Love poems are kind of amazing.
I mean, there are multiple ways you can enjoy them…
- You might be in a romantic kind of mood and feel like reading some poems about love with a hot cup of coffee or tea. ☕️
- You have someone that you legit really love and you want them to feel special (good on you 👍).
- You have a friend who also loves poetry, and so it’s an obvious share.
- You might want to culture yourself by getting into specific poem genres.
- And lastly, if you’re really a romantic, you might want to find a few and save them for when you’re in love.
So essentially, whatever your reason is for looking for some good love poems, I hope you enjoy the ones down below!
I read through them and made sure they were actually share AND read-worthy for you. 👍
Related: 55 Poems About Friendship (for MAX Closeness) 📖
JUMP TO SECTION:
40 Poems About Love
While many of these love poems will be about romantic love, I know that there are so many different kinds of love out there, like the love between friends. So whatever kind of love is at the top of your mind and your heart, I’ve got you covered.
From famous poems to love poems for her to some of the best love poems, I think you’ll enjoy this love poetry.
Related: 279 Love Quotes That Are [Seriously] Share-Worthy
1. “How Do I Love Thee” 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.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.”
Related: 30 Short Poems That Are (Legit) Good + Make You a Bit More Cultured
2. [“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
love is less always than to win
less never than alive
less bigger than the least begin
less littler than forgive
it is most sane and sunly
and more it cannot die
than all the sky which only
is higher than the sky”
3. “Love Me Through It All” by Caroline White
“love me
through it all
the beautiful days
the dark days
the days when I am drowning
the days when I am lost
the days when I am stagnant
for it is love,
and only love,
that heals all wounds”
4. “Love Song” by Rainer Maria Rilke
“When my soul touches yours a great chord sings!
How shall I tune it then to other things?
O! That some spot in darkness could be found
That does not vibrate when’er your depth sound.
But everything that touches you and me
Welds us as played strings sound one melody.
Where is the instrument whence the sounds flow?
And whose the master-hand that holds the bow?
O! Sweet song”
5. “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
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d”
Side Note: Hey, wanna get good recipes and helpful life tips? Well you can follow Chasing Foxes here on MSN to get more great ideas! 🙂
6. “From My Heart” by Mrs. Creeves
“A million stars up in the sky.
One shines brighter – I can’t deny.
A love so precious, a love so true,
a love that comes from me to you.
The angels sing when you are near.
Within your arms I have nothing to fear.
You always know just what to say.
Just talking to you makes my day.
I love you, honey, with all of my heart.
Together forever and never to part.”
7. “Love So Amazing” by Elaine Chetty
“My love for you is like the raging sea,
So powerful and deep it will forever be.
Through storm, wind, and heavy rain,
It will withstand every pain.
Our hearts are so pure and love so sweet.
I love you more with every heartbeat!”
Another Great Way to Show How Special Your Relationship Is:
123 Best Instagram Captions for Couples to Go [Perfectly] With All Your Photos
8. “I Have You In My Heart” by Alan Duffield-lock
“I walk through the world,
passing the glory of nature,
but, this is nothing,
i have you in my heart,
my life is coloured like a rainbow,
the beauty of you, has saved me from the dark,
before you came into my life,
i was in a pit, with no light as a guide,
and then you were there,
like a star, so bright in the night sky,
showing me the way,”
9. “Love and Friendship” by Emily Brontë
“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.”
10. “My Heart To You” by Alan
“When you smile at me, I lose myself.
You give me this feeling that makes me overwhelmed.
When your hand is in mine, I feel totally fine,
And that’s the reason I had to make you mine.
Forever and ever till the end,
I will be by your side through thick and thin.
I love you more than you’ll ever know.
I just wanted to say I’m never letting go.”
11. “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.”
12. “Poem I wrote sitting across the table from you” by Kevin Varrone
“if I had two nickels to rub together
I would rub them together
like a kid rubs sticks together
until friction made combustion
and they burned
a hole in my pocket
into which I would put my hand
and then my arm
and eventually my whole self––
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”
13. “Habitation” by Margaret Atwood
“Marriage is not
a house or even a tent
it is before that, and colder:
the edge of the forest, the edge
of the desert
the unpainted stairs
at the back where we squat
outside, eating popcorn
the edge of the receding glacier
where painfully and with wonder
at having survived even
this far
we are learning to make fire”
14. “Make Me Feel” by Mariah Chandan
“Take my heart; I’ll give it with ease.
Take my hand and walk this journey with me.
Take these scars and heal them all up.
Take these fears and make them vanish when things get tough.
Take this smile and make it stretch so wide.
Take these arms and hold me oh so tight.
Take these feelings and make them real.
At the end, show me how to feel.”
More Good Reading: 267 Good Morning Texts to Make Their Day [So Much] Better
15. “Untitled for a Reason” by Tara Betts
“you are curled under
unconsummated kiss,
folded into the violence
of blueberries crushed
between teeth, dying
sugars of once growing
fruit, and i let it linger.
your hands map
a body that requires
no discovery,
nor conquest.
you speak softened
drama of fury and frenzy,
quiet underbelly, light
beaming into peaceful
dark interrupted by
minor collisions
bodies were built
to withstand. you,
looping daydreams
and gasps silent
under skin until
partitions of distance
and judgment lapse
into surreptitious mist.
you are the laugh
that falls orange
against my cheek
and dries slight
sweat cooling.
in the smallest fleck
of imagination, you
become a dream
i needed to recall
as muscles found
new persistence
flexing in a crucible
where the world
expands beyond
the steady scruff
of sandpaper
graded routine. you,
small map unfolding
a globe that vanished
within mundane block.
you open a door
with a word, if any,
or a pause hanging
like an ornament
in your full smirk.”
16. “Only Us” by Raquel McKissock
“Laid my head upon your chest
Your arms encircled me,
It was, My Love, as if we were
What God meant us to be,
I closed my eyes and heard your heart
Your soft smile in my hair,
I’d never felt so whole and safe
Our hearts beating as a pair,
You found my eyes and told me of
A love for me undying,
I kissed your face and knew right then
It was in Heaven we were lying.”
17. “I Love You” by Jessica
“I melt when you
smile.
I can’t breathe when you
speak.
Everything else fades away when you
touch me.
I think I might fly when you
kiss me.
All I know when you’re around is
I love you.”
18. “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.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!”
19. “My True Love Hath My Heart” by Sir Phillip Sydney
“My true-love hath my heart and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss;
There never was a bargain better driven.
His heart in me keeps me and him in one;
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own;
I cherish his because in me it bides.
His heart his wound received from my sight;
My heart was wounded with his wounded heart;
For as from me on him his hurt did light,
So still, methought, in me his hurt did smart:
Both equal hurt, in this change sought our bliss,
My true love hath my heart and I have his.”
20. “The First Day” by Christina Rossetti
“I wish I could remember that first day,
First hour, first moment of your meeting me,
If bright or dim the season, it might be
Summer or Winter for aught I can say;
So unrecorded did it slip away,
So blind was I to see and to foresee,
So dull to mark the budding of my tree
That would not blossom yet for many a May …”
21. “Syntax” by Carol Ann Duffy
“‘It is not always easy to speak of love. The words we use to do so are often tortured and can be made incomprehensible by passion and heedlessness. So, how then do we speak of love? How does the poet speak of love? Is the language of love pre-ordained? Should it run to a formula? The formula, perhaps, of formal English speech – syntax in other words? The expression of love surely by-passes such strict rules, and resides in the lips, the eyes, the heart.”
22. “The Patience Of A Heart” by K_j_heart
“Love takes time.
It takes patience
to find the one,
to find him,
to find forever.
The heart may get broken,
but never give up.
The patience of a heart
is so beautiful.”
23. “I should not dare to leave my friend” by Emily Dickinson
“I should not dare to leave my friend,
Because—because if he should die
While I was gone—and I—too late—
Should reach the Heart that wanted me—
If I should disappoint the eyes
That hunted—hunted so—to see—
And could not bear to shut until
They ‘noticed’ me—they noticed me—
If I should stab the patient faith
So sure I’d come—so sure I’d come—
It listening—listening—went to sleep—
Telling my tardy name—
My Heart would wish it broke before—
Since breaking then—since breaking then—
Were useless as next morning’s sun—
Where midnight frosts—had lain!”
24. “The Sorrow of Love” by William Butler Yeats
“The brawling of a sparrow in the eaves,
The brilliant moon and all the milky sky,
And all that famous harmony of leaves,
Had blotted out man’s image and his cry.
A girl arose that had red mournful lips
And seemed the greatness of the world in tears,
Doomed like Odysseus and the labouring ships
And proud as Priam murdered with his peers;
Arose, and on the instant clamorous eaves,
A climbing moon upon an empty sky,
And all that lamentation of the leaves,
Could but compose man’s image and his cry.”
25. “L.O.V.E.” by Jeremy Vega
“L is for the Laughter I give to you every day
knowing you’ll never go away
O is for the Options we’ll have when we’re together
knowing our love couldn’t get any better
V is for the Visions I have of you
knowing I’ll never find anyone quite like you
E is for Everything that’s true I’ve ever said
especially when I said, “We’ll be together till we’re dead.”
26. “Together Forevermore” by Vinny Vintila
“When I miss you,
I seek solace in my heart and soul
For in its depths, your essence I know.
When you miss me,
Just close your eyes and feel me near,
For in your heart, I’ll always be here.
Together, we’re bound by a love so bright,
Our souls entwined, forever in sight.”
27. “At Last” by Elizabeth Akers Allen
“At last, when all the summer shine
That warmed life’s early hours is past,
Your loving fingers seek for mine
And hold them close–at last–at last!
Not oft the robin comes to build
Its nest upon the leafless bough
By autumn robbed, by winter chilled,–
But you, dear heart, you love me now.
Though there are shadows on my brow
And furrows on my cheek, in truth,–
The marks where Time’s remorseless plough
Broke up the blooming sward of Youth,–
Though fled is every girlish grace
Might win or hold a lover’s vow,
Despite my sad and faded face,
And darkened heart, you love me now!
I count no more my wasted tears;
They left no echo of their fall;
I mourn no more my lonesome years;
This blessed hour atones for all.
I fear not all that Time or Fate
May bring to burden heart or brow,–
Strong in the love that came so late,
Our souls shall keep it always now!”
28. “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 unleafed tree
Blasted in a bleakness with no Spring.
Your love is the weather of my being.
What is an island without the sea?”
29. “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.”
30. “Heart to Heart” by Rita Dove
“It’s neither red
nor sweet.
It doesn’t melt
or turn over,
break or harden,
so it can’t feel
pain,
yearning,
regret.
It doesn’t have
a tip to spin on,
it isn’t even
shapely—
just a thick clutch
of muscle,
lopsided,
mute. Still,
I feel it inside
its cage sounding
a dull tattoo:
I want, I want—
but I can’t open it:
there’s no key.
I can’t wear it
on my sleeve,
or tell you from
the bottom of it
how I feel. Here,
it’s all yours, now—
but you’ll have
to take me,
too.”
31. “The Secret” by John Clare
“I loved thee, though I told thee not,
Right earlily and long,
Thou wert my joy in every spot,
My theme in every song …”
32. “I so liked Spring” by Charlotte Mew
“I so liked Spring last year
Because you were here; –
The thrushes too –
Because it was these you so liked to hear –
I so liked you.
This year’s a different thing, –
I’ll not think of you.
But I’ll like the Spring because it is simply Spring
As the thrushes do.”
33. “Love is Safe” by Grace Moser
“If we open our hearts to love’s safety
If we see it for what it really is
If we look past the lies others have said
If we forget the tainted memories
If we hold onto love from a trustworthy soul
We can rest in love’s purest form”
34. “Idle Dreams” by Joanna Fuchs
“In idle dreams of long ago,
I imagined my true love;
A perfect match, a soulmate,
An angel from above.
Now you’re here, and now I know
Our love will stay and thrive and grow.”
35. “Object Permanence” by Nicole Sealey
“(for John)
We wake as if surprised the other is still there,
each petting the sheet to be sure.
How have we managed our way
to this bed—beholden to heat like dawn
indebted to light. Though we’re not so self-
important as to think everything
has led to this, everything has led to this.
There’s a name for the animal
love makes of us—named, I think,
like rain, for the sound it makes.
You are the animal after whom other animals
are named. Until there’s none left to laugh,
days will start with the same startle
and end with caterpillars gorged on milkweed.
O, how we entertain the angels
with our brief animation. O,
how I’ll miss you when we’re dead. “
36. “The Definition of Love” by Andrew Marvell
“My love is of a birth as rare
As ’tis for object strange and high;
It was begotten by Despair
Upon Impossibility.
Magnanimous Despair alone
Could show me so divine a thing
Where feeble Hope could ne’er have flown,
But vainly flapp’d its tinsel wing.
And yet I quickly might arrive
Where my extended soul is fixt,
But Fate does iron wedges drive,
And always crowds itself betwixt.
For Fate with jealous eye does see
Two perfect loves, nor lets them close;
Their union would her ruin be,
And her tyrannic pow’r depose.
And therefore her decrees of steel
Us as the distant poles have plac’d,
(Though love’s whole world on us doth wheel)
Not by themselves to be embrac’d;
Unless the giddy heaven fall,
And earth some new convulsion tear;
And, us to join, the world should all
Be cramp’d into a planisphere.
As lines, so loves oblique may well
Themselves in every angle greet;
But ours so truly parallel,
Though infinite, can never meet.
Therefore the love which us doth bind,
But Fate so enviously debars,
Is the conjunction of the mind,
And opposition of the stars.”
37. “True Love” by Paul Smith
“When I say I love you, please believe it’s true.
When I say forever, know I’ll never leave you.
When I say goodbye, promise me you won’t cry,
Because the day I’ll be saying that will be the day I die.”
38. “Soulmate” by Amitav Radiance
“Her soul was clenched in the hands of distress
The feeble screams were reverberating in the dungeon
Not even the faintest light were allowed to entertain her
Till her soul regained the power to scream
Only her soulmate in distant land could hear it
As everyone was oblivious of her agony and suffering
Defying all odds, the soulmate reclaimed his Love.”
39. “Love” by Sappho
“Love, like a mountain-wind upon an oak,
Falling upon me, shakes me leaf and bough.”
Translation Done by William Ellery Leonard
40. “Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” 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 dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest 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.”
What is Your Favorite Love Poem of All Time?
Personally, I love Margaret Atwood’s “Habitation,” which came in at number 13 on this list.
In case you missed it, here’s that poem again:
“Marriage is not
a house or even a tent
it is before that, and colder:
the edge of the forest, the edge
of the desert
the unpainted stairs
at the back where we squat
outside, eating popcorn
the edge of the receding glacier
where painfully and with wonder
at having survived even
this far
we are learning to make fire “
What I really like about “Habitation” is the lack of frills Atwood places on her portrayal of love.
Instead of romantic love being portrayed with pure hyperbole, Atwood shines a light on a couple that’s been through difficult stretches and finds joy in the small moments together while building a future.
Romantic Poems FAQ
There are many iconic love poems, but some of the most famous include sonnets by William Shakespear, like Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”). It goes:
“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 dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest 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.”
Although it may not be possible to definitely prove what is the actual oldest love poem, there are several contenders for the title, including “Istanbul 2461” and “The Love Song for Shu-Sin.”
First, you’ll want to decide on a theme for your love poem and a style of poetry. And one of the best things you can do when writing a love poem is to think about what made you first love them. What was it that they did or said that made you first fall in love? Start from there and practice! It’s ok if you need to try a few times before it’s just right.
I hope you enjoyed this list of poems about love.
You may have come across some old favorites, but I hope you found some new hidden gems as well!
PS – What’s one of your favorite love poems? I’d love to know!
Chasing Foxes was started in 2016 as a way for Grace and her husband, Silas, to start traveling. However, they started to realize that they had a passion for improving themselves, and wanted to help others level up their lives as well. So whether it's with cooking, travel, or staying healthy, they want to help you better your life bit by bit, as they do the same.
