Best Poems About
This poem takes the shape of a sonnet, functioning as a love letter where the speaker expresses the depth of her love for someone by detailing the various ways that love manifests in her life. She shifts from grand, cosmic emotions to the s
A speaker shares with the person he loves that his feelings are as vibrant and lovely as a blooming rose and as sweet as a well-played melody. He vows that his love will endure beyond what seems impossible — until oceans run dry and rocks t
A young woman confides in her mother that she can’t weave at her loom because her longing for a boy has completely taken over her thoughts, and she holds the goddess Aphrodite responsible for this. It’s a brief two-line poem, yet it express
This brief excerpt is Shelley’s loose translation of a section from Dante's *Vita Nuova*, where the speaker attempts—though he acknowledges his failure—to capture the moment his beloved smiles. The smile is so remarkable that both words and
A speaker likens the woman he loves to the moon: steady and radiant, yet reflected as a quivering, restless image within his lovesick heart. The difference between the moon's serene movement across the sky and her shaky reflection in the wa
A speaker talks to a lover who isn’t there, confessing that the details of their presence have blurred over time—their voice, their gaze—but seeing apple blossoms illuminated by moonlight brings the lover rushing back with overwhelming inte
Barbauld's "Amo Ergo Sum" ("I love, therefore I am") turns Descartes' well-known proof of existence on its head — replacing *thinking* with *loving* as the essence that affirms our reality. The poem suggests that our ability to love goes be
A man reflects on his childhood love for Annabel Lee, a girl who shared his life in a kingdom by the sea. He attributes her death to the envy of angels. Despite her absence, he believes their love is so strong that nothing—neither angels, n
This is the opening stanza of Keats's narrative poem "Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil," which retells a tragic love story from Boccaccio's *Decameron*. It introduces Isabel and Lorenzo, two young lovers living in the same house, utterly abso
*Astrophil and Stella* is a collection of 108 sonnets (along with 11 songs) by Sir Philip Sidney, narrating the tale of Astrophil — a lover of the stars — who is infatuated with Stella, a star he can admire but can never truly reach. The se
A Valentine is a love poem where Lowell distinguishes himself from those still looking for a sweetheart on Valentine's Day — he already has one. He praises the woman he loves, describing her as more beautiful than anything he could ever ima
A man harbors a secret love for a woman who never knew he felt that way — he loved her quietly his entire life, without receiving anything back, not even her recognition. The poem concludes with a twist: even when she reads the poem written
This poem suggests that love and a noble heart are inseparable — you can't have one without the other, just like you can't have sunlight without the sun. Longfellow is translating and adapting the thoughts of the 13th-century Italian poet G
This poem is a love song that honors the connection between a man and his wife, Annie of Tharaw. It conveys that true love isn't shattered by challenges — storms, illness, distance, or conflict — but instead becomes more resilient through t
A soul quietly leaves its home under the cover of night to secretly rendezvous with its beloved — God — in a garden, where they experience a profound spiritual union akin to marriage. Here, the darkness isn’t menacing; it’s actually the clo
Epipsychidion is a lengthy, passionate love poem by Shelley dedicated to Teresa "Emilia" Viviani, a young Italian woman he encountered during her time in a convent. In the poem, Shelley envisions her as the realization of the ideal Beauty h
These are the remaining fragments and draft lines that Shelley penned while crafting his lengthy poem *Epipsychidion* (1821)—a heartfelt message to Teresa Viviani, a young Italian woman he saw as the embodiment of his soul's ideal. Consider
This is a brief excerpt from Sappho that portrays Eros — the god of love — as a being that weakens her body and leaves her powerless, embodying both sweetness and bitterness. She then reflects on Atthis, the woman she loves, observing that
A speaker confesses to someone she loves that they can't be together — not due to a lack of desire, but because her deep love has made it hard to envision ordinary experiences like life, death, and even heaven without them. Every route that
E. E. Cummings crafts a brief yet powerful love poem where the speaker proclaims that they hold their beloved's heart within their own — always, everywhere, and inseparably. The poem starts with this personal closeness and expands to a cosm
In "I Would Live in Your Love," Sara Teasdale envisions giving herself fully to a lover's affection, portraying a life nurtured and protected by that love, much like a fish exists in water or a bird flies through air. The poem is a brief, m
A speaker — likely Sappho herself — observes her beloved, Athis, pulling away to pursue a rival named Andromède. She begins by declaring that love governs the entire world like a restless, capricious bird, then shifts to a more intimate and
In "Laus Veneris" ("Praise of Venus"), Swinburne reimagines the medieval tale of Tannhäuser, a knight forever ensnared in Venus's underground palace, overwhelmed by a love that's turned into a form of damnation. The poem unfolds as a length
Lowell's "Love" suggests that true love isn't about drama or flashiness — it's calm, consistent, and designed for daily life. It deepens over time, offers forgiveness for imperfections, and appreciates the inner beauty of individuals rather
Shelley's "Love" poses a straightforward yet daring question: why do people claim that love can't endure in a young heart, when, in reality, love is the one thing that remains timeless? The poem suggests that love endures beyond pain, time,