Love isn’t always as straightforward as romantic movies and pop songs would have us believe. More often than not, love is complicated and encapsulates myriad emotions, like lust, sorrow, yearning, heartbreak, hopefulness, confusion and ecstasy. These 10 poems from LGBTQIA+ writers celebrate all types of love, no matter how complex.
When You Want to Fall Back in Love with Life Itself, Read Ellen Bass’s The Thing Is.
This poem is a journey from feeling deflated by life’s hardships (“everything you’ve held dear / crumbles like burnt paper in your hands, / your throat filled with the silt of it”) to coming through the grief and the hard times, and still—against all odds—loving life. The poem compares the idea of life itself to an individual as the narrator decides at the end to fall in love with her life yet again:
“Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.”
When You Need to Practice Self Love, Read Ocean Vuong’s Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong.
Sometimes we all need a reminder to be gentler with ourselves. In this poem, the narrator cautions himself not to be afraid of himself or his past, while still acknowledging that “gunfire / is only the sound of people / trying to live a little longer, / and failing.” Ultimately, he reminds himself to look toward the future and not be bogged down with past experiences or worries. He reassures himself, “The most beautiful part of your body / is where it’s headed.” Even when life is difficult, looking toward the future can be the best kind of self-care.
When You’re Pining for a Long-Lost Legend, Read Alex Dimitrov’s River Phoenix.
We’ve all daydreamed about meet-cutes with celebrities and movie stars. In this bittersweet poem, the narrator imagines he’s “in bed with River Phoenix / chain-smoking and talking about the afterlife.” This poem gives the reader (as well as the narrator) a kinder ending to River Phoenix’s story—the star of the iconic queer film My Own Private Idaho passed away when he was only 23. In this version of his life, though, he’s lounging in bed with the besotted narrator removing his shirt and indulging in philosophical pillow talk.
When You’re Falling in Love at First Sight, Read Wu Tsao’s For the Courtesan Ch’ing Lin.
This gorgeous poem from the 1800s describes why and how a woman falls in love with a courtesan as soon as she sees her. The narrator perfectly captures the idea of love (or lust) at first sight: “One smile from you when we meet, / And I become speechless and forget every word.” The giddiness of the enamored narrator glows throughout the poem, like when she tells the courtesan, “I want to possess you completely– / Your jade body / And your promised heart.” Even though the courtesan may “belong” to another, the narrator vows, “My dear, let me buy a red painted boat / And carry you away.”
When You’re Eagerly Awaiting Your Lover, Read James Baldwin’s Munich, Winter 1973 (for Y.S.).
This poem immediately drops readers into a mysterious rendezvous on a winter night:
“In a strange house,
a strange bed
in a strange town,
a very strange me
is waiting for you.”
As the narrator waits for his lover to arrive, he bemoans that “time’s cruel ability / to make one wait / is time’s reality.” There is no possible way to speed up time when he’s so eager to see his partner. The idea of stopping time and escaping from reality to indulge in nonstop love pulses throughout the poem. The narrator says, “I know / I will see you tonight… / We may never be found again!” and we imagine the two lovers cocooned together in a room without clocks.
When You’re Young and Painfully in Love, Read Sophie Robinson’s One Poem.
A young British woman in New York City explores both the lovely and seedy parts of her new home while dealing with the fact that the person she loves does not return her affections. She’s overwhelmed by this unrequited love:
“when i see your face
or hear your name
i want to pass out
from love
from sadness
from shame
& from regret.”
Even the grimier parts of heartbreak are written beautifully in this poem as the narrator reveals the depths of her sorrow: “i drank bourbon & cried / for four nights solid soaking through my sheets / my t shirts & the mattress.” Even so, the narrator still feels tenderly toward the object of her affection; near the close of the poem, she promises, “i will love you / gently / the whole length / of my life.” She knows that some loves remain with us forever, even if they didn’t work out the way we wanted them to.
When You Keep Falling in Love, Read Mary Oliver’s Of Love.
The narrator gets right to the point by beginning this poem, “I have been in love more times than one, / thank the Lord.” While many writers might wax poetic about one true love, the narrator here recognizes that people are capable of having more than one great love—especially when you meet beautiful people, “of which / there are so many.” There’s a coy nod to bisexuality or pansexuality as the narrator points out that when it comes to her lovers, “some of them were men and some were women.” She also notes her love for nature as she continues “and some—now carry my revelation with you— / were trees.” This all-encompassing poem celebrates both romantic love and love of Mother Earth.
When You’re Longing for Your Lover, Read Donika Kelly’s Desire Path: Near Equinox.
This subtly erotic poem portrays the yearning that can grow from two people being apart. While waiting out the time before a romantic reunion, the narrator lets us in on her intimate activities: “I stoke my own tinder, make fire / of what’s left,” she says, going on to let her lover know, “Oh, I whisper your name / when I’m close.” The longing in this poem leaps off the page as the narrator dreams of everything from Jupiter’s moons to seagulls calling out over the sea while she waits for her lover to return. Near the end of the poem, the narrator lets us know that thankfully, the space between the couple will soon disappear: “Look, / I say into your mouth, your ear, / not near but soon.”
When You’re in It for the Long Haul, Read Ali Liebegott’s Senior Discount.
“I want to grow old with you,” this poem begins. A common sentiment, sure. But this poem does something new and follows up with the specificities of what love in old age might look like. The narrator imagines going to the supermarket with her partner:
“I’ll wait at register two in my green sweater
with threadbare elbows, smiling
because you’ve forgotten the bag of day-old pastries.”
She paints a picture of her partner, saying, “You’re a little confused / looking for me at the wrong register.” She acknowledges that they’ve both changed since their youth, but ultimately, the overarching feeling in this poem is joy at still being together after all those years, even delighting the cashiers; as the narrator notes, “We’re everyone’s favorite customers.”
When You’re Over All These Love Poems, Read Megan Fernandes’s Tired of Love Poems.
The narrator goes for a bait and switch in the first line as she slyly reminds us, “But we never tire of them, do we?” We can’t get enough of love once we’ve experienced it, and we never truly grow tired of reading about other people’s experiences in their love poems. Love and its odes are delightfully inescapable. Soon the narrator hones in on how we really feel: “What we tire of is that we never tire of it. / How it guts us. How it fails, then reappears.” The undeniable hopefulness of love lives on, as do these love poems.
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