Valentine’s Day Poems for Him & Her
Valentine’s Day isn’t all about gifts. It’s easy for a man to buy a piece of jewelry, be it a necklace, bracelet, or ring. And he can buy flowers as well – roses are easy to come by on the week of February 14th.
And sure, gifts are important, as no guy wants to greet his companion empty handed. However, a physical gift can be immensely propped up with some combination of honest words. Whether that is through
Happy Valentine’s Day eCards, an original poem, or just a note expressing one’s love – these will all add a tremendous amount of meaning that no physical gift can touch.
Poetry
If one is having trouble coming up with the right combination of sweet, honest, raw or romantic words to write on a V-Day card, then why not write a poem? It might seem harder, but within a structured format, it would seem fairly straight-forward to cobble together the right words to melt the heart of a significant other.
And for those men who have no creative ability or interest, don’t you worry. There are many popular romantic poems out there that are definitely usable on a card. And though if you copy a poem your work won’t be original, it will be miles ahead of the guy who simply scribbled “I love you” on a note attached to his gift. Another man’s poem goes further than a solid gold necklace.
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?
Let’s start with a classic that any girl would appreciate. Written by William Shakespeare in 1609, Sonnet 18 expresses an eternal love only possible through comparing the seasons:
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,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
Sonnet 18 is more popularly known as Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?, and is considered to be the most famous of all 154 sonnets that Shakespeare wrote. Sonnet 18 is part of what is known as the Fair Youth Sequence, which consists of 126 sonnets.
In terms of modern day adaptations, Sonnet 18 was first recorded in 1964, by Cleo Laine and John Dankworth. They recorded a jazz version of the poem on their album titled Shakespeare & All That Jazz.
It wasn’t until 1997 that Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry recorded Sonnet 18 for his Princess Dianna tribute album. Then in 2001, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour recorded the sonnet as a song for his wife. He never formally released the song on an album.
The Clod and the Pebble
This is a poem written by William Blake in 1794, as part of his collection named Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The poem is written in three stanzas and represents two types of love. The first stanza talks of love being an unselfish theme, as an innocent aspect of the soul. The second stanza talks of the hard pebble: the selfish aspect of love.
Love seeketh not Itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care;
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.
So sung a little Clod of Clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet;
But a Pebble of the brook,
Warbled out these metres meet:
Love seeketh only self to please,
To bind another to Its delight,
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite.
Williams Blame is a well known English poet and painter, who actually went unrecognized during his lifetime. He has since been recognized as a major poet and influencer from the Romantic Age.
To Earthwood
This romantic poem from famed poet Robert Frost was composed in 1914 but not published until 1923. This lyrical poem consists of eight stanzas which depicts contrasting pleasures of youth with mundane and more spiritual mature tones of life.
Love at the lips was touch
As sweet as I could bear;
And once that seemed too much;
I lived on air
That crossed me from sweet things
The flow of—was it musk
From hidden grapevine springs
Down hill at dusk?
I had the swirl and ache
From sprays of honeysuckle
That when they’re gathered shake
Dew on the knuckle.
I craved strong sweets, but those
Seemed strong when I was young;
The petal of the rose
It was that stung.
Now no joy but lacks salt
That is not dashed with pain
And weariness and fault;
I crave the stain
Of tears, the aftermark
Of almost too much love,
The sweet of bitter bark
And burning clove.
Robert Frost was an American poet who actually published a lot of his work in England. His depictions of rural life is what captured the minds of many readers and fans.
Poems to Fall in Love
Feel free to utilize the above romantic poems which are sure to bring delight and warmth to the hearts of your significant others.
