling and sense of glow that emanates from those who are in love.

Love is an emotion that we seem to have little control over. It is either there or it is not. Yet love is perhaps the most profound, wondrous, and complex word in the human language suggesting desire and interconnectedness. Love and compassion are at the heart of the world’s great spiritual traditions. Love is often said to be synonymous with the divine essence of existence and wellspring of all life—or whatever name each religion gives to its highest truth. I believe that love is my higher power.

Writing Love Letters

Passionate love letters are born out of separation. Sometimes it ’ s easier to jot down our feelings about others without being distracted by looking at them. Also, receiving a passionate love letter allows the recipient to enter into the drama and emotions of the writer. Every love letter is different and expresses the emotions unique to the relationship between two people.

Passionate love letters have been around for centuries; but, as a literary form, some scholars believe they probably originated during the Renaissance period as a way to keep the ambers hot between lovers when they were separated. Women of the Victorian era wrote love letters as a way of intimately expressing themselves.

Sometimes lovers don ’ t even have the opportunity to become intimate, so they find that their relationship revolves around letter writing. For example, this was the case with writer and philosopher Khalil Gibran, who was best known for his book, The Prophet . He had a 27-year love-letter affair with a schoolteacher. When I met my husband back in the 1970s, there was no internet, and since we lived in different countries, we enjoyed the exchange of love letters for the first two years of our relationship.

The purpose of a love letter is to inform, instruct, entertain, amuse, explore, keep in touch, and most important, to express strong feelings. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of letter writing is the opportunity to communicate exactly what ’ s on your mind. With the emergence of email correspondence, there seems to be a resurgence of the age-old art of letter writing. But truly, there ’ s nothing better than sitting down with a pen and paper and writing a letter. It ’ s also fun to buy special stationery for this purpose.

How to Begin

The best way to start writing is to make believe the person you ’ re writing to is seated across from you. Sometimes keeping a photo of the person nearby is helpful. The goal of writing a passionate love letter is to write honestly and sincerely—from your heart. Begin by making a list of all the person ’ s qualities that you love. Like a good book or article, you ’ ll want to immediately get your lover ’ s attention , so your first sentence or paragraph should be captivating. Say exactly what you want in the most forthright way possible.

Some possible openings:

“ I ’ m writing to express my love and this is how I feel about you.”

“ I am so grateful for you.”

“ You ’ ve changed my life.”

“ Having you in my life means…”

“ When I think of you I ’ m filled with…”

Reading published love letters of famous people can give you an idea of various styles. Those shared between Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller are some of the best. There ’ s an entire collection of their letters called A Literate Passion . In one letter, Nin reminisces about falling in love with Miller: “ It seems to me that from the very first, when you opened the door and held out your hand, smiling, I was taken in, I was yours.”

Writing Love Poems

Two of the most common inspirations for writing poetry are love and death. The main reason is that poetry is the voice of both the heart and the soul. The subject of love most often elicits strong feelings that are well expressed in poetic form. Poetry uses an economy of language, and sometimes the words that make it onto the page surprise us with their clarity and sincerity.

When writing a love poem, begin with a feeling or an image. Next, think about specific details about the person or the relationship. Consider writing about the firsts you experienced together. It ’ s better to be more concrete than abstract. Sometimes paying attention to the little things that you love about the person helps highlight what ’ s really important to you. Remember to make the poem sincere and personal. Similar to writing letters, it ’ s a good idea to read love poems to get an idea of different styles. To be a better poet, you need to read a lot of poetry.

Whatever form you choose—poem or a letter—be sure you write a draft and then put it away for a few days. Later, look at your writing again with fresh eyes to ensure that it conveys what you want to say. Consider reading it out loud in front of a mirror to see how it sounds. Writers usually share their work only after they ’ ve reread it and revised it a number of times, so there ’ s no need to share your letters or poems in haste.

Enjoy the writing journey, and remember, writing love letters and poems brings joy to both the writer and the recipient, so why not start yours now?

Anaïs Nin, Miller, H., & Stuhlmann, G. (1989). A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller, 1932-1953 (First Edition). Mariner Books.

Fromm, E. (2006). The Art of Loving . Harper Perennial Modern Classics.

May, R. (2007). Love and Will . W.W. Norton Co.

Diana Raab, Ph.D., is an expert in helping others transform and become empowered through creativity, especially writing.

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Blog – Posted on Tuesday, Sep 14

65 beautiful love poems everyone should know.

There’s nothing quite so moving as beautiful love poems. Luckily for us romantics, they’ve been in abundant supply throughout history! From Rumi in the Islamic Golden Age, to iconic playwright William Shakespeare, to modern-day “Instapoets” like Rupi Kaur, love has been one of the most-explored themes among writers and poets for centuries. 

In this post, we’ve put together the 65 most beautiful love poems ever written. Whether you’re looking for something to share with your partner, seeking solace after a breakup, or craving inspiration for how to write your own passionate prose , there’s bound to be a poem on this list which speaks to your heart. 

Wondering which love poem you are? Take our 30-second quiz to find out.

Which love poem are YOU?

Discover which poem best fits you in this quiz. Takes 30 seconds!

1. “Come, And Be My Baby” by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was one of America’s most acclaimed poets and storytellers, as well as a celebrated educator and civil rights activist. In ‘Come, And Be My Baby’, Angelou beautifully captures how overwhelming modern life can be and the comfort that love can provide during times of hardship — even if only for a moment.

2. "Bird-Understander" by Craig Arnold

These are your own words

your way of noticing

and saying plainly

of not turning away

you have offered them 

to me    I am only 

giving them back 

if only I could show you

how very useless 

they are not

The raw honesty of Craig Arnold’s poetry makes ‘Bird-Understander’ an easy pick for our list of the most beautiful love poems. In this piece, Arnold recounts a moment with his partner that makes his love grow even stronger. The language is simple yet evocative, putting a strong metaphor in the reader’s mind and facilitating a deeper understanding of Arnold’s feelings.

3. "Habitation" by Margaret Atwood

at the back where we squat 

outside, eating popcorn

the edge of the receding glacier

where painfully and with wonder

at having survived even

we are learning to make fire

Best known for her alarmingly realistic dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale , Margaret Atwood demonstrates similar strengths in this poem: ‘Habitation’ is strikingly real. For context, Atwood here admits to the challenges of marriage and acknowledges the work needed to overcome them. It is this candor which makes the poem so beautiful.

4. "Variations on the Word Love" by Margaret Atwood

One of the most fascinating things about love is that it can come in so many different forms — platonic, passionate, or even patronizing. Margaret Atwood unflinchingly lays out some of these in her poem ‘Variations on the Word Love’.

5. "The More Loving One" by W.H. Auden 

Were all stars to disappear or die, 

I should learn to look at an empty sky

And feel its total dark sublime, 

Though this might take me a little time.

Whilst poems about heartbreak might not be as uplifting as those about the joys of love, they can be equally as beautiful and meaningful. The celestial extended metaphor of W.H. Auden’s ‘The More Loving One’ demonstrates this — though ultimately he would rather be ‘the more loving one’ himself, Auden perfectly encapsulates the pain of loss when love ends.

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6. "To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet 

Thy love is such I can no way repay;

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in love let’s so persever, 

That when we live no more, we may live ever.

Anne Bradstreet’s Puritan belief that marriage is a gift from God comes across strongly in ‘To My Dear and Loving Husband.’ Reading it through a modern lens, it’s easy to start the poem feeling a little skeptical; however, Bradstreet’s genuine gratitude and dedication to her husband soon manifests to make it a deeply moving assertion of true love.

7. "Always For The First Time" by André Breton

There is a silk ladder unrolled across the ivy

That leaning over the precipice 

Of the hopeless fusion of your presence and absence 

I have found the secret 

Of loving you

Always for the first time

‘Always For The First Time’ is André Breton’s ode to a woman he has not met, but is willing to wait every day for. Breton was the French founder of the surrealist movement, which aimed to blur the lines between dreams and reality in art — explaining the rather whimsical nature of this beautiful love poem. 

8. "Love and Friendship" by Emily Brontë

Love doesn’t have to be confined to romance — love between friends can be just as strong and beautiful. In ‘Love and Friendship’, Emily Brontë compares romantic love to a rose — stunning but short-lived — and friendship to a holly tree which can endure all seasons.

9. "To Be In Love" by Gwendolyn Brooks

Next on our list of the most beautiful poems about love is ‘To Be in Love’ by Gwendolyn Brooks. Brooks was a poet, author, and teacher — and perhaps most notably, in 1950, was also the first African-American writer to receive a Pulitzer Prize. In this powerful poem, Brooks conveys the intense emotions which come with falling in love and how it can change your entire outlook on life.

To be in love

Is to touch with a lighter hand.

In yourself you stretch, you are well.

10. "How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning 

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a renowned Victorian poet who influenced the work of many later English-language poets, including Emily Dickinson. ‘How Do I Love Thee?’ is one of Browning’s most recognizable poems, and indeed one of the most famous love poems ever written — its ardent yet clear declaration of love has resonated with readers for over 150 years. 

11. "A Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns 

Similar to Browning, Robert Burns’ profound love is evident in his poem ‘A Red, Red Rose’. Burns declares this love to be both passionate and refreshing — with each comparison, we see that even the loveliest language pales next to the depth of Burns’ ‘Luve’. 

12. "She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron 

She walks in beauty, like the night 

Of cloudless climes and starry skies; 

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes; 

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

Though its author was known for a life of adventure and scandal, Lord Byron’s poem ‘She Walks in Beauty’ refers notably less to passionate or sexual love compared to his other works. That said, his astonishment at this woman’s beauty comes across instantly, making this a beautifully romantic poem.

13. "Love is a fire that burns unseen" by Luís Vaz de Camões

Love is a fire that burns unseen, 

a wound that aches yet isn’t felt, 

an always discontent contentment, 

a pain that rages without hurting,

One of Portugal’s greatest poets, Luís Vaz de Camões is known for his lyrical poetry and dramatic epics. ‘Love is a fire that burns unseen’ is an example of the former, reflecting his numerous turbulent love affairs and how each brought a complex fusion of pleasure and pain.

14. "Beautiful Signor" by Cyrus Cassells

This is the endless wanderlust:

yours is the April-upon-April love

that kept me spinning even beyond your eventful arms 

toward the unsurpassed:

the one vast claiming heart, 

the glimmering, 

the beautiful and revealed Signor.

‘Beautiful Signor’ is an entry from Cyrus Cassells’ poetry collection of the same name, which he dedicated to ‘Lovers everywhere’. Culturally set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic, the collection aims to remind people of the potent beauty of romantic love.

15. "Rondel of Merciless Beauty" by Geoffrey Chaucer 

Upon my word, I tell you faithfully

Through life and after death you are my queen;

For with my death the whole truth shall be seen.

Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly;

Their beauty shakes me who was once serene;

Straight through my heart the wound is quick and keen.

Widely regarded as the ‘Father of English poetry’, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote some of the most renowned works of the English language, including ‘The Canterbury Tales’ and ‘The Book of the Duchess’. The standalone poem ‘Rondel of Merciless Beauty’ (here translated from Middle English) recounts Chaucer’s heartbreak after being left by the love of his life, pledging his everlasting devotion to her even though it pains him.

16. "Love Comes Quietly" by Robert Creeley 

Robert Creeley’s short but striking love poem aptly summarizes the feeling of never wanting to be apart from the person you love, almost making you forget what life was like before you met them.

17. "[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]" by E. E. Cummings 

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done 

by only me is your doing,my darling)

As one of America’s most prolific twentieth century poets, E.E. Cummings needs no introduction. Many of his poems centered around love and ‘[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]’ is perhaps the best-known of them all. The rich imagery and intimate infatuation earns it a prominent spot on our list of the most beautiful love poems ever written.

18. "[love is more thicker than forget]" by E.E. Cummings

love is more thicker than forget 

more thinner than recall

more seldom than a wave is wet 

more frequent than to fail

Another brilliant example of Cummings’ love poetry is [love is more thicker than forget]. This poem explores the complexity of love, expressing that it cannot simply be defined as one thing or another — and indeed, painting love as a paradox of rarity and frequency, modesty and profundity, sanity and madness, and much more.

19. "Sthandwa sami (my beloved, isiZulu)" by Yrsa Daley-Ward

my thoughts about you are frightening but precise

I can see the house on the hill where we make our own vegetables out back

and drink warm wine out of jam jars

and sing songs in the kitchen until the sun comes up

wena you make me feel like myself again.

Yrsa Daley-Ward’s ‘Sthandwa sami (my beloved, isiZulu)’ is one of the most personal and revealing accounts of love on this list. The poem comes from her collection bone, which tackles some of the deepest aspects of humanity, including religion, desire, womanhood, race, and vulnerability.

20. "Married Love" by Guan Daosheng

Have so much love, 

Burns like a fire, 

In which we bake a lump of clay

Molded into a figure of you

And a figure of me.

Guan Daosheng was a Chinese painter and poet of the early Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). ‘Married Love’ uses the image of clay figurines to represent two lovers being united as one through the sacred act of marriage, just as clay solidifies in a kiln.

21. "Heart, we will forget him!" by Emily Dickinson 

Heart, we will forget him!

You and I, to-night!

You may forget the warmth he gave, 

I will forget the light.

‘Heart, we will forget him!’ aligns with the forceful nature of so many Emily Dickinson poems . It is a powerful reflection of the fallout after a passionate love affair and how she tried to move on, going so far as to command her heart to do so, even knowing it’s futile.

22. "Air and Angels" by John Donne 

John Donne’s work is known for tackling faith and salvation, as well as both human and divine love. In ‘Angels and Air’, Donne compares his love to the movement of angels — pure and elegant. His conclusion that two lovers can come together and grow stronger adds another layer to this already quite romantic poem.

23. "Flirtation" by Rita Dove 

Outside the sun 

has rolled up her rugs

and night strewn salt 

across the sky. My heart 

is humming a tune

I haven’t heard in years!

The sparkling flirtation at the start of a new relationship is surely one of the most exciting parts of love. ‘Flirtation’ by Rita Dove eloquently captures this joy and anticipation, and is one of the most relatable poems about this aspect of love. 

24. "Heart to Heart" by Rita Dove 

It’s neither red

It doesn’t melt

or turn over,

break or harden,

so it can’t feel

In ‘Heart to Heart’, Rita Dove rejects the typical clichés that come with falling in love. With her down-to-earth approach to the topic, she assures the intended reader that although she may struggle to show her love, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. 

25. "Love" by Carol Ann Duffy 

you’re where I stand, hearing the sea, crazy 

for the shore, seeing the moon ache and fret

for the earth. When morning comes, the sun, ardent, 

covers the trees in gold, you walk 

towards me,

out of the season, out of the light love reasons.

In 2009, Carol Ann Duffy made history when she was appointed the first female and openly lesbian British poet laureate. ‘Love’ is a perfect example of the monologue-style poems she is known for, fitting in with her usual sensory and emotional style of writing; here, she describes love as beautifully boundless, like the light of the sun or the crashing sound of waves. 

26. "The Love Poem" by Carol Ann Duffy 

‘The Love Poem’ takes a different tack, depicting Duffy’s struggle to find the right words to describe her love. It comes from her 2005 collection Rapture, which charts the speaker’s journey through a love affair; at this stage, Duffy gets metafictional about love poetry, striving to explain the challenges of writing it (and invoking several other famous poems along the way).

27. "Before You Came" by Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Don’t leave now that you’re here—

Stay. So the world may become like itself again:

so the sky may by the sky,

the road a road,

and the glass of wine not a mirror, just a glass of wine.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz wrote of love, politics, and community throughout his tumultuous life, and has been especially acknowledged for his contributions to traditional Urdu poetry. In ‘Before You Came’, Faiz writes about how his perspective on life changed after falling in love and how he never wants to be without his lover, who helps him see things as they truly are.

28. "Lines Depicting Simple Happiness" by Peter Gizzi

It feels right to notice all the shiny things about you

About you there is nothing I wouldn’t want to know 

With you nothing is simple yet nothing is simpler

About you many good things come into relation

The beauty in Peter Gizzi’s poetry stems from its simplicity. In ‘Lines Depicting Simple Happiness’, Gizzi’s adoration for his love is clear — however, he avoids overused clichés, meaning the poem is both more personal and less mawkish than other modern love poems.

29. "Six Sonnets: Crossing the West" by Janice Gould 

In that communion of lovers, thick sobs

break from me as I think of my love 

back home, all that I have done

and cannot say. This is the first time 

I have left her so completely, so alone.

Janice Gould’s work homes in on themes of love and connection, with strong links to her identity as a Maidu lesbian. In ‘Six Sonnets: Crossing the West’, Gould equates her lover to a dream, never running short on ethereal ways to describe her... and mourning when she slips away, even temporarily.

30. "For Keeps" by Joy Harjo 

Contrasting love with the beauty of nature helps to create an unbreakable bond between the two. This comparison helps illustrate Joy Harjo’s feelings for her lover in her marvelous poem, ‘For Keeps’.

31. "You Are the Penultimate Love of My Life" by Rebecca Hazelton 

  The garden you plant and I plant

                             is tunneled through by voles,

                                                         the vowels                                          

              we speak aren’t vows,

               but there’s something

                             holding me here, for now,  

             like your eyes, which I suppose                                               

              are brown, after all.’

‘You Are the Penultimate Love of My Life’ is an unorthodox love poem, focusing on the realities rather than the fantasies of being in love. Rebecca Hazelton isn’t writing about her soulmate, and she’s aware of that — but that doesn’t make the love they share any less special.

32. "Yours" by Daniel Hoffman 

I am yours as the summer air at evening is 

Possessed by the scent of linden blossoms, 

As the snowcap gleams with light 

Lent it by the brimming moon. 

Without you I’d be an unleaded tree

Blasted in a bleakness with no Spring.

Daniel Hoffman’s carefully chosen metaphors make ‘Yours’ a truly beautiful love poem. Hoffman’s complete dedication to his lover is obvious — in comparing her to everything from summer evenings to snow-capped mountains, it seems he cannot stop thinking about her throughout the changing seasons.

33. "A Love Song for Lucinda" by Langston Hughes 

Is a high mountain 

Stark in a windy sky.

Would never lose your breath 

Do not climb too high.

Each stanza of Langston Hughes’ ‘A Love Song for Lucinda’ compares love to a specific feeling, all of which are linked to the natural world. This poem emphasizes the exhilaration of falling in love and the all-encompassing enchantment that comes with it.

34. "Poem for My Love" by June Jordan 

Political activist, poet, and essayist June Jordan is one of the most widely-published Jamaican American writers of her generation. In her ‘Poem for My Love’, the speaker is in absolute spiritual awe of her partner and the way she feels about their transcendent love.

35. "for him" by Rupi Kaur

be love at 

first sight when 

we meet it’ll be love 

at first remembrance 

‘cause i’ve recognized you 

in my mother’s eyes when she tells me, 

marry the type of man you’d want to raise your son to be like.

At just 21 years old, Rupi Kaur wrote, illustrated, and self-published her first poetry collection, milk and honey. She describes her poetry as ‘simple and accessible’ — which has allowed it to reach millions of readers worldwide, particularly through Instagram presence. ‘for him’ is a perfect example of a beautiful, powerful love poem which doesn’t have to try too hard to pack a punch.

36. Untitled by Rupi Kaur

love will hurt you but 

love will never mean to 

love will play no games

cause love knows life 

has been hard enough already

Another entry from milk and honey, this short, untitled poem takes a bittersweet and world weary, but ultimately generous look at love and its challenges.

37. "Poem To An Unnameable Man" by Dorothea Lasky

And I will not cry also 

Although you will expect me to

I was wiser too than you had expected 

For I knew all along you were mine

Prolific poet Dorothea Lasky has written multiple collections and currently directs the poetry programme at Columbia University. In ‘Poem To An Unnameable Man’, she uses celestial imagery to explore a romantic relationship, describing her power and strength to the lover who underestimates her.

38. "Movement Song" by Audre Lorde

‘Movement Song’ by Audre Lorde is about the end of a relationship. While the sorrow felt after the speaker’s heart has been broken is clear, the poem ultimately ends with hope that the pair can both have a new beginning — albeit apart.

39. "Camomile Tea" by Katherine Mansfield 

We might be fifty, we might be five,

So snug, so compact, so wise are we!

Under the kitchen-table leg

My knee is pressing against his knee.

Our shutters are shut, the fire is low,

The tap is dripping peacefully;

The saucepan shadows on the wall

Are black and round and plain to see.

Katherine Mansfield has been praised for her ability to simplify complex emotions through short stories and poetry. One of the more tranquil poems on this list, ‘Camomile Tea’ paints a picture of a couple who are calm and quiet and happy with the life they’ve made for themselves, highlighting the underrated joy that peaceful familiarity and comfort can bring in a relationship.

40. "Love Elegy in the Chinese Garden, with Koi" by Nathan McClain 

Because who hasn’t done that —

loved so intently even after everything

has gone? Love something that has washed

its hands of you? I like to think I’m different now, 

that I’m enlightened somehow, 

but who am I kidding?

Nathan McClain’s inspiration for ‘Love Elegy in the Chinese Garden, with Koi’ was a date to the Huntington Botanical Gardens. In the poem, McClain aimed to ‘explore the sense of anxiety’ between two potential lovers, and the weighty emotional baggage that previous failed relationships can bestow upon you.

41. "I think I should have loved you presently (Sonnet IX)" by Edna St. Vincent Millay 

I think I should have loved you presently, 

And given in earnest words I flung in jest;

And lifted honest eyes for you to see, 

And caught your hand against my cheek and breast;

And all my pretty follies flung aside

That won you to me, and beneath you gaze

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s ‘I think I should have loved you presently’ serves as a subversion of the traditional sonnet form. In the poem, the speaker laments their inability to reciprocate their lover’s earnest affection, instead choosing sweet nothings and superficial flirtation over genuine connection.

42. "Love Sonnet XI" by Pablo Neruda

I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.

Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets. 

Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts

me, all day

I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.

There is a strong sense of longing in Pablo Neruda’s ‘Love Sonnet XI’, as our speaker confesses  the thought of his love never leaves his mind, driving him to the point of distraction. Evocative and at times alarming, it's a love poem which perfectly treads the blurred line between romance and obsession. 

43. "Your Feet" by Pablo Neruda 

In ‘Your Feet’, Neruda expresses a similar devotion to his love as he explains his love for her from head to toe, and gives thanks for the forces he feels brought them together inevitably.

44. "Dear One Absent This Long While" by Lisa Olstein

I expect you. I thought one night it was you

at the base of the drive, you at the foot of the stairs

you in a shiver of light, but each time

leaves in wind revealed themselves, 

the retreating shadow of a fox, daybreak. 

We expect you, cat and I, bluebirds and I, the stove.

The speaker in Lisa Olstein’s ‘Dear One Absent This Long While’ is anxiously waiting for her loved one to return home. The nervous buzz of anticipation as the speaker waits to return to a life of comfort and mundanity, a puzzle from which their lover is the only missing piece, gives this love poem a beautiful raw honesty.

45. "My Lover Is a Woman" by Pat Parker

my lover is a woman 

& when i hold her

feel her warmth

i feel good

Pat Parker was an American poet and activist who drew great inspiration from her life as an African-American lesbian feminist. ‘My Lover Is a Woman’ is about the struggles Parker faced as an openly queer woman of colour, and the safe harbour her lover represents in that storm.

46. "It Is Here" by Harold Pinter 

What is this stance we take,

To turn away and then turn back?

What did we hear?

It was the breath we took when we first met.

Listen. It is here.

Relationships have a funny way of transcending time and space,  and that transcendence isexpressed in Harold Pinter’s beautiful love poem ‘It Is Here’ as he asks his lover to think back to the beginning of their relationship, and in doing so brings the long-passed moment to life.

47. "Untitled" by Christopher Poindexter

I miss you even when you

are beside me. 

I dream of your body

even when you are sleeping

in my arms.

The words I love you

could never be enough.

Christopher Poindexter here presents a deeply honest and relatable portrait of a love that goes beyond the limits of language, as he describes the overwhelming and paradoxical longing it’s possible to feel even when your lover is right by your side. 

48. “Love Is Not A Word” by Riyas Qurana 

Amidst all this 

I keep a falling flower in the mid-air

Not to fall on the earth 

Is it not up to you who search for it

To come and sit on it

And make love?

Don’t forget to bring the word

When you come.

Written from the point of view of a personified love, “Love Is Not A Word” is a rather ambiguous poem. Riyas Qurana explores the notion of love as a whole and relates the concept to nature to emphasize how elemental it is to the human experience. 

49. "[Again and again, even though we know love’s landscape]" by Rainer Maria Rilke 

Again and again, even though we know love’s landscape

and the little churchyard with its lamenting names

and the terrible reticent gorge in which the others

end: again and again the two of us walk out together 

under the ancient trees, lay ourselves down again and  

among the flowers, and look up into the sky.

Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke believed that it was ‘perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks’ for one human to love another (Letters to a Young Poet, 1929). In ‘[Again and again, even though we know love’s landscape]’, Rilke celebrates the continuous, everyday love that two people can share, and the strength that comes from making one vulnerable enough to love another, despite knowing the risk of heartbreak.

50. "Echo" by Christina Rossetti

In ‘Echo’, Christina Rossetti reflects on a lost love and how she wishes it would come back to her like an echo. Rossetti is in despair, longing for her ex-lover, and the resulting yearning creates an equally heartbreaking and beautiful love poem. 

51. "I loved you first: but afterwards your love" by Christina Rossetti

I loved you first: but afterwards your love 

Outsoaring mine, sang such a loftier song

As drowned the friendly cooings of my dove.

Which owes the other most? my love was long, 

And yours one moment seemed to wax more strong

Despite a concern with reciprocity (or a lack thereof) in these opening lines, a feeling of ‘oneness’ in fact runs throughout ‘I loved you first: but afterwards your love’, also by Rossetti. This poem reflects the feeling of complete understanding between two people who love each other deeply, as Rossetti explains how their individual feelings combine to create one love, a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

52. "Defeated by Love" by Rumi 

The sky was lit

by the splendor of the moon 

So powerful 

I fell to the ground 

has made me sure 

I am ready to forsake 

this worldly life 

and surrender 

to the magnificence 

of your Bering

The words of 13th-century Persian poet Rumi have transcended national, ethnic, and religious divides for centuries. The passion and dedication in ‘Defeated by Love’ is apparent in each line, making this enduring testament to the power of love one of the most beautiful love poems on our list. 

53. "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (Sonnet 18)" by William Shakespeare 

Although William Shakespeare may not have have written any romance novels , there are few more celebrated love poets and ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ is perhaps the most iconic and recognizable opening line of any love poem. Its simplicity compared to some of Shakespeare’s other sonnets makes it stand out against an incomparable library of work, but the hidden depths and layers of meaning in this densely packed mini-masterpiece have kept readers returning for centuries.

54. "Let me not to the marriage of true minds (Sonnet 116)" by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds, 

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

In ‘Sonnet 116’, Shakespeare talks about the permanence of love — even if the people change as time goes on, the love between them will remain true and strong, or else it isn’t love at all.

55. "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (Sonnet 130) by William Shakespeare

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

As any she belied with false compare. 

In Shakespeare’s final entry on our list, he challenges the traditional association of love with beauty. It doesn’t matter what his lover looks like — to him she is the most rare and valuable thing in the world.

56. "Love’s Philosophy" by Percy Bysshe Shelley 

The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean, 

The winds of heaven mix forever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle

Why not I with thine?

‘Love’s Philosophy’, while a beautiful love poem, offers a much more logical take on romance than many of the other poems on our list. Percy Bysshe Shelley expresses to his lover that  their love is as natural as a river meeting the ocean — but equally that all the beauties of nature are meaningless if he doesn’t have her.

57. "One Day I Wrote her Name (Sonnet 75)" by Edmund Spenser 

One day I wrote her name upon the strand, 

But came the waves and washed it away:

Again I wrote it with a second hand, 

But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.

This beautiful love poem is part of Amoretti , a sonnet cycle about Edmund Spenser’s relationship with Elizabeth Boyle. Spenser explains in ‘Sonnet 75’ that — despite the seemingly portentous way his attempts to make a physical monument to his lover by writing her name in the sand is repeatedly foiled — his love for Boyle will never end, and he will do whatever it takes to make it last. 

58. "I Am Not Yours" by Sara Teasdale

A longing for genuine, passionate, all-encompassing love is the central theme of Sara Tesdale’s ‘I Am Not Yours’. The speaker doesn’t feel any sense of belonging in her current relationship, and wants to find a partner who makes her feel lost in their love.

59. "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson 

Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white;

Nor waves the cypress in the palace walk;

Nor winks the gold fin in the porphyry font.

The firefly wakens; waken thou with me. 

Now drops the milk-white peacock like a ghost,

And like a ghost she glimmers on to me.

‘Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal’ is a song from The Princess, a longer, narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It was inspired by the ghazal , a Persian form of love poetry which focuses on unsustainable love, and is a classic masterclass in sensual description.

60. "poem I wrote sitting across the table from you" by Kevin Varrone 

I would fold myself 

into the hole in my pocket and disappear 

into the pocket of myself, or at least my pants

but before I did 

like some ancient star

I’d grab your hand

Kevin Varrone confesses how close he feels to his lover in ‘poem I wrote sitting across the table from you’. Written in a moment of procrastination as he worked on a longer verse in a coffee shop, the poem expresses how Varrone wants his lover to partake on all of his adventures, no matter how big or small.

61. "On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong

Tell me it was for the hunger 

& nothing less. For hunger is to give

the body what it knows 

it cannot keep. That this amber light 

whittled down by another war 

is all that pins my hand 

to your chest.

While you’re probably familiar with Vuong’s 2019 novel by the same name, you may not be familiar with the poem that came first. Ocean Vuong’s writing invites the reader to slow down and understand every word, and ‘On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous’ explores themes of desire, impermanence, and craving when in love.

62. "Love After Love" by Derek Walcott

You will love again the stranger who was your self. 

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart

to itself, to the stranger who has loved you 

all your life, whom you ignored 

for another, who knows you by heart.

Nobel Prize winning poet Derek Walcott offers advice and reassurance to anyone experiencing a breakup in his poem ‘Love After Love’. Encouraging the reader to return to themselves, the poem is a tonic in a world full of love poetry which expects us to hand ourselves over to lovers completely. 

63. "I Love You" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

I love your lips when they’re wet with wine

And red with a wild desire;

I love your eyes when the lovelight lies

Lit with a passionate fire. 

I love your arms when the warm white flesh

Touches mine in a fond embrace;

I love your hair when the strands enmesh

Your kisses against my face.

In ‘I Love You’, Ella Wheeler Wilcox lays out the tiny moments that add up to why the speaker feels so passionately about her love, before going on to describe the colder attributes she’s not looking for in a relationship. This juxtaposition helps to make the initial love she describes all the more special.

64. "We Have Not Long to Love" by Tennessee Williams

Though better known for his plays than as a romance author , Tennessee Williams was also an accomplished poet. In ‘We Have Not Long to Love’ Williams stresses the importance of appreciating the time we do have and cherishing the love that comes with it, remembering that nothing will last forever.

65. "Poem to First Love" by Matthew Yeager 

To have been told “I love you” by you could well be, for me, 

the highlight of my life, the best feeling, the best peak 

on my feeling graph, in the way that the Chrysler building

might not be the tallest building in the NY sky but is

the best, the most exquisitely spired

Matthew Yeager’s ‘Poem to First Love’ is a bittersweet young romance where, as the title suggests, the speaker is reminiscing about his relationship with his first love, and explores the different ways one might try to logically quantify the utterly illogical force of love. 

Looking to dive a little deeper into the world of poetry? Check out our post on the 60+ best poetry books of all time !

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Have a Secret Crush? 27 Sweet Love Poems Guaranteed to Win Their Heart

Feeling tongue-tied and twitterpated when that special someone is around? 

We've all been there! 

Finding the right words to tell your crush how you feel can be harder than parallel parking a stretch limo.

But don't lose hope, Romeo or Juliet! 

Expressing your feelings through poetry allows you to speak from the heart. 

Choose just the right verse from these 27 love poems for your crush, and watch their eyes light up when your sincerity shines through. 

With a thoughtful poem or two, you'll be sure to sweep your sweetheart off their feet!

1. Enamored From Afar

2. i wish i could tell you, 3. feelings unspoken, 4. daydreams, 6. my heart's desire, 7. a love limerick, 8. your light, 9. ode to my heart's desire, 10. the symphony of you, 11. the quietest moments, 12. my thoughts of you, 13. idle daydreams, 14. ode to your memory, 15. longing, 16. when we're apart, 17. you intrigue me, 18. you intrigue me, 19. playful, 20. object of my affection, 21. my heart's muse, 22. my heart's true home, 23. you are my reason, 24. ode to my beloved, 25. my truest love, 26. my heart's home, 27. where i bloom, pick your style, brainstorm imagery , start writing, add creative touches , edit and revise, add a personal touch, reasons you should give your crush the poem:, reasons you shouldn't give your crush the poem:, final thoughts, 27 love poems for your crush to win their heart.

Declaring your feelings can be daunting, but these romantic poems make it easier.

Ranging from lighthearted to serious, these carefully chosen words will help you express your emotions in a genuine way.

Your crush will feel special and appreciated.

Ready to try your hand at winning their heart?

I see you across the room, time stands still 

You make my heart race, give me chills 

I wish I could share how you make me feel

But my words get trapped, the courage to reveal

In my mind, I imagine us together 

Laughing, talking, in any weather 

How I'd love to get closer, for you to see 

The depths of my affection, you're everything to me

I long to share this secret I hold 

To be bold and let my feelings unfold 

But I lose my nerve when you come around 

My confidence flees, cannot be found

For now, I keep my thoughts to myself 

Hoping fate leads us somewhere else

A place and time I can finally share

My feelings for you, how much I care

Your voice makes me shiver 

Your laugh makes me glow 

Being around you is magic 

But you don't even know 

My heart beats for you 

In a rhythm so true 

I wish I could tell you 

How much I adore you

My feelings trap words in my heart 

I rehearse confessions I'll never impart

Longing to share this secret within 

But unsure if you feel the magic begin

Sitting here, thoughts of you flood my mind 

I imagine your smile, your laugh so kind 

What would it be like if you were mine? 

My heart flutters at the daydream I find

When you’re nearby but surrounded by others

You're the only one my eye discovers 

Longing to talk and learn more 

Wishing to be closer than friends for sure

I rehearse things I'd love to say 

But the words get lost along the way 

This secret crush I hope to reveal 

But my courage tends to fail when I feel

All these words trapped inside my heart

 I wish I could tell you or know where to start 

For now, I'll keep you as my secret muse 

And hope that someday you’ll discover my ruse

I watch you from across the room, sunlight in your smile 

Your laughter rings out, soothing like a gentle tide 

What stories and dreams swirl within you, I long to know 

Your eyes twin forests, deep and verdant, where I go

To wander daily in my mind, following imagined trails 

That lead to whispered conversations, details unveiled

With patience and care, like a bird watcher still and quiet 

Hoping for a feathered glimpse, though shy, not to fright

You glide by, breeze ruffling your hair, oblivious to me 

Lost in your world of melody and colors I cannot see 

I memorize each gesture, tuck them away with my affection 

Hoping that someday, I'll find in myself the courage to mention

How your existence is a gift, one I unwrap each day 

As I wait for our paths to cross in some destined way 

Where I can share the deep secret of my admiration 

And finally breathe easy, no longer in silent frustration

Cute Poems for Your Crush

Whene'er I see your smiling face appear, 

A warmth grows in me, banishing all fear, 

Your melodic laugh makes time itself stand still, 

While joy within my longing heart doth fill, 

For your kind eyes make all the world shine bright, 

Chasing away shadows with their light, 

And your sweet voice sets my spirit soaring,

 Each word a treasure I find myself storing, 

If you could know the hold you have on me, 

Then we could share life's charm so merrily, 

For my heart's fondest wish would be to give, 

And by your side, my darling, always live. 

So I shall keep this candle lit above, 

To you, sweet one, my true and timeless love.

My heart’s desire who makes my heart bloom 

With your wit and style, you make me swoon 

How I so wish that you were mine 

And we could share laughter and wine 

Together we'd make such a great tune

your way of seeing

the good in each moment

of not ignoring

life's little joys

you have shown them

to me and I am only

reflecting back

how your outlook

brightens my days

and serves as my

beacon, my light

Oh, muse who makes each moment shine, Your voice inspires this ode of mine, 

How I cherish your wit so fine, 

And the joy that lights your eyes that shine, 

Your laughter lifts my heart up high, 

Putting wings of hope on someone so shy, 

If you could know the spell you cast, 

Then we could make sweet joy last, 

For your smile's glow takes my breath away, And your kind charm helps brighten my day,

My heart sings your sweet name with glee, 

Oh, won't you, my dear one, notice me?

For my spirit soars when you are near, 

Come ease my longing, and hold me dear.

In the symphony of life 

your laughter is the melody 

that makes my heart sing.

In the painting of each moment your smile is a burst of color 

that makes the image shine.

In the story of my days 

your words are the poetry 

that gives it meaning.

If you could see yourself

through my awestruck eyes, 

you would know the joy you bring 

simply by being you.

You brighten my world 

with your magic – 

a power you wield 

effortlessly.

Thinking of You Poems for Your Crush

In the quietest moments 

my thoughts drift to you, 

like leaves on the breeze.

In the busyness of life 

you remain in the back of my mind, 

a constant.

In the darkness of night 

I see your smile, 

brightening even my dreams.

If you could glimpse 

inside my mind’s eye, 

you would see yourself 

etched there.

A permanent fixture. 

The one I adore from afar, 

hoping one day

my affection unveiled

might help your own feelings 

unfold. For now, you are

the one that I long for 

when I am alone

with my thoughts. 

Within my mind you hold a special place, 

No matter where I go your smile I see, 

Your laughter echoes through, my heart's sweet grace,

Your charm and wit bring joyful thoughts of thee, 

When we're apart my spirit starts to yearn, 

As I reflect on talks that make me burn, 

Perchance my feelings you would return?

 My mind replays our talks of dreams untold, 

Your hopes, your quips, your stories yet unsaid, 

Like brilliant stars each memory I hold, 

And see your face when I lay down my head, 

You may be gone, but still my heart is true, 

For every moment, all I think is you.

I sit alone, in stillness pining, 

Your memory, my dear, invading, 

Your voice, your smile, your visage shining,

In my mind, never fading,

What are you doing at this hour? 

Laughing, singing, blooms devouring? 

I envy fields and trees that flower, 

Your sweet essence embowering,

But I must make do with daydreams idle, 

Conjuring your countenance, your air, 

Passing time until we reunite, 

I'll Keep your cherished image with care,

Absent, you remain e'er by my side,

Yours, the love I cannot yet confide.

I construct each moment we shared, 

dwell in the echoes of your laughter, 

in the jungle of my longing, your voice rings out,

I gather the crumbs of your smile, 

relive each insightful word, 

in the barren times we are apart,

I dwell in places you have been, 

trace your footsteps in the dusty halls, 

in the wilderness without you, I remember,

I collect each gesture, every glance, 

hoard them like a covetous dragon, 

in the cavern of my heart, I treasure you,

Though you are not with me now, 

your memory sustains me, 

in your absence, I reinvent your presence,

For I cannot forget the way you shine, 

even when all else is dark, 

you illuminate the chambers of my mind.

In still moments, my mind drifts to you like a feather on the wind.

Your memory surrounds me like sunlight streaming through the trees,

filling the quiet spaces.

I turn your words over in my mind like stones smoothed by the river's hands,

examining their shape and color.

In the darkness, I remember the spark of your laughter,

its echo lighting my way.

When we are apart, it is thoughts of you that sustain me,

that satisfy my soul's hunger pangs.

My heart overflows with missing you,

spilling into each new day,

longing for our next meeting.

In still nights your memory

it comes creeping in, 

warm as sunrise after cold days 

Without you.

Your laughter rings, 

a melody within my mind, 

chasing away silence.

Your words replay, 

a favorite song stuck on repeat, 

soothing my lonely hours.

In waking dreams 

I see your smile shine again, 

lighting my imagination 

with what could be.

Each thought of you 

wrapped tight around me

like a shawl, 

warming my longing heart.

Your memory, 

a feast nourishing my spirit 

when we’re apart, 

sustaining me till we meet again.

Flirty Love Poems for Your Crush

Well hey there, don't you look nice? 

With your sparkling eyes and smile so bright 

Tell me, what's your secret, got any advice 

On how to charm and delight?

‘Cause being around you is such a treat 

With your quips and grins, can't be beat 

If you've got more tricks up your sleeve 

I'd love to see, for you intrigue

Perhaps we could exchange some witty banter 

Get lost in fun chatter, forget all that matters 

Except making the other bust up and laugh

Doesn't that sound like a blast?

So what do you say, want to give it a go? 

This flirting fun, help it grow 

I'll bring the humor, you bring your smile 

We'll chat for a while, and make it worthwhile

In a room of noise,

your voice is the melody 

my ear catches.

In a sea of faces, 

yours is the one 

my gaze lingers on.

There is something about you 

that piques 

my interest.

Makes me lean in closer 

to pick up each lilt and joke, 

hoping to uncover more.

Wanting to be let in on 

the adventure promised 

behind your wry smile.

my captivation, 

perhaps you would share

the wonders that whir 

behind your painting eyes 

and include me in their spin.

For now, I will enjoy 

piecing together 

this enticing puzzle

bit by bit, moment by moment, 

as we weave poetry

from words yet unspoken.

In the garden of our chatter, 

your wit is the flower

I wish to nurture and admire,

petal by petal, hour upon hour.

The sunlight of your playful jests

fuels this blossom in my chest,

makes my spirit stretch and climb

toward your whimsy in its prime.

If you could know the joy I feel

when your eyes their mirth reveal,

perchance you'd shower me in more

of your honeyed quips' nectar.

Let us cultivate this place

where clever words entwine with grace,

allow this verse take root and spread

sprouting laughter, as we've said.

I gather each playful glance you grant, 

hoard your jests like a dragon covets gold, 

in the honeyed halls of my memory, I relive each clever taunt,

Your wit kindles a flame inside my heart, 

with each quip you spark anew my affection, 

your intellect ignites my imagination, from which your visage will not part,

I construct monuments from the moments we share, 

etch your sharp humor into legend, 

so even time cannot erode the joy your joking does lay bare,

Within the landscape of my longing, you are the only flower, 

the singular blossom my eyes wish to admire, 

object of my desire, with your sweet laughter you empower.

Love Poems for Your Crush That Will Make Her Cry

From the moment I first saw your smile, 

My world was filled with your light. 

Your laughter dancing so sweet and free, 

Chasing all shadows from my sight.

In your eyes, such kindness does shine, 

Melting each defense I try. 

Your gentle soul touches my hardened heart, 

Making me believe dreams can fly.

No matter where this life may lead, 

Through twists, turns, and circumstance

My heart will stay devoted to you, 

Our spirits linked by love's dance.

For you are the melody my heart sings, 

The poem my soul needs to rhyme. 

With you I learn, I grow, I thrive 

Our bond woven through space and time.

If these words can convey even a little, 

Of the joy you, my dear, instill

I can ask nothing more of this life, 

Than your happiness, which I vow to fulfill.

The moment that we met remains a treasure, 

For when you smiled, my lonely heart found home, 

Your laughter offered sweet and welcome pleasure, 

No more in sadness left to roam.

Within your eyes, a kindred soul shone through, 

Awakening parts of me long-dormant, 

And I discovered in myself anew, 

Affection once to fear so deterrent.

Each moment we have shared since that fine day, 

With talking, joking, dreaming, in good fun, 

Has only made my caring grow astray, 

Eclipsing all others, you're the one.

If you will let me, by your side I'll stay, 

My homeland of the heart, forever and a day.

Before you, 

I was an unfinished painting – 

you brought the colors that completed the image.

Before you,

I was a song with no melody – 

your voice gave it the notes it needed. 

I was a story filled with plot holes –

you helped make each chapter make sense.

With you, 

the missing pieces have fallen into place.

My world is complete in ways I never imagined.

You unlocked the better version of me. 

And showed me happiness lives within reach.

You are the map that guides me forward.

The inspiration to keep growing.

If you could see yourself through my eyes,

you would understand why my heart sings your name. 

You gave meaning to my messy painting. 

Added depth to my shallow song.

You are my reason.

You entered my world suddenly, 

like an oasis appears to a wanderer in the desert,

quenching my thirst for connection.

With your smile, you planted a seed of joy 

in the arid ground of my heart, 

where only your nurturing could make it bloom.

In your light, I have flourished,

grown toward your warmth like a sunflower,

transformed by your glow.

No treasure compares to our bond, 

more valuable than any jewel or gold,

for ours is a wealth of spirit.

You unlocked the chamber within 

where my soul's fullness lay dormant,

awakened what was sleeping.

Together, our lives entwine like vines,

weaving tighter each new day,

sustained by an eternal spring.

If you could glimpse your own radiance 

through my adoring eyes, you would understand

why my heart beats for you alone.

I loved you long before we met, my dear, 

A stirring in my soul foretold your coming,

And when your smiling eyes at last appeared,

I knew our destined bond had started blooming.

The world seemed drab and drained of life before,

But with your lively wit and humor dancing,

Hope was restored right down into my core,

With you all dull monotony enhancing.

How blessed I am to walk through life with you,

To share in dreaming, laughing, reflecting, 

Adventuring in realms both old and new,

Our hands forever tightly intersecting.

My truest love, alone you have my heart,

Your joy and charm set my spirit apart.

You walked into my life, 

And finally, I felt whole.

Within your eyes, 

I found my soul's home.

With your smile, 

My world is bright. 

In your arms,

Everything feels right.

My heart beats for you,

My one and only.

With you I'm complete,

No longer lonely.

You're my everything.

My love, my friend. 

On you I'll depend,  

Until life's end.

I was a garden untended – 

neglected and wild.

You nurtured the soil 

and brought light to the shadows  

where only weeds grew before.

You saw beyond the thorns  

to the beauty waiting underneath – 

coaxed it out with gentle hands.

In your care I flourished,

became the riot of roses

I was meant to be.

You helped me fulfill my purpose.

Watered me with kindness

until I learned to bloom.

In the sanctuary of your love 

I discovered my best self – 

vibrant and alive.

If you could see me as you do – 

an orchid thriving in our oasis –  

you would understand

why I bless each day you chose

to cultivate this neglected plot 

and help my garden grow.

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How to Write a Love Poem for Your Crush

Writing a love poem for your crush can seem daunting, but it's a beautiful way to share your feelings.

With some effort and planning, you can create a verse that captures your unique emotions. Follow these steps to craft a heartfelt poem for your crush.

Sonnets, free verse, haikus – there are many poetic forms to choose from. Select a style that aligns with what you want to express. Formal structures like sonnets show care through their intricacy, while free verse poems speak from the heart. 

Think of descriptive details that reflect your crush. Make lists of things like their smile, laugh, interests, quirks, and shared memories. Imagery illustrates what you admire and find special about them.

Don't overthink it – let the words flow naturally. Convey what your crush means to you. Describe how they make you feel and the effect they have on your life. Be sincere but not overly effusive. Reread and tweak later.  

Incorporate techniques like rhymes, alliteration, and metaphors to elevate your poem. For example, compare their smile to sunshine or their laugh to music. Use poetic devices thoughtfully to convey a deeper meaning.

Refine your work after the initial draft. Tweak language, revise stanzas, and remove repetition or unnecessary lines. Make sure the structure and rhythm fit your selected style. Read aloud to polish the flow.   

Customize your poem by weaving in special details or memories. Mention an inside joke or favorite date spot to make it more meaningful. Show you care enough to remember what makes them unique.  

Should I Give My Crush the Love Poem I Write?

Sharing a love poem you've written for your crush is an extremely personal decision. There are many factors to weigh when deciding if you should actually give them your artistic expression of affection.

• It's a meaningful, from-the-heart gesture that could touch them deeply.
• Handwritten poetry shows more care than many modern gestures.
• It openly conveys your feelings and admiration for them.
• Your crush may feel flattered and reciprocal affection.
• Sharing deep emotions can strengthen your bond.
• It could lead to a romantic relationship.
• They may not appreciate poems or handle it with maturity.
• Your feelings may not be reciprocated, hurting you.
• It could damage your crush dynamic or make interactions awkward.
• The vulnerability may backfire if they don't receive it well.
• Your crush might share the poem with others.
• The confession may be premature if you lack a strong bond.

Carefully weigh the pros and cons before deciding if your poem should remain private or be gifted to its muse. Make sure you feel ready for potential outcomes before sharing.

Composing a love poem for a crush allows you to translate intimate feelings into art. While deciding whether to share your verse can be complicated, the right poem at the right time can make a heartfelt gesture. With courage and care, poetic words may just help a crush blossom into something more. Above all, pour your heart into writing, and the rest will follow.