24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day
How much do we enjoy a love poem? Let us count the ways.
Love poems and sonnets that plumb the depths of emotion have the power to change perspectives, move us to tears and express thoughts where our own words fell short.
Some love poems have been revered for centuries, penned by the likes of Walt Whitman, Williams Shakespeare and E.E Cummings. Others are known verbatim around the world thanks to films like The Notebook and Sex and the City. Whether you’re into traditional or modern love poems, it’s safe to say that it's near impossible to describe how it feels to be head over heels for someone, and yet some of the world's most famous poets have achieved this impressive task.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we’ve rounded up the most heartfelt love poems that’ll have you feeling warm and fuzzy inside:
'One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII' by Pable Neruda
I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries
the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,
and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose
from the earth lives dimly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?' by William Shakepeare
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
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Let Thine Eyes Whisper' by Ameen Rihani
Grieve not, for I am near thee;
Sigh not, for I can hear thee;
Wash from thy heart all memory of past wrong;Doubt not that doubts besmear thee;
Speak not, for I do fear thee;
Let thine eyes whisper love’s conciling song.
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Song of Solomon', The Bible
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Wish You Were Here' by Irène Mathieu
I want to try to tell you
about how lucid the water
was that day, how purposeful
the sun, how the wind
snapped a linen sheet open-
mouthed as a sail over
the railing at the end of
the pier –
I wrote,
wish you were here
Read the rest of the poem here.
'The Mad Girl's Love Song' by Sylvia Plath
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I dreamed that you bewitched me into bedAnd sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
Read the rest of the poem here.
'A Glimpse' by Walt Whitman
A glimpse through an interstice caught,
Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room around the stove late of a winter night, and I unremark’d seated in a corner,
Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand…
Read the rest of the poem here.
'The Notebook' by Nicholas Sparks
Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can’t control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense. That’s what it was like for me. I didn’t plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us...
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Love Is Friendship Set On Fire' by Laura Hendricks
Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past…
Read the rest of the poem here.
'A Conceit' by Maya Angelou
Give me your hand
Make room for me
to lead and follow you
beyond this rage of poetry.
Let others have the privacy of
touching words
and love of loss
of love.
Read the rest of the poem here.
'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
It is most mad and moonly
and less it shall unbe
than all the sea which only
is deeper than the sea…
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Most Importantly Love' by Rupi Kaur
Most importantly love
like it's the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you're sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters…
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Yours And Mine' by Alice Fulton
Through your lens the sequoia swallowed me
like a dryad. The camera flashed & forgot.
I, on the other hand, must practice my absent-
mindedness, memory being awkward as a touch
that goes unloved…
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Immortal Beloved' by Ludwig van Beethoven
What longing in tears for you — You — my Life — my All — farewell. Oh, go on loving me — never doubt the faithfullest heart. Of your beloved.
Ever thine.
Ever mine.
Ever ours.
Read the rest of the poem here.
'A Broken Appointment' by Thomas Hardy
You did not come,
And marching Time drew on, and wore me numb,—
Yet less for loss of your dear presence there
Than that I thus found lacking in your make
That high compassion which can overbear
Reluctance for pure lovingkindness’ sake
Grieved I, when, as the hope-hour stroked its sum,
You did not come.
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Sonnet: I Thank You' by Henry Timrod
I thank you, kind and best beloved friend,
With the same thanks one murmurs to a sister,
When, for some gentle favor, he hath kissed her,
Less for the gifts than for the love you send,
Less for the flowers, than what the flowers convey;
If I, indeed, divine their meaning truly,
And not unto myself ascribe, unduly,
Things which you neither meant nor wished to say,
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Love And Friendship' by Emily Bronté
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?
Read the rest of the poem here.
'The Imperfect Enjoyment' by John Wilmot Earl of Rochester
Naked she lay, clasped in my longing arms,
I filled with love, and she all over charms;
Both equally inspired with eager fire,
Melting through kindness, flaming in desire.
With arms, legs, lips close clinging to embrace,
She clips me to her breast, and sucks me to her face.
Her nimble tongue, love’s lesser lightning, played
Within my mouth, and to my thoughts conveyed
Swift orders that I should prepare to throw
The all-dissolving thunderbolt below.
Read the rest of the poem here.
'The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!' By John Keats
The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!
Sweet voice, sweet lips, soft hand, and softer breast,
Warm breath, light whisper, tender semi-tone,
Bright eyes, accomplish’d shape, and lang’rous waist!
Faded the flower and all its budded charms,
Faded the sight of beauty from my eyes…
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Love Letter (Clouds)' by Sarah Manguso
I didn’t fall in love. I fell through it:
Came out the other side moments later, hands full of matter, waking up from the dream of a bullet tearing through the middle of my body.
I no longer understand anything for longer than a long moment, or the time it takes to receive the shot.
Read the rest of the poem here.
'I Carry Your Heart with Me' 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)
I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) I want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
And it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you…
Read the rest of the poem here.
'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…
Read the rest of the poem here.
'A History of Love' by Diane Ackerman
Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful it has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fuelled national scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings. How can love's spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of one syllable?...
Read the rest of the poem here.
'Les Misérables' by Victor Hugo
You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. We pardon to the extent that we love. Love is knowing that even when you are alone, you will never be lonely again. And great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Loved for ourselves. And even loved in spite of ourselves…
Read the rest of the poem here.
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