9 days to go till Valentine’s Day!

In the spirit of the love in the air, Farafina editors have selected their top ten poems. We could not publish the full poems in this post, but we have posted extracts and provided links so that you can read them all.

In no particular order:

1)            Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy

“Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.

It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.

It promises light

like the careful undressing of love…”

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/carol_ann_duffy/poems/8116

This poem is intricate, raw and stripped of all clichés. We love it and we hope that you love it too.

2)            The Kiss by Sara Teasdale

“Before you kissed me only winds of heaven

Had kissed me, and the tenderness of rain—

Now you have come, how can I care for kisses

Like theirs again?”

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19906

Guys, if a lady sends you this poem, know that you are doing something right. I don’t think we have come across a poem that more beautifully encapsulates the loveliness of a kiss.

3)            Sonnet (14) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“If thou must love me, let it be for nought

Except for love’s sake only…”

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19429

This poem tickles our fancy because it talks about loving for love’s sake and not for reasons that could fade away.

4)            A blade of grass by Brian Patten

“You ask for a poem.

I offer you a blade of grass.

You say it is not good enough.

You ask for a poem…”

http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=5923

This poem is blunt, funny but real. It is definitely worth a read.

5)            The Letter by Elizabeth Riddell

“…Write to me soon, and tell me how you are.

If you still tremble, sweat and glower, still stretch

A hand for me at dusk, play me the tune,

Show me the leaves and towers, the lamb, the rose…”

http://allpoetry.com/poem/8556207-The_Letter-by-Elizabeth_Riddell

We like this poem because it reflects all those times when we feel things about  a person but we cannot say or write those feelings. 

6)            Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare

“…Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark…”

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19398

The ever popular Shakespeare; his poem continues the theme of loving steadily.

7)            Sonnet by Christina Rosetti

“I wish I could remember that first day,

First hour, first moment of your meeting me…”

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19451

Have you forgotten the details of the first time you met the person you love? This is the most romantic way to let your Valentine know.

8)            To My Valentine by Ogden Nash

“More than a catbird hates a cat,

Or a criminal hates a clue,

Or the Axis hates the United States,

That’s how much I love you…”

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-my-valentine/

We threw in a funny but equally romantic poem to send to your loved one.

9)            Go, Lovely Rose! by Edmund Waller

‘Go, lovely rose!

Tell her that wastes her time and me

That now she knows,

When I resemble her to thee,

How sweet and fair she seems to be…’

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/go-lovely-rose/

This poem is mostly for the men whose Valentine is giving them a hard time. Read this poem; and if you are brave enough, send it to her!

10)          The Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear

“…Pussy said to the Owl, ‘You elegant fowl,

How charmingly sweet you sing!

Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried,

But what shall we do for a ring?’”

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15412

If a pussy-cat and an owl can find sweet love, we should really have no problem!

Tell us which of the poems you liked best and send us links to some of your favourite love poems.

To keep track of our e-love blog fest, visit: http://farafinabooks.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/write-me-a-love-letter/