Love is a universal language, and poetry is one of the most beautiful ways to express the depth and complexity of this profound emotion. Whether you’re in the throes of a new romance or celebrating years of devotion, these eight enchanting love poems in English will ignite your heart and remind you of the power of love.
These carefully curated love poems, written by some of the most renowned poets in history, capture the essence of love in all its forms – from the passionate and all-consuming to the tender and eternal. From the timeless verses of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Pablo Neruda to the lyrical masterpieces of William Shakespeare and E.E. Cummings, each poem offers a unique perspective on the beauty and complexity of love.
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 everyday’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men might 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.”
2. “Love Sonnet XVII” by Pablo Neruda
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way than this: where I does not exist, nor you, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall
3. “Love” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“All thoughts, all passions, all delights, Whatever stirs this mortal frame, All are but ministers of Love, And feed his sacred flame.”
4. “Love’s Philosophy” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
“The fountains mingle with the river, And the rivers with the ocean; The winds of heaven mix forever With a sweet emotion.”
5. “Love Poem” by John Frederick Nims
“My clumsiest dear, whose hands shipwreck vases, Whose eyes are as blue as disastrous seas And whose innocent, quick gestures may, at any Moment, startle baffled birds and not know it.”
6. “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe
“But we loved with a love that was more than love— I and my Annabel Lee— With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven Coveted her and me.”
7. “Sonnet 18” 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.”
8. “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)”
These eight love poems in English, written by some of the most renowned poets in history, capture the essence of love in all its forms – from the passionate and all-consuming to the tender and eternal. Let these verses inspire and uplift your own love story.