Finding a fabulous way to show your love for the mom in your life, or your wife or girlfriend on Valentine’s Day can be a challenge but there is nothing more romantic than receiving a short poem expressing your feelings.
It’s not the size of the poem that matters, in fact, very often a short Valentine’s Day poem is best, especially if a lot of thought goes in to it.
If you are considering being truly romantic and writing your own Valentine’s Day poem then you are definitely on the right track.
But if you find the thought of penning your own sonnet somewhat overwhelming, then there are plenty of really beautiful poems that you can borrow for the occasion.
Some people might say that it is a bit of a cheat but if the words are heartfelt, honest and true then there is no reason why you can’t have them on loan for your Valentine’s Day card. The key is to hand write the poem and put a lot of effort in to choosing a very special card, don’t just give her a card with a pre-written verse in it.
One of the most romantic poems you could send you love is by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Entitled the Sonnet from the Portuguese XLIII, it reads:
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 candlelight.
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.
If you are after a classic Valentine’s Day love poem then this sonnet by William Shakespeare is a wonderful example:
From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty’s rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease, His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, Feed’st thy light’st flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies, Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
A Red, Red Rose, a beautiful famous love poem by Robert Burns may be slightly longer but it is worth putting the extra effort involved in writing it out:
O my Luve’s like a red, red rose. That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve’s like the melodie. That’s sweetly played in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass. So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear. Till a’ the seas gang dry:
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear. And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will luve thee still, my dear. While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only Luve. And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my Luve. Tho’ it ware ten thousand mile.
Another beautiful love poem for those who have been together for some time is ‘i carry your heart with me’ by E. E. Cummings. It reads:
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)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
Finally, funny Valentine’s Day poems can also prove to be a big hit. Celia, Celia by Adrian Mitchell is a good example:
When I am sad and weary,
When I think all hope has gone,
When I walk along High Holborn,
I think of you with nothing on.
Beautiful Love by Tony Mullins is another amusing short poem.
You are so very beautiful and way too nice
I love you once I love you twice
I’ll scream I love you with my last breath
Even in the afterlife I’ll love you to death.
If you are going to go down the route of quoting some famous poetry, the most important thing is to read it carefully, and ask yourself; ‘Is this really how I feel?’ If you read it and think that you could not have put it any better and it touches your soul then it is definitely a great choice for a short Valentine’s Day poem.
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