24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (2024)

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (1)

How much do we enjoy a love poem? Let us count the ways.

Love poems and sonnets that plumb the depths of emotion have the power to change perspectives, move us to tears and express thoughts where our own words fell short.

Some love poems have been revered for centuries, penned by the likes of Walt Whitman, Williams Shakespeare and E.E Cummings. Others are known verbatim around the world thanks to films like The Notebook and Sex and the City. Whether you’re into traditional or modern love poems, it’s safe to say that it's near impossible to describe how it feels to be head over heels for someone, and yet some of the world's most famous poets have achieved this impressive task.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we’ve rounded up the most heartfelt love poems that’ll have you feeling warm and fuzzy inside:

1

'One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII' by Pable Neruda

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (2)

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:

I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries
the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,

and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose
from the earth lives dimly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you directly without problems or pride:
I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,

Read the rest of the poem here.

2

'Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?' by William Shakepeare

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (3)

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 dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines

Read the rest of the poem here.

3

'Let Thine Eyes Whisper' by Ameen Rihani

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (4)

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.

Read the rest of the poem here.

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4

'Song of Solomon', The Bible

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (5)

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.


Read the rest of the poem here.

5

'Wish You Were Here' by Irène Mathieu

I want to try to tell you
about how lucid the water
was that day, how purposeful
the sun, how the wind
snapped a linen sheet open-
mouthed as a sail over
the railing at the end of
the pier –
I wrote,
wish you were here

Read the rest of the poem here.

6

'The Mad Girl's Love Song' by Sylvia Plath

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (7)

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;I lift my lids and all is born again.

(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,And arbitrary blackness gallops in:

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bedAnd sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.

(I think I made you up inside my head.)

Read the rest of the poem here.

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7

'A Glimpse' by Walt Whitman

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (8)

A glimpse through an interstice caught,

Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room around the stove late of a winter night, and I unremark’d seated in a corner,

Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand…

Read the rest of the poem here.

8

'The Notebook' by Nicholas Sparks

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (9)

Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can’t control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense. That’s what it was like for me. I didn’t plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us...

Read the rest of the poem here.

9

'Love Is Friendship Set On Fire' by Laura Hendricks

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (10)

Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past…

Read the rest of the poem here.

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10

'A Conceit' by Maya Angelou

Give me your hand

Make room for me

to lead and follow you

beyond this rage of poetry.

Let others have the privacy of

touching words

and love of loss

of love.

Read the rest of the poem here.

11

'Love Is More Thicker Than Forget' by E.E Cummings

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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…

Read the rest of the poem here.

12

'Most Importantly Love' by Rupi Kaur

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (13)

Most importantly love
like it's the only thing you know how
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you're sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters…

Read the rest of the poem here.

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13

'Yours And Mine' by Alice Fulton

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (14)

Through your lens the sequoia swallowed me
like a dryad. The camera flashed & forgot.
I, on the other hand, must practice my absent-
mindedness, memory being awkward as a touch
that goes unloved…

Read the rest of the poem here.

14

'Immortal Beloved' by Ludwig van Beethoven

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (15)

What longing in tears for you — You — my Life — my All — farewell. Oh, go on loving me — never doubt the faithfullest heart. Of your beloved.

Ever thine.
Ever mine.
Ever ours.

Read the rest of the poem here.

15

'A Broken Appointment' by Thomas Hardy

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (16)

You did not come,
And marching Time drew on, and wore me numb,—
Yet less for loss of your dear presence there
Than that I thus found lacking in your make
That high compassion which can overbear
Reluctance for pure lovingkindness’ sake
Grieved I, when, as the hope-hour stroked its sum,
You did not come.

Read the rest of the poem here.

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16

'Sonnet: I Thank You' by Henry Timrod

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (17)

I thank you, kind and best beloved friend,
With the same thanks one murmurs to a sister,
When, for some gentle favor, he hath kissed her,
Less for the gifts than for the love you send,
Less for the flowers, than what the flowers convey;
If I, indeed, divine their meaning truly,
And not unto myself ascribe, unduly,
Things which you neither meant nor wished to say,

Read the rest of the poem here.

17

'Love And Friendship' by Emily Bronté

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (18)

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?

Read the rest of the poem here.

18

'The Imperfect Enjoyment' by John Wilmot Earl of Rochester

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (19)

Naked she lay, clasped in my longing arms,
I filled with love, and she all over charms;
Both equally inspired with eager fire,
Melting through kindness, flaming in desire.
With arms, legs, lips close clinging to embrace,
She clips me to her breast, and sucks me to her face.
Her nimble tongue, love’s lesser lightning, played
Within my mouth, and to my thoughts conveyed
Swift orders that I should prepare to throw
The all-dissolving thunderbolt below.

Read the rest of the poem here.

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19

'The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!' By John Keats

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (20)

The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!
Sweet voice, sweet lips, soft hand, and softer breast,
Warm breath, light whisper, tender semi-tone,
Bright eyes, accomplish’d shape, and lang’rous waist!
Faded the flower and all its budded charms,
Faded the sight of beauty from my eyes…

Read the rest of the poem here.

20

'Love Letter (Clouds)' by Sarah Manguso

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (21)

I didn’t fall in love. I fell through it:

Came out the other side moments later, hands full of matter, waking up from the dream of a bullet tearing through the middle of my body.

I no longer understand anything for longer than a long moment, or the time it takes to receive the shot.

Read the rest of the poem here.

24 Of The Most Beautiful Love Poems For Valentine’s Day (2024)

FAQs

What is the best Valentine rhyme? ›

A classic Valentine rhyme for kids goes something along the lines of, “Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you!” You can easily adapt these verses beyond roses that are red and violets that're blue, with silly lines to make them more personalized and playful.

What is a short romantic Valentine quote? ›

"I love you not for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you." "I love being with you, because it's like flying in the clouds." "One more year together celebrating this special day and we will only think of our love and toast to our happiness forever." "You will always be my favorite person in the world.

What is a 14 line love poem? ›

A sonnet is a formal poem with a fixed structure. It is 14 lines long and each line contains 10 syllables. Sonnet lines are in iambic pentameter which means the line has 10 syllables in 5 pairs. In each of these pairs the emphasis is on the second syllable like a heartbeat.

Who wrote the most beautiful love poems? ›

The most romantic poetry of all time
  1. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare. ...
  2. She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron. ...
  3. Love is... by Adrien Henri. ...
  4. How Do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. ...
  5. If You Forget Me by Pablo Naruda. ...
  6. Love Song for Lucinda by Langston Hughes. ...
  7. The Good Morrow by John Donne. ...
  8. Hour by Carol Ann Duffy.
Sep 21, 2022

What is a short verse for Valentine's Day? ›

Top Valentine's Day Bible Verses

1 Corinthians 13:4-8: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

What is the oldest Valentine poem? ›

The oldest known Valentine still exists today as a poem written by Charles Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting that was written in 1415 is part of the manuscript collection at the British Library in London.

Which poem is famous for true love? ›

"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.

What is a 24 line poem called? ›

A Roundelay can be any simple lyric with a refrain, but in prosody, a roundelay is a 24-line poem with a refrain and regularly repeating rhyme structure.

What is the most romantic form of poetry? ›

Sonnets. Sonnets, or poems with 14 lines and patterned end-rhyme schemes, were often used by women poets during the Romantic period to portray the feelings and moods experienced in romantic relationships. Some poets during the era would write sonnet sequences to portray an extended drama between lovers.

How do you say "I love you" in poetic way? ›

Romantic Ways To Say I Love You
  1. "I'm in love with you."
  2. "You're safe with me."
  3. "I love you to the moon and back."
  4. Surprise them with a bouquet of flowers.
  5. "You make my heart skip a beat."
  6. Write them a love letter.
  7. "You have bewitched me, body and soul." — Pride and Prejudice.
  8. "You're the love of my life."
Aug 31, 2023

What is the oldest love poem? ›

The Love Song for Shu-Sin”—written around 2000 BCE in ancient Mesopotamia—is considered the oldest love poem that exists in text form, but also functioned as a song performed during a sacred marriage ceremony for Shu-Sin, a ruler in the city of Ur.

What is the most beautiful short poem ever written? ›

  1. “No Man Is An Island” by John Donne.
  2. “Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost.
  3. “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou.
  4. “Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?” by William Shakespeare.
  5. “There Will Come Soft Rain” by Sara Teasdale.
  6. “If You Forget Me” by Pablo Neruda.
  7. “O Captain! ...
  8. “Fire And Ice” by Robert Frost.
Apr 16, 2019

What words rhyme with Valentine? ›

What rhymes with valentine?
  • 1 syllable. Spine. Shine. Nine. Wine. Mine. Sign. Line. Dine. Fine. Vine. ...
  • 2 syllables. Sunshine. Combine. Punchline. Align. Devine. Sometime. Supine. Refine. Bloodline. ...
  • 3 syllables. Frankenstein. Palestine. Asinine. Alkaline. Calamine. Columbine. Pantomime. Anaheim. Serpentine. ...
  • 5 syllables. Methamphetamine.
  • 6 syllables. Aol.

What is the poem Valentine? ›

Valentine is from a collection of poems entitled Mean Time (1993), and expresses love and affection in the form of a conceit whereby the symbol of love being offered by the speaker is an unconventional onion.

What is the most common phrase used on Valentine Day? ›

  • I love you. (e)
  • You mean so much to me. (s)
  • Will you be my Valentine? (s)
  • You're so beautiful. (s)
  • I think of you as more than a friend. (s)
  • A hundred hearts would be too few to carry all my love for you. (s)
  • Love is just love. It can never be explained. (s)
  • You're so handsome. (s)

What is funny Valentine catchphrase? ›

Funny Valentine demonstrates the ability to pierce and shotgun a can of beer; much like Jotaro during his introduction in Stardust Crusaders. Valentine's catchphrase "Dojyaaa~~n!" literally means "Tada!" in Japanese.

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