Roses are red,
violets are blue,
love poems are clichéd
but i guess they’ll do
-anonymous
It’s Valentine’s day, and a good way to show love is through poetry. But a lot of the time, it’s tough to hit the right note. Often, love poetry just seems sappy or stupid, but sometimes it conveys genuine feelings. On the day of love, here are some love poems, carefully cultivated and reviewed by mood. If you find one you like, share it with someone!
Craig Arnold’s “Bird Understander” begins “Of many reasons I love you here is one.” It’s a poem about how someone who loves you will understand how you feel even when you can’t find the right words for it. Even if all you say is that there’s a bird in the airport and you wish you could call a bird understander to help it.
“A Glimpse” by Walt Whitman is a soft poem about sitting with someone you love, just keeping company. It’s peaceful. I have no proof as to whether Whitman was writing platonically or romantically about the young man mentioned in the poem, but it’s clear there’s deep feeling involved.
Dean Young’s “Luciferin” feels like a stream of consciousness. It jumps from love to his passion for records to environmental issues. This poem reads like a diary.
Lord Byron’s “She Walks In Beauty” is a classic Romantic poem, using powerful nature imagery: “She walks in beauty like the night / of cloudless climes and starry skies.”
I would say that poems to a place also qualify as love poems. Maybe there’s not someone you’re having fluffy feelings for. Maybe, like Mary Oliver, you’re in love with the forest. In “Sleeping in the Forest,” the poet personifies the forest as a woman arranging her skirts. Maybe, like in “June” by Alex Dimitrov, you’re in love with the concept of New York City in the summer. This poem is a soft love poem to people the poet sees as he walks to a party. It’s not long-term devotion, but it’s the kind of feeling that fits well in a love poem.
These are just some love poems I like.
Craig Arnold “Bird Understander”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52207/bird-understander
Walt Whitman “A Glimpse”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50478/a-glimpse
Dean Young “Luciferin”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/42325/luciferin
Lord Byron “She Walks In Beauty”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43844/she-walks-in-beauty
Mary Oliver “Sleeping In The Forest” http://www.poetseers.org/contemporary-poets/mary-oliver/mary-oliver-poems/sleeping-in-the-forest/index.html
Alex Dimitrov “June” http://www.poetseers.org/contemporary-poets/mary-oliver/mary-oliver-poems/sleeping-in-the-forest/index.html