35 sweet love songs for the man in your life (2023)

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Do you want to tell your boy how much he means to you? Say one of these love poems to him and Cupid's arrow will surely hit its mark.

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Touching love songs for him.

Love is a big emotion, so sometimes a little "I love you" doesn't express the immensity of your feelings. But the beauty of poetry is that it can speak for us when words fail us. Whether you want to rekindle an old love, express your appreciation to a lifelong partner, tell your boyfriend or husband that you miss him, or make things right after a fight, you can find love songs for him from all times and ages find continents.

These love songs are about different emotions and situations we can find ourselves in when we are in love. and while shesinLove songs for him express universal themes yet perfect for people who identify as female or non-binary. after i said thatpoetry booksthey are fulllove songsof all kinds incllove songs for her. If you need something more exciting, try one of thesefunny songsÖExamples of limericks- guaranteed to make you laugh. And if you're looking for a song fit for a more serious occasion, check out these heartwarming onesmourning songs.

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1. “How can I love you? (Sonnet 43)” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How I love you? let me count the ways
I love you deep and far and high
My soul can reach out when it feels out of sight
For the needs of being and ideal grace.
I love you on an everyday level.
The slightest need, in the sun and in the candlelight.
I love you of my own free will while people fight for good.
I love you pure while they turn around in praise.
I love you with the passion I use
In old sorrows and with the faith of childhood.
I love you with a love that seems lost
With my lost saints. I love you with my breath
Smiles, tears, all my life; and if God wills
I will only love you more after death.

"How I love you?" It might be the most beautiful love song ever written, and rightly so: the story behind it is the thingromance novelsGromantic movies. The author, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, wrote it as partPortuguese sonnets, a series of sonnets she wrote during her courtship about her future husband Robert Browning, which her father disapproved of. Fortunately, the couple managed to get married. Finally, after three years of marital bliss, Barrett Browning showed her husband the poems he had inspired, and he was amazed and insisted on publishing them. The rest is history.

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2. “A Short Love Poem” by Nizar Qabbani

Baby I got a lot to say
Where, oh darling, do I begin?
Everything about you is princely
O you who make my words by their meaning
silk cocoons
These are my songs and this is me
This short book contains us
tomorrow when I turn your pages
The lamp will howl
the bed will sing
Your longing texts turn green
Your commas are about to escape
Don't say why this young man
Talk about me, winding road and stream
Almond Tree and Tulip
So the world follows me wherever I go?
Why did he sing these songs?
Now there is no star
that is not perfumed with my scent
Tomorrow people will see me in their verses
Mouth with the taste of wine, very short hair
Ignore what people say
You will only be great because of my great love.
What would happen to the world if we weren't there
What would the world be without your eyes?

Not quite sure how to express your love for the man in your life? Create a love song for him that acknowledges your inability to convey what he means to you. Or just send him thisinspirational songby the famous Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani.

Qabbani broke down barriers by writing about both straight and queer love, and he uses this method of inquiry to begin a love poem addressed by a male speaker to a "princely" mistress. The poem begins with a loved one inspiring these lines, then expands to recognize how the poem itself will share the lover's beauty and the poet's love with the world, including readers like us.

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3. „Soneto“ Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson

I was not late thinking of violets,
A wild and shy guy jumping up at your feet
In the dreamy days of April when lovers mate
And wanders through the fields in sweet ecstasy.
The thought of violets meant flower shops
and bows and needles and fine scented paper;
And the bright lights and the mischievous little drake
And cabarets and soap operas and stupefying wines.
So far from sweet real things my mind has wandered
I forgot the wide fields; and tan brooks;
The perfect beauty that God created—
Shy wild violets and heavenly dreams.
And now, unbeknownst to me, you made me dream
Of violets and the forgotten glow of my soul.

Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson's sonnet evokes the phenomenon that occurs when we meet someone and life seems to brighten up a bit. The Poem is a small selection of the poems, essays, journals, and short stories that Dunbar-Nelson, born in New Orleans to parents of mixed white, black, and Native American descent, produced during a career spanning the late 19th and early 19th centuries. Century included 19th century. After sending this poem to your true love, read more of her works.black poets.

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4. "To My Beloved Husband" Anne Bradstreet

If ever two were one, we certainly are.
If ever a man was loved by a woman, it's you.
If ever a woman was happy in a man
Compare yourself to me, women, if you can.
I value your love more than whole gold mines
Or all the riches that the East has.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench
Only loving you should give a reward.
Your love is so great that I cannot return it;
Heaven will reward you richly, I pray you.
So while we live let's hold on in love
So that when we no longer live, we can live forever.

Anne Bradstreet wrote this poem in the 17th century, but it certainly contains one of the most romantic and timeless poems.happy anniversary messagesa woman can send her husband: he is simply the best.

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5. "I Love You" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I love your lips when they're wet with wine
and red with wild desire;
I love your eyes when the light of love lies
Burning with passionate fire.
I love your hands when the white flesh is warm
Touch mine in a loving embrace;
I love your hair when the strands get tangled
your kisses on my face

It's not a cold and quiet kiss for me
the bloodless love of the virgin;
Not for me the white bliss of a saint,
Nor the heart of a spotless dove.
But give me the love you give so freely
And laughs at the guilt of the whole world
With your body so young and warm in my arms
Enlighten my poor heart.

So kiss me sweetly with your warm wet mouth
It still smells of ruby ​​wine,
And to say it with the enthusiasm that comes from the south
That your body and your soul belong to me.
Hold me in your warm young arms
As the faint stars shine above,
And we'll live away our whole young lives
In the joy of lived love.

songs for childrenIt can be fun, but if you're looking for something more exciting, Ella Wheeler Wilcox has the answer. In this 19th-century poem, the speaker openly declares that what matters to him is not cleverness or purity, but wine and warm hugs. And the title sums it up.

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6. "Forget Me Not" by Ann Plato

If on a foggy morning
when the sun shines softly on every flower;
When you stop laughing good-naturedly
And think that every heart corresponds to yours,
If you seek rest with the gods,
Do not forget me.

When the last rays of dawn fall
And you walk down the hall;
When the mists gather on the hill
No sound is heard but the mountain stream,
When everything around is looking for peace,
Do not forget me.

[…]

"When your pain subsides next year,
and bathe your happiness in tears,
Remember though we're doomed to part
Live a loving and faithful heart,
They won't forget you.

This song containsa few more verses, everyone tells the poet's mistress that he remembers her, regardless of her circumstances or state of mind. A sweet poem for someone far away, it appears in a collection published by Ann Plato in 1841 when she was only 20 years old. As if that wasn't impressive enough, the collection became the second volume of poetry published by a black woman in the United States. Read these to learn more from a stunning young poetAmanda Gorman songs.

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7. "Green" Paula Verlainea

Here are fruits, flowers, leaves, sticks,
Here is my heart that only beats for your sighs.
Don't tear them with snow-white hands,
let my poor gifts please your eyes.

I come to you still covered in dew, you see
The dew that the morning wind has frozen here on my face.
let my weariness lie at your feet,
And dream of loving moments that shower grace.

Let my head hang here on your young chest
I still dream of your last blessed kisses
Let this great storm pass
Now let me sleep while you rest.

While this poem is about rest and relaxation, the love life of 19th-century French poet Paul Verlaine was anything but peaceful. In his late twenties, while married, he began an affair with another poet, Arthur Rimbaud, who was in his late teens. Eventually they ran away together and traveled around Europe for three years. The affair didn't last—they both took drugs, and Verlaine was jailed for shooting Rimbaud in the wrist—but the poetry they both wrote certainly did. For more ways to express your admiration for the man in your life, click herelove quotes.

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8. "Song of the Highest Tower" by Arthur Rimbaud

let him cum, let him cum
A day when hearts love as one.

I've been patient for so long
I even forgot
terror and suffering
flew to the sky
Again sick thirst
Darken my veins

let him cum, let him cum
A day when hearts love as one.

so the meadow
dismissed by abandonment,
bloomed, overgrown
with grass and incense,
to a tight buzz
evil flies.

let him cum, let him cum
A day when hearts love as one.

The longing in these verses is palpable; perhaps Arthur Rimbaud was hoping for some harmony in his relationship with Paul Verlaine. Whatever the true story, it certainly captures that feeling after a difficult time in a relationship when one is hoping to finally see the light. For something completely different, check this outfunny lyrics.

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9. "Love and Friendship" by Emily Brontë

love is like a wild rose
friendship like holly—
The holly is dark when the rose bush is in bloom
But what blooms more often?

The wild rose is sweet in spring,
Its summer flowers perfume the air;
However, wait until winter returns
And who will call the wild blackberry fair?

So despise the stupid crown of roses now
and cover yourself with holy splendor,
that when December spoils the forehead
You can still leave your green wreath.

Is the most important man in your life just a friend? This poem uses imagery of plants and weather to convey a sentiment that often rings true: a new romance may be more fun, but deep friendships last longer than a season. While you're at it, share thisfriendship quotesalso with him

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10. "I'm Not Yours" by Sarah Teasdale

I'm not yours, I'm not lost in you
I'm not lost, although I long for it
Lost like a candle lit at noon
Lost like a snowflake in the sea.

You love me and I still find you
beautiful and bright spirit,
However, I am what I want to be
Lost like light is lost in light.

Oh take me deep in love, turn it off
My senses leave me deaf and blind
swept away by the storm of your love,
Sail in the wind

Sara Teasdale was born in 1884 and has published seven volumes of poetry. If you're new to your business, "I'm Not Yours" is a good place to start. In it, he takes the first verse, which seems to speak of rejection, and beautifully transforms it into a statement that he wants an even deeper love.

If you are looking for ways to express your adoration, explore theselove songs. After all, poetry and music go hand in hand.

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11. "If You Came Back" Clare Ann Thompson

If you came back with sweet words of love
So honestly that day,
It seems to me that your words would move this sad heart
For my pride has melted away;
And I learned how true was the heart I despised
And I longed for the face that never came back.

If you asked me about your girlfriend again
How I would like to share your fate;
With what joy I would spend my whole life next to you,
What an honor it would be to be there;
Oh, I've learned to respect the heart I despised!
And I long for the face that never came back.

When you're back, oh it's a wasted dream!
I will no longer cherish the fantasy;
Though my path seems dark and deserted
I will bravely continue as before;
And trust in the one who forgives our mistakes,
And heal the deep wounds our rebellion inflicts.

That guy you rejected years ago and then thought about him forever? This is a song for him. (Well, you might not be ready to propose just yet.) These heartfelt lyrics come from the pen of Clara Ann Thompson, a black woman born in Ohio in 1869 to enslaved parents. She had a vibrant career as a writer, speaker, and social worker, but, as the poem suggests, never married.

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12. "The Knight of My Maiden Love" by Priscilla Jane Thompson

knight of my virgin love,
strong and manly
My longing heart is always looking for you;
Scan the busy crowd;
Listen to his babble out loud;
He secretly longs to see your lovely face.

knight of my virgin love,
strong and manly
Your words and your face were gentle;
Deep in my loving heart
i separated you
The prince of my imagination and the master of my dreams;

The knight of my virgin love, irrepressible and manly -
In your presence I seem calm and composed;

This is my sexual decree-
Girls must be humble;
And manly courage has made you my dream.

knight of my virgin love,
strong and manly
“Not your noble way, I love the best;
No, it's your tenderness
tempered with masculinity,
The formation of a noble heart,
deep in the chest

If you're still thinking about that boy you had a crush on in high school and he doesn't mind a little pun about knights and damsels, this song shows that you're still thinking about him and wish it weren't you . was so "modest" back then. Priscilla Jane Thompson was the sister of Clara Ann Thompson; apparently good poetry ran in the family.

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13. "The Perfect Rose" by Dorothy Parker

Ever since we met, he has sent me a single flower.
Very softly his messenger chose;
A deep heart, pure, with fragrant dew still wet -
The perfect rose.

He knew the language of flowers;
"My fragile leaves," he said, "hugging his heart."
The love for your amulet lasted a long time
The perfect rose.

Why hasn't anyone sent me yet?
The perfect sedan, guess?
Ah no, it's always my luck to win
The perfect rose.

The hilarious take on this rose-cliché-themed song is perfect for someone with a sense of humor. But let's face it, who wouldn't rather own a limousine than a simple flower? For more humorous take on the rose motif, check out these funny "roses are red..." poems.

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14. "Wild Nights - Wild Nights! (249)” by Emily Dickinson

Wild nights - Wild nights!
I was with you
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!

In vain - the winds -
heart in the harbor -
Made with a compass –
Done with the chart!

Rowing in Eden –
¡Ay, el mar!
Can you get matched up tonight?
Du slovo e!

Although Wild Nights makes no mention of genre, Emily Dickinson may have written these lines for Susan Gilbert, a lifelong friend and possibly the object of her romantic love. Gilbert married Dickinson's brother so the two could live close together, and the song evokes the mixture of passion and longing Dickinson likely felt for her friend.

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15. "[Oh come to my dreams my love!]" by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Oh, come to my dreams, my love!
I will seek no dearer happiness;
Come with the rays of the stars my love
and squeeze my eyelids with a kiss.

So it was, as the old fairy tales say
love visited a greek girl,
Until she disturbed the holy spell,
And he woke up to find his hopes dashed.

But sweet sleep will cover my eyes
And Psyche's lamp will go out
When in visions of the night
You renew your vows.

So come to my dreams my love
I will seek no dearer happiness;
Come with the rays of the stars my love
and squeeze my eyelids with a kiss.

Mary Shelley is known for writing one of the greatestroman horrorall timeFrankenstein—when she was just 18, she secured her place in popular culture. But her love life was also pretty strained. She fled to Italy with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley when she was 16 and he was still married. Whether you find it romantic or not, you can't deny that Shelley knew about their romance, as this love poem to him attests.

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16. "I crave it more" Ono No Komachi

I crave it more
In these long moonless nights.
I stay awake, horny,
growing fires of passion
bursts into my heart

Ono No Komachi may have written these lines in the 9th century, but they're just as popular today. The Japanese poetess was famous in her day and the subject of many legends that claimed she had a reputation for being difficult to please.

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17. „Missing“ von William Carlos Williams

So different, this man
And this woman:
a flowing stream
In The Field.

This 1916 poem beautifully captures, with characteristic William Carlos Williams brevity, the transformation that occurs when two people marry. He also imagines marriage as a lasting union: the current does not flow through the field, but into it. As if the poet wanted to say that the whole is actually greater than the sum of its parts.

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18. "Songs and Joannes,XIIIby Mine Loy

Come to me, there is something
I have to tell you and I can't tell you
something is taking shape
Something that has a new name
a new dimension
new use
a new illusion

It's the atmosphere and it's in your eyes
Something great, something just for you
something I shouldn't see

Something very resonant to my ears
something you shouldn't hear
something just for me

let's be very jealous
very suspicious
very conservative
very cruel
Or we could put an end to ambitious urges
Destroy invulnerable egos

Where two or three are welded together
they become gods

— — — — — — —

Ah, it's true
Stay away from me, please, push me
Don't make me understand you, don't understand me
Or we could fall together
defaced
Identical
In fabulous Nirvana
I you - you - me

This excerpt is just one of many parts of a long poem Mina Loy wrote between 1915 and 1917. She dubbed it "Joannesa," an alias for her former lover, Italian Futurist writer Giovanni Papini. Although the poem is several pages long, it does not compete with the longest love poetry: "Marina", written in 1846 by Slovak writer Andrej Sládkovič, has 2,900 lines.

In "Songs for Joannes," Loy expresses the frustration felt when two people are so close yet separated, but he brilliantly invites his lover to melt away his ego and enjoy the bliss of true understanding. For more wisdom on what makes a relationship work, check out theserelationship quotes.

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19. Clothes comb “Elektrika”.

Of fiery contacts...
running auras of steel
Touch and separate...
Of loaded fakes
iron jumps
female and male,
complete, indivisible, one,
Bringing light into the darkness.

Written in 1920, the adventurous and independent poet Lola Ridge harnessed the awe and power of industrial age technological advances to create a new metaphor for two people bringing together. And that's the beauty of poetry: What may seem cold at first glance with allusions to steel and iron becomes a very sensual poem on closer reading.

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20. "[Behold, love again, king that dissolves limbs]" by Sappho

Behold, love again, king who dissolves limbs,
bittersweet impossible,
Like a wild animal, it tears me apart with wild trembling.

Born around 620 BC C. Sappho wrote poetry whose instinctive immediacy allowed her to stand the test of time. Despite scholars trying to hide it over the centuries, this poetess wrote love poems expressing her passion for women. Dubbed the "tenth muse" (by Plato no less!), Sappho is one of the most enduring poets andbooks of his poemsthey are still studied and enjoyed today; In fact, it made our favorites listlgbtq+ books. But although she wrote for women, her incantations of passion are deep, compelling, and express the love she feels for and towards people of all genders. So do it next timelove messageFor your boy, add one of Sappho's love songs for him.

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21. "Butterfly" Edne St Vincent Milly

Butterflies are white and blue.
In this field we wander.
let me take your hand
Death will come in a day or two.

All the things we've ever known
it will be ashes in that hour
mark the passing butterfly,
Like hanging on a flower.

let me take your hand
Let me Love You
Until dawn is in the sky.
If I'm false or true
Death will come in a day or two.

If you feel your crush is struggling to do something, you can use Edna St. Vincent Millay to remind them of the impermanence of life. That's exactly what he does in this song, originally released in 1921the second of April. Like an ephemeral butterfly, she seems to be telling her potential boyfriend, we won't live forever, so get going.

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22. "Expectation" by Amy Lowell

I've always been moderate
But I feel like I'm very drunk
With your arrival
there were moments
I was afraid to walk down the street
not to stumble with your wine,
And I masturbate against my neighbor
as they pass
Now I'm dry and my tongue is awful in my mouth
But my brain is loud
With the clatter and clatter of full wine glasses.

To poetically say I like you, you can use any image available, even the mundane metaphor of wine, like Amy Lowell does in Waiting. Although the lover's gender is not specified in the poem, scholars believe that Lowell was writing about his secretary, Ada Dwyer Russell, with whom he began living when he was in his late 30s. The down-to-earthness of the metaphor makes the feeling even more poignant.

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23. "Road Encounter" by Murasaki Shikibu

Encounter on the way:
But I can't be sure
that he
because the midnight moon
It disappeared into the cloud.

Not only was she the first female writer in human history, but Murasaki Shikibu, born around 975. C. in Japan, also knew how to write an excellent Missed Connections commercial. In "Meeting on the Road" she mourns the darkness of the night that hid the identity of the man she met on one fateful night. If your sweet encounter with your man ended in a similar way, then this is one of the most perfect love songs for him. But it's also a great love letter message: write how lucky you are that you found her name (and number!) the first time you met, so you don't lose each other forever.

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24. "Love, read me, seek and find" Lady Mary Wroth

Love tests me, seeks and finds me
Like every corner of my mind
it is a string
Knit to shine.
Not badly done Webb, badly framed,
bastard not named after his father,
like that in me
You can't bee.
Honey, look at me and you will see
Trust the hive and love the bee,
what he brings.
Gaine i ubod.
Please dry me, tendons, veins,
Stay tuned and love life with these wins;
lying naked
despair,
if you score like that
My whole body, my heart, reward;
be true
Only for you
Lock the chest, embalm the chest
where your strength still rests
mourning joy,
He loves sinking.

If your partner is more of a renaissance type with just amacabre sense of humor, this poem by Lady Mary Wroth, born in England in 1587, might be the right choice. The narrator invites his beloved not only to strip her naked but to dissect her to determine if her heart is indeed pure before burying her in the joy of love.

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25. "[I Loved You First]" by Christine Rossetti

First I loved you: but then your love
Surpassing mine, he sang a higher song
It was as if he was being drowned out by the friendly cooing of my dove.
Who owes the other more? my love was long
And yours seemed to get stronger for a moment;
I loved you and I guessed you, you interpreted me
And he loved me for what might or might not be -
No, weights and measures hurt us both.
For in truth love does not know what is "mine" or "thy";
Separated from "I" and "You" he made free love,
Because one is both and both are one in love:
Rich love knows nothing of "what is yours and not mine";
Both have strength and both have length,
Second, the love that makes us one.

If you've ever jokingly argued with your partner about who makes the first move or who prefers the other, Christina Rossetti's song offers a romantic answer. Since love brings two people together, it is impossible to compete with each other. Each person's feelings are not separate, but a common phenomenon. By definition, the love of one also belongs to the other.

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26. "I Want to Die While You Love Me" Georgia Douglas Johnson

I wanna die while you love me
As long as you keep me honest
While the laughter is on my lips
And the lights are in my hair.

I wanna die while you love me
and lie down in this motionless bed
Your stormy kisses, not wasted
To keep me warm when I'm dead.

I wanna die while you love me
Oh, who would want to live?
Until love has nothing more to ask for
And nothing left to give?

I wanna die while you love me
And never, ever see
The glory of that perfect day
Go into the darkness or cease to exist!

If your boyfriend likes dramatic declarations of love, this song has the ultimate. Georgia Douglas Johnson is considered a leading poet of the Harlem Renaissance (although she lived in Washington, D.C.), publishing four collections of poetry, writing several plays, and even studying music. In fact, this song was published as a song with sheet music around 1919.

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27. "All roads lead to you" Blanche Shoemaker Wagstaff

All roads lead to you
Wherever I wander
You are the evening star
At the end of the day.

All roads lead to you
Up the hill or down
You are a white birch
In the light of the sun.

All roads lead to you
Wherever I walk around
You are the song of the lark
He's calling me home!

This one is sweet and simple, but it contains one of the most beautiful love messages to send someone: you are my home. For him it works just as well as a love song as it does as a platonic love lyric; she is particularly beautifulMother's Day songFor the woman who raised you and built your home.

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28. „Matrimonio“ von Mary Weston Fordham

The die is cast, riches come, sorrow comes,
Two lives merge
For better or worse the link
that nothing but death can cut.
The dice are cast, pain comes, joy comes,
come richer or poorer
If love only binds a mystical bond,
Blessed is the wedding hour.

Mary Weston Fordham's "Marriage" is an honest appraisal of married life: There are not only rainbows and butterflies, but when love is there it will be a blessing. Although not much is known about the poet, what we do know is impressive. Born in the United States in 1843 to a free black woman, Fordham ran a school during the Civil War and taught in South Carolina during later Reconstruction.

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29. "The Decade" by Amy Lowell

When you arrived you were like red wine and honey
And your taste lit my mouth with its sweetness.
Now you are like morning bread
Smooth and beautiful.
I can hardly taste you because I know your taste
But I'm fully fed.

Falling in love is sweet as honey and heady as wine, and as Amy Lowell writes in The Decade, it's a wonderful feeling. But as the narrator points out here, eventually it will pass. That's not a bad thing. Constant love, the kind of knowing each other inside out is just as nourishing. This short and sweet song is a wonderful complement to the "a message thinking of youfor a man you've known and loved for a long time.

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30. „Kiss Goodbye“ von Josephine Delphine Henderson Heard

We waited at the train station
Soon the cars would certainly start
hearts beat high with excitement of love,
Because we knew that we would have to separate soon.
She seemed to be glowing in her dark lashes
Tiny crystal teardrops shine;
To a soft voice I'm glad I said
While loving eyes look into mine.

And the last words spoken quickly
Better still to me to be true
may your promise be unbreakable,
'Cause I'll be true to you

Once I felt a soft hand tremble
And my heart danced with joy;
lips that looked like rosebuds
Acknowledged in love's last kiss.

Goodbye, don't forget me
Spoken in the softest tone,
keep me precious in your memory
'Cause my love is all yours
I will always have a brave heart -
Nothing will erase your love;
One last kiss and then we parted.
One last long and tender hug.

If you're longing for a long-distance lover, "Kiss to Break Up" will let you know. It is from an 1890 book by Josephine Delphine Henderson HeardMorning fame.Born in 1821 to black slave parents, Heard became a teacher and poet after her emancipation.

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31. "A Love Letter" by Mary Eliza Perine Tucker

You wanted a love letter, doctor, but then,
I know you are the most conceited of men;
You'll think I'm serious, I swear I'm not now
'Cause I wouldn't even love a saint.

You should never believe what beautiful ladies say:
Take her no for yes and her yes for no.
Like doctors, darlings are very deceitful,
And most of what they say is not half believable.

But now my letter. how to start
If I say, my dear doctor, it will be a sin!
And a love letter without darling, darling and dove,
It would be as tasteless as without love.

Love, glorious love, with its great mystical art,
It shakes every mortal mind and wounds every human heart;
Inflict pain or pleasure without worry or regret,
He throws up the fragile heart that becomes the toy of its time.

Drink the juice of life, become life itself,
Regardless of true love, regardless of the beauty of the skin-
“Domestic” object in the eyes of entering love –
You will look like an angel, radiant like a queen.

His object shines like the tongue of man's serpent -
Even the old look young;
Waving the tresses of love's eyes, though striped gray,
This does not detract from, but enhances its powerful dominance.

Love, bright and happy love, heals every sad and broken heart,
but interrupts him again as he tries to leave:
Through the emptiness, love pulls once, never again
A vision can fill it, save great pain.

blessing of blessings, greatest evil,
It leaves its glowing mark wherever it goes:
So look for love and find it whenever you can-
My advice is unnecessary because you are... a man.

Doctor, I'm sure this letter will find you
It fits right in with your mindset;
I sent what I promised a real love letter
And if you don't like it, just write better!

Not much is known about this 19th-century American poet and journalist, but her sense of humor and sharp wit (what a dissection of love!) come through in this poem. It's a funny but serious answer, perfect for someone trying to get your attention. What if there is someone in your life who is constantly begging for a love song? Send him Mary Eliza Perine Tucker's hilariously sarcastic response.

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32. "Incense of the Soul" by Henrietta Cordelia Ray

Like a golden thread around the heart of a rose
They roll quietly from the summer sun,
And the original color becomes deeper, richer,
More beautiful in her radiant charm,
So around the human heart unconsciously
Love's golden tendrils intertwine
And make it sweeter, richer, holier
from what was before;
and as in deep flowers
The man's gaze enjoys a brief rest,
So in a heart lit by the radiance of love,
Angels look with a calm and pure gaze.

This excerpt from Henrietta Cordelia Ray's Incense of the Soul (full versionalso worth reading) celebrates the power of love to bring out the best in us. An African-American poet and activist who rose to fame in the late 19th century, she is best known for her poem "Lincoln," written to celebrate the completion of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C. was read in 1876.

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33. "If It Was Just For Me It Wouldn't Be" by Louise May Alcott

just for me,
I would not be ambitious in my desire
To wish for much better; still for you
I would triple twenty times;
A thousand times more beautiful, ten thousand times richer;
That just to get high on your bankroll

If you prefer understatement, short poems like this one by Louisa May Alcott, a famous authorlittle woman, You can make an effort without getting too sentimental. It appears in a lesser-known location.a classic novelby the author under titleWork: history of experience. As this passage shows, it says a lot when you want to be 20 times better as a person, not for yourself but for the person you love.

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34. "[Get away from me. Yet I feel I shall endure] Sonnet VI" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

walk away from me but i feel i will stand
From now on in your shadow. Never again
Alone on my doorstep
Individual life, I will command
Use my soul and don't raise a hand
Peaceful under the sun as before
Without feeling what I omit -
Your touch on the palm. the furthest country
Fate separate us, keep your heart in mine
With pulses that beat twice. What I do
And what I dream includes you, like wine
He must taste his own grapes. And if I complain
God for me, he hears your name,
And see two tears in my eyes.

Jede Elizabeth Barrett BrowningPortuguese sonnetsIt might be on that list, but Sonnet VI is especially poignant if, like Barrett Browning, you're feeling a little in love. If you now know that you will never be the same after meeting your man, this is the perfect way to say it.

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35. "For Me Somebody Someone" Whitney Hanson

Sometimes when I look at the moon
I like to imagine
you look too
Our view is the bridge
from us to heaven
and there is an invisible line
that connects you and me
And even though I'm miles away from you
after sunset
Can we meet on the moon?

Long-distance love is notoriously difficult, but so promisingPoet Whitney Hansonillustrated in this poem from his bookDomIt helps to remember that you are under the same sky. They may not be able to reach out and hold their hand, but they can lie on the warm grass and gaze at the moon, knowing they are seeing exactly what their partner is seeing.

Out ofDomWhitney Hanson published by Penguin Life, published by Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2023 Whitney Hanson.

Lauren Schenkman is a novelist and journalist covering culture, literature, travel, and science for Reader's Digest and others. She holds a master's degree in creative writing from Cornell University and a bachelor's degree in literature and physics from the University of Southern California. Read more about her work at laurenschenkman.com.