Turn on the radio at any given moment, and chances are you'll hear a love song. In the pages of poetry books, a fixation on love is just as prevalent. We humans love love—and poets have spent centuries coming up with ways to express all of its forms in movies, literature, and beyond.
If you're in search of a love poem for the special person in your life (your husband or wife, perhaps), your only challenge is volume. There are simply so many excellent options, from famous romantic poems you've likely heard before (think: the work of e.e. cummings) and beautiful modern options you may not have (like "Poem to First Love," by Matthew Yeager).
Coming up with the right words to fill a card or couples Instagram caption is a real art form, so we've assembled some of the sweetest stanzas and shorter quotes to help you express your amour, whether for him, her, or anyone else you adore. Below, find a few of our favorite love poems about falling deeply, long-term relationships, unrequited love, moving on, and more.
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1
"Love Sonnet XI," by Pablo Neruda
The action verb of this sonnet is not "I love" so much as it is "I want." The poem—one of many love sonnets the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was known for—conveys a deep sense of all-encompassing longing. No matter where the narrator goes, his mind is on the same thing.
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2
"How Do I Love Thee?,” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
This is one of the most famous short love poems in existence, showing that feelings felt in the 1800s are the same as the ones experienced now. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways," Browning begins as she extolls the expressions and manifestations of her affection.
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3
"When You Are Old," by William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats's exploration of enduring love makes this one of the most famous love poems to date. The couple in this poem is together for the long haul, even as the rest of their lives (and their bodies) change: "One man loved the pilgrim soul in you / And loved the sorrows of your changing face."
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4
"[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]," by e.e. cummings
This is one of the most instantly recognizable love poems for a reason. It captures that feeling of being totally intertwined with another person: You feel responsible for their heart. Love, through e.e. cummings' eyes, becomes a miracle, a secret of the universe.
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5
"Come, and Be My Baby," by Maya Angelou
If your partner is facing hardship, this short love poem by legendary author Maya Angelou provides a gentle reminder that you'll always be there for them. It's especially relevant to read during times of national turmoil: "The paper is full of every kind of blooming horror / And you sit wondering / what you're gonna do. / I got it. / Come. And be my baby," Angelou writes in one of her best quotes on love.
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6
"A Red, Red Rose," by Robert Burns
"A Red, Red Rose," by the Scottish poet Robert Burns, is an appropriate choice for anyone in a long distance relationship, as it conveys a deep love and a promise to always return home.
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7
"Sonnet 18," by William Shakespeare
In what is one of the most well-known love poems of all time, Shakespeare pays his lover a wonderful compliment by comparing them to a beautiful summer day.
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8
"Amoretti LXXV: One Day I Wrote her Name," by Edmund Spenser
The meaning of Edmund Spenser's Elizabethan-era sonnet certainly endures today. It's about preserving the legacy of love in writing. How meta!
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9
"To My Dear Loving Husband," by Anne Bradstreet
The narrator of this poem knows she has a good thing going on with her "dear and loving husband." So good, in fact, that she's thinking about spending eternity with him. The poem confronts the end of their relationship with the hope that there is an afterlife for them to share together.
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10
"Variations on the Word Love," by Margaret Atwood
The dictionary definition of love fails to capture all of the word's intricacies. Margaret Atwood's poem shows the many meanings this four-letter word has for people, and how it often fails to express exactly what we want it to imply.
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11
"[love is more thicker than forget]," by e.e. cummings
In this short poem, e.e. cummings parses the mysteries of love and points to the fact that there are so many he can't express. Still, while he can't name it, love is a force as big as the sky, the sea, and the world around us.
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12
"I Love You," by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
"I Love You," by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, is a proposal: How about we be this happy forever? "While the pale stars shine above, / And we’ll live our whole young lives away / In the joys of a living love," the narrator says in the poem. We don't know what comes next for the young couple, but this sure is a good foundation.
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13
"Echo," by Carol Ann Duffy
There are love poems and then there are aftermath-of-love-poems. This one falls into the latter category. Though melancholy, this is a wonderful poem for anyone yearning for their loved one.
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14
"I Loved You First: But Afterwards Your Love," by Christina Rossetti
Idyllic love poem alert! Christina Rosetti's poem describes the beautiful feeling of "oneness" that occurs when a person reaches a sense of understanding—almost complete understanding—with another.
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15
"Poem to an Unnameable Man," by Dorothea Lasky
"I was wiser too than you had expected / For I knew all along you were mine," Dorothea Lasky writes in this epic poem, which uses cosmic imagery to describe a romantic love that is almost fated to occur—even when it catches people off guard.
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16
"Lines Depicting Simple Happiness," by Peter Gizzi
"Lines Depicting Simple Happiness" is written as if the author is trying to chase happiness in words. It's ineffable, it's always out of reach—but at least he's basking in its presence.
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17
"Dear One Absent This Long While," by Lisa Olstein
Absence runs through this poem. It's not only that the narrator misses her loved one—it's that the birds do, and so do the trees. "Yours is the name the leaves chatter / at the edge of the unrabbited woods," she writes. If you're in a long-distance relationship, this poem is for you.
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18
"She Walks in Beauty," by Lord Byron
Byron's famous poem is an ode to a woman who has stolen his heart.
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19
"Mad Girl's Love Song," by Sylvia Plath
This modern poem may be most relatable when going through a breakup, as it's about a struggle to come to terms with an unrequited love. The process is ongoing. Poems like this one help.
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20
"I Am Not Yours," by Sara Teasdale
Not all love poems are about idyllic love. Some are about the longing for love. In "I Am Not Yours," the poet describes her desire for the opposite kind of relationship than the lopsided one she's in.
