Love and Desire Poems

1. “Flirtation” by Rita Dove
A series of images from the natural world set the mood for the first evening of a new love. This is a poem about those tender moments when time slows down and the excitement is palpable.

2. “The House of Life: 22. Heart’s Haven” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Can there be peace in a world like ours, one constantly wracked by violence and strife? This poem acknowledges that love cannot conquer pain, but it can offer solace. When love brings two people together, in those passionate moments their souls can flow together and true peace can exist.

3. “O Best of All Nights, Return and Return Again” by James Laughlin
This poem acknowledges love’s sensuality along with its emotional connections. A physical experience becomes one of profound spirituality as the thoughts of the two lovers become entwined.

4. “This Room and Everything in It” by Li-Young Lee
This poem is about the folly of intellectualizing passion. It begins as a thoughtful meditation on love and tries to capture love in thoughts, images, and metaphors. The attempt is futile. The thoughts fracture and melt away as the sensuality of the moment becomes overwhelming.

5. “The Shirt” by Jane Kenyon
This funny little poem is concerned solely with a woman’s desire. It takes the common image of a man wearing a tucked-in shirt and turns it into an image that is deeply sexual.

6. “The Lady’s Yes” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
A distinctly different sex poem, the speaker anguishes about a poor decision made at night that seems much worse in the morning. It ends with some advice on how a man might win a woman for good, and not just for one night.