Poems for St Valentine's Day: Expressing Love through Words

St Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate love and relationships with our significant others. It is a day filled with romance, affection, and heartfelt gestures. One of the most beautiful ways to express love on this special day is through poetry. Poems have the power to capture the essence of love and convey deep emotions that words alone sometimes cannot express. In this article, we will explore various poems that are perfect for St Valentine's Day, each one capturing the magic and beauty of love.

1. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare is one of the most famous love poems in the English language. In this sonnet, Shakespeare compares his beloved to a summer's day, highlighting her beauty and eternal nature. The poem captures the essence of true love and illustrates the enduring power of love through the seasons.

Sonnet 18:

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 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 owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest 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.

2. How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a classic love poem that explores the depths of love and affection. In this poem, Browning expresses her love in various ways, stating that she loves her beloved with all her soul and being. The poem beautifully captures the unconditional and boundless nature of true love.

How Do I Love Thee:

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 a 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.

3. A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns

A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns is a beautiful love poem that compares the speaker's love to a red rose in full bloom. The poem expresses the speaker's undying love and devotion to his beloved, likening her to a beautiful flower that will never fade. Burns' use of vivid imagery and romantic language makes this poem perfect for St Valentine's Day.

A Red, Red Rose:

O my Luve's like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve's like the melodie

That’s sweetly play'd in tune:

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I:

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry:

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;

I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee well, my only luve

And fare thee well, a while!

And I will come again, my luve,

Though it were ten thousand mile.

Overall, St Valentine's Day is a perfect opportunity to express your love and affection through the timeless beauty of poetry. Whether you recite classic love poems or write your own, the important thing is to let your special someone know how much they mean to you. Poems have a magical way of capturing the essence of love and creating lasting memories on this romantic day.