Poetry is like extracting the essence of love from a person's soul and transcribing it into verses and meters. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking. It’s why when February 14 comes around, writing centres host poetry contests, or why Valentine's Day cards contain the lines of Shakespeare or William Wordsworth. Poetry is the writing of love. But what does that mean? What is love? More importantly, what is love to you?
Love isn’t just a romantic attraction. Love is watching the leaves fall in autumn or buying your favourite coffee after a morning class. Love is listening to a song on repeat because the chorus gives you chills. Love is hugging your pet or watching a movie with your friend. Love is as simple as putting an extra drop of maple syrup on your pancakes. Love is buying fruit. Love is smiling. Love can be everything or nothing at all. It's all up to you.
So, to celebrate the vastness of love's existence, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite poems that I think capture the essence of love. Whether it's a love poem in traditional fashion or one that portrays the poet's adoration for daffodils, I think this list can help rewrite the narrative of Valentine's Day, making it not only the celebration of romantic love but the romanticism of life itself.
Edgar Allen Poe
Annabelle Lee
William Wordsworth
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
Kenneth Patchen
The Snow is Deep on the Ground
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Rainy Day
Emily Dickinson
A Bird, Came Down on the Walk -
Leah Naomi Green
To the Cardinal, Attacking His Reflection in the Window
Robin Becker
Hummingbird