15 of the Most Beautiful Love Poems of All Time

What could be more romantic on Valentine’s Day than reading classic love poems? That’s why I’ve gathered a collection of beautiful love poems for you to enjoy.

You may have read many of them before, but reading them today, paired with select images, may give a new appreciation for the timeless and powerfully romantic statement that a poem can make.

Have a look, and see which one of these most famous love poems reminds you most of your true love:

1. “Another Valentine” by Wendy Cope

Today we are obliged to be romantic.

And think of yet another valentine.

We know the rules, and we are both pedantic:

Today’s the day we have to be romantic.

Our love is old and sure, not new and frantic.

You know I’m yours, and I know you are mine.

And saying that has made me feel romantic,

My dearest love, my darling valentine.

(https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/another-valentine-3/)

“You know I’m yours, and I know you are mine. Any saying that has made me feel more romantic.”

A classic love poem that is realistic and speaks of deep love. It reminds us that we do not need a specific date to proclaim our devotion to the one we love.

This poem also reflects upon the grounding comfort of lasting love.

2. “How Do I Love Thee?” (Sonnet 43) 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 every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

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.

(https://poets.org/poem/how-do-i-love-thee-sonnet-43)

A classic. It begins, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” And well, the rest of this sonnet counts the ways, ending with, “I shall but love thee better after death.” Loving beyond this life is pretty epic, and this love poem is right on the mark.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s beautifully romantic poem will live on forever, and it’s one of the most recognizable poems chosen for this collection.

Possibly one of the sweetest love poems ever written.

3. “When You Are Old” by William Butler Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look.

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead.

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

(https://poets.org/poem/when-you-are-old)

“But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, and loved the sorrows of your changing face.”

Pure love and commitment are the essences of this poem. He sees and cherishes this woman’s beauty. His love for her transcends time.

4. “[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]” 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)

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 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)

(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/49493/i-carry-your-heart-with-mei-carry-it-in )

e.e. cummings captures that feeling of being totally intertwined with another person.

“and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you.”

The love expressed in cummings’ love poetry is pure magic, and I find it’s emotional style makes it one of the most relatable love poems in this selection.

5. “Love” by Shel Silverstein

Ricky was “L,” but he’s home with the flu,

Lizzie, our  “O,” had some homework to do.

Mitchell, “E” probably got lost on his way.

So I’m all of the love that could make it today.

(https://shelsilverstein.quillsliteracy.org/love-109/)

One of the simplest and sweetest, most enduring famous love poems.

6. “Valentine” by Carol Ann Duffy

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.

It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.

It promises light

like the careful undressing of love.

Here.

It will blind you with tears

like a lover.

It will make your reflection

a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.

Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,

possessive and faithful

as we are,

for as long as we are.

Take it.

Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring,

if you like.

Lethal.

Its scent will cling to your fingers,

cling to your knife.

(https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/valentine/)

Valentine is a poem that turns the romantic idea of sugar-coated Valentine’s Day upside down. Even an onion can reflect intense emotions and can be a powerful symbol of love.

7. “Come, And Be My Baby” by Maya Angelou

The highway is full of big cars going nowhere fast

And folks is smoking anything that’ll burn

Some people wrap their lives around a cocktail glass

And you sit wondering

where you’re going to turn.

I got it.

Come. And be my baby.

 

Some prophets say the world is gonna end tomorrow.

But others say we’ve got a week or two.

The paper is full of every kind of blooming horror

And you sit wondering

what you’re gonna do.

I got it.

Come. And be my baby.

(https://genius.com/Maya-angelou-come-and-be-my-baby-annotated)

In this poem, Angelou beautifully captures the everyday love we all desire.

This love poem will resonate with anyone that wants to remind their love/partner that, no matter what, you will always be here for them.

This is everlasting devotion. And they can count on it.

8. “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” (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.

Sometimes too hot, the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,

Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade,

When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st.

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45087/sonnet-18-shall-i-compare-thee-to-a-summers-day )

I adore how William Shakespeare compliments his love by comparing her to a beautiful summer day.

The sweet emotion of pure love shines through. He excels at painting love through the image of a summer’s day.  I find this one of the most romantic love poems of all time.

9. “Heart to Heart” by Rita Dove

It’s neither red

nor sweet.

It doesn’t melt

or turn over,

break or harden,

so it can’t feel

pain,

yearning,

regret.

It doesn’t have

a tip to spin on,

it isn’t even

shapely—

just a thick clutch

of muscle,

lopsided,

mute. Still,

I feel it inside

its cage sounding

a dull tattoo:

I want, I want—

but I can’t open it:

there’s no key.

I can’t wear it

on my sleeve,

or tell you from

the bottom of it

how I feel. Here,

it’s all yours, now—

but you’ll have

to take me,

too.

(https://poets.org/poem/heart-heart)

Using cliches about love, this beautiful poem explores the sweet emotions associated with falling deeply in love with someone.

This raw honesty hits deeply.

10. “Love Comes Quietly” by Robert Creeley

Love comes quietly,

finally drops

about me, on me,

in the old ways.

What did I know

thinking myself

able to go

alone all the ways.

(https://poets.org/poem/love-comes-quietly)

This short poem emphasizes how pure love is and makes people wonder how they ever managed alone.

Creeley describes the word love as encompassing his life, yet in a gently surprising way.

One of the most touching love poems in this poetry collection.

11. “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet

If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me, ye women, if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,

Or all the riches that the East doth hold.

My love is such that rivers cannot quench,

Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.

Thy love is such I can no way repay;

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,

That when we live no more, we may live ever.

 

This love poem speaks to the beauty of a committed, lifelong relationship.

When Ann Bradstreet says, “Thy love is such I can no way repay” we begin to understand the depths of her appreciation for this love.

This poem reflects a passionate love affair – that’s for sure!

12. “Mad Girl’s Love Song” by Sylvia Plath

13. “She Walks in Beauty” by George Gordon Byron

I.

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

II.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

III.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

 

Byron delights us with a whimsical, adoring piece of lovely romantic poetry. One of the greatest love poems ever written.

14. “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns

 

(This story was originally published on February 14, 2021, and has been updated for thoroughness and accuracy.)