"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!” It's that time of the year when words become cupid's arrows, piercing through hearts with poetic precision. This Valentine’s Day, even the grumpiest grinches can't escape the infectious charm of love. The air is filled with the sweet scent of metaphorical roses and the rhythmic beats of love sonnets, and we collected poems by NEA Literature Fellows to share with your special someone…your pet, best friend, relative, spouse, or child. So, whether you're reciting verses under the moonlit sky or scribbling notes on heart-shaped cards, let the symphony of love poems serenade your soul! Click on the poem’s title below to read the full text.

“In the end / There was only one. / Isn’t that how it is for all of us? / There’s that one you circle back to—for home.”
From “Redbird Love” by Joy Harjo (Muscogee/Creek), 1977 and 1992 NEA Literature Fellow, NEA Big Read author, and 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate

“What is the metaphor / for two animals / sharing the same space? // Marriage? // We share a practice, / you and I, / a series of postures.”
From “Dear—” by Donika Kelly, 2023 NEA Literature Fellow

“In the box is a square of chocolate / like the top of a signet ring, smooth, but edged / in something bright.”
From “Mustang Bagel” by Kiki Petrosino, 2019 NEA Literature Fellow

“my love that answers / the love you lavish upon them. / Your deserts and desolations // are highways I travel, / smoothing your broken places, / arranging stars and constellations”
From “Comfort Animal” by Joy Ladin, 2016 NEA Literature Fellow

“but flush / again // first bud at spring / perennial // as field burning / after harvest”
From “The Bruise” by Jenn Givhan, 2015 NEA Literature Fellow

“If only he could touch her, / Her name like an old wish / In the stopped weather of salt / On a snail. He longs to be”
From “Lust” by Yusef Komunyakaa, 1981 and 1988 NEA Literature Fellow

“You, rare as Georgia / snow. Falling // hard. Quick. / Candle shadow.”
From “Ditty” by Kevin Young, 2005 NEA Literature Fellow

“I could choose any hero, any cause or age /And, sure as shooting arrows to the heart, / Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart / As standing in silver stirrups will allow—/ There you'll be, with furrowed brow / And chain mail glinting, to set me free”
From “Cozy Apologia” by Rita Dove, 1977 and 1989 NEA Literature Fellow, and 7th U.S. Poet Laureate