Love Poems

. To an Eager Lover This isn’t an unreasonable demand: you have to learn my story with your hands. As a man, you naturally want to know a woman in the way you know the world: from start to finish,...

. Antietam It was the bloodbath battle of the Civil War; Scores of men died, by musket, the gore; Was this brave dead soldier from north or from south, Left on the field, blood gushed from his mouth; He had a...

. I Met a Shepherdess  by Guido Cavalcanti (c. 1250-1300) translated by Joseph S. Salemi I met a shepherdess in a small copse. More beautiful than starlight, the girl seemed. Her hair was blonde-ish, with a...

. Xi When Xerxes saw his bridge of boats which spanned The Hellespont destroyed, forthwith he laid Fetters of iron on the waves and flayed With whips the surf which had him dared withstand. So Gaius, too,...

. ---To My Beloved Husband Our married love is no ethereal sound Which dies away when wedding bells cease tolling: No idle lust for courting or cajoling Which dissipates, its petty joys once crowned; Nor yet a...

. Arrival of Spring Each wing delivers news of a young earth: The nightingale, the end of moonless woes, The dove, the peace of melting mountain snows, The hummingbird, a lightness dense with mirth. The...

. Autumnal Wind Autumnal Wind, who are in speed as swift As was the Spring with which my life began, If you would sigh upon this lonely man, And whistle through his heart’s wide-open rift, Then from the...

. Supplication to Erato and Melpomene Erato, decked in crimson roses; green branches of myrtle, Help me forge the words to win her heart: My crippled pen can summon not the words that might make fertile Barren...

. . Instructions Set in Bone With my own knife, by my own hand, I carve these words in no-man’s-land Upon the skull of my late foe, Who sheltered here some weeks ago. He’d only paused to rest a...

. A Sleepless Night Lest I should suffer sleeplessly this night Of loathsome loneliness, whose strength severe So weakens me that many a bitter tear Bewails my sweetless, ever souring plight; I call on my...

. Repaired Debris drifts down my lacrimosa stream shards discarded when my life exploded. Her cheating ripped apart my every seam left a rubble heap she soon unloaded. Finding all my parts, your love resummed...

. Guitar by Victor Hugo (1802-1885) Translated by Joshua C. Frank Gastibelza, the rifleman coming to town, Sang loud and clear: “Has someone seen Doña Sabina around, Someone from here? O villagers, sing...

. Sonnet to a Friend It’s you who’ve been a constant in my life from earliest thirst and to this very day. You’ve helped me sail through lassitude and strife, have always kept the ennui at bay. You’ve...

. Just Not Alone…   I never asked For easy tasks, For burdens light For just delights. Expected not The breaks I’ve got, And when they came I sought no fame. As demands abound, I’ve stood my...

. Never Argue with a Progressive They never tell the truth, except by accident, And when they do, they’ll tell you that they really meant The opposite, so what’s a trusting man to do? Admittedly, such...

. Equal Schmequal   The traits of men were glibly mocked __By those who thought men strange--- Those who thought the world half-cocked __ And fought for chop and change--- All those who chose to rise and...

. Bergerette by Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), translated by Margaret Coats O shepherdess, my friend,On love alone I live.True love is life’s true end,My heart can comprehend,And therefore I intend_My...

. Fire on Ice How shall I serve my anger up to you? Shall I become like one most distant star Burning intensely, far from where you are, Incinerating---infinite degrees Made a mere twinkling to the earthly...

. Sentimental Song A pad and pen lie by his side __This moonless night of fall. And though he tries to hush his pride, To only see the tears she cried, His hands refuse to breach the wall, __A pithy line to...

. Wanton Wandering Winds Those wanton wandering winds, my darling fair, Whose western currents comb in several ways And lose themselves within the marvellous maze Of locks luxuriant that you loosely wear; So...

. Daedalus Icarus, you have disobeyed, As all men do, and dearly paid. Too recklessly your heart did fly Between high seas and louring sky. The wings I gave you, it is true, But what would you have had me...

. Ruby Jubilee We’ve made a grand tour of exuberance, Repeated as our hearts reverberate, Imagining abodes where we might dwell For seasons long enough to celebrate Red-letter days our travel plans...

. Forsake Me Now Forsake me now, and say your last farewell While my misfortune’s in its full career, By circumstances forced to part from here, And in the furthest land from this to dwell; Forsake me as...

. Aftertaste Love at first sip was so cloyingly sweet, When I’d have gladly laid all at his feet, Sworn by the heavens his eminent worth, Followed him unto the ends of the earth. Tragic, how quickly he...

. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Odes, II.8 “The first thing we learn about Barine is that she is in the habit of making and breaking promises (of love and fidelity, presumably) and that she is never punished...

. . Introduction Percy Bysshe Shelley was born August 4, 1792 and died in a boating accident on July 8, 1822. To mark the 200th anniversary of his death, Guntbert “Gunny” Markefka and the Powerpoets...

. Tongues as of Fire If men desire to find belief, to sing It out through throats works best to make the soul Embrace it.  This will make the sought faith zing Behind their hearts and manliness’s whole. The...

. A Modernization of “To His Coy Mistress” You say we should some years delay The coming of our wedding day, But God commanded us to try To fruitful be and multiply. To make new life, we cannot shirk; The...

. Speechless I have smelt the perfect scent of the flower of a rose, Known intoxicated freedom where frangipani grows. Watched majestic rivers meet the wild and moody sea, And flown right over mountains where...

. Revelation You never see suspects admitting their guilt, __Or partisans stating they lied. You’ll never hear soccer stars fearing defeat, __Or macho guys saying they cried. In a world where the truth’s...

. Hymn to Aurora  1 Aurora, rise and cast your curls Of daybreak through the vapor swirls To drape my face in scarlet beams— Since you left me I’ve had bad dreams. Like waves, my sheets have tossed...

. Two Poems for White Day On White Day, March 14, men in Japan present white gifts to women, in return for the chocolates they receive from women on Valentine’s Day. White Day began in 1978 as a commercial...

. Little to Regret When Time has stilled my body __Think of me now and then, Asleep beneath the wattle, __Which flowers yet again. And as the summer follows __With rays I cannot see, Let the warmth embrace...

. When words are sharp, and clash like iron blades, I swallow swords. I grimace, turn away. You fear I wield a shield, that love will fade, That wordless I our promises betray. Yet iron sharpens iron, I have...

. You’re In Control In all, you’re in control; your imperious charms Have inspired a near-insatiable itch in my arms To reach and grasp and hold, in hopes to soothe, To bring our fire and ice together to...

. Tonight I Sail the Dreamy Sea Tonight I sail the dreamy sea Where we can find tranquility. The sails are set. The sea remote. Just you and I within the boat. I’ll sail to you and pick you up; Then we can...

. I’m Here __Your smile, it hypnotizes. It rises with the Inca doves and sun. __Sleep done, your love surprises And spices dawn with lush and precious fun. __Your widened eyes are fashioned In passion that...

.   https://youtu.be/3XWcnISYGSE . Rondel for Saint Valentine's Day by Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1340–1400) | modernized in the original lyric form by Margaret Coats Now welcome, springtime, with your gentle...

. An Oldie's Valentine Love Poem We met when she was seventeen, The fairest maid I’d ever seen. With eyes of blue and flaxen hair, My mouth agape, I had to stare, And wonder, if a girl like she, Would ever...

. To a Girl Named Olivia What shall I say to you of untold love In this more than empty space that lies between Our two selves wound in tongue-tied reticence? I have touched your hand in images and dreams, As...