Tips for Writing a Love Poem

You don’t have to be a modern day Shakespeare to write an effective love poem. The effort that you make in writing a poem—fumbling with words, struggling for a good rhyme, and putting yourself out there emotionally—has its own significance, and the recipient of your poem will most likely recognize this. The question isn’t whether you should try your hand at penning romantic prose, it’s how to best go about doing it. Here are some tips to help your love poem take on its best form:

1. Never underestimate the power of a thesaurus! Whether you’re stumped for suitable words or simply trying to keep your poem from becoming redundant, a quick trip to Thesaurus.com can save you plenty of time. Throw a common adjective, such as “beautiful,” into the thesaurus, and you’ll be rewarded with a wealth of colorful alternatives: radiant, ravishing, angelic, sublime, and resplendent are just a few examples. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

2. If you’re having difficulty rhyming your words, use Rhymezone.com. It’s an excellent way to explore your options.

3. Try to avoid doing “the Yoda.” While it isn’t always easy to do so, making your poem mimic the flow of real speech will give it a polished feel. A line such as, “So in love with you, I am!” would work well for Yoda, but creates an awkward bump in human poetry.

4. Incorporating memories unique to you and your recipient adds sentimental value and helps distinguish your poem from others. Where did you first meet? What has he or she done to make you laugh? What things do you see, or do, that make you think of them? What special moments have you shared? How has this person changed your life?

5. To give your poem that extra kick, try writing about things you might do for your recipient if there were no limitations. Where would you take them? What kind of a world would you create for them? What kind of exciting things would you do together? It’s okay to let your imagination go wild!

6. Try different styles of poetry. An acrostic poem, for example, uses the first letter of each line to spell a word or message. You might write an acrostic poem that spells your recipient’s name or the name of a special occasion. A haiku is a poem with three lines; the first and last lines have five syllables, and the second line has seven. It doesn’t need to rhyme. The haiku may sound a little odd, so here is an example I just wrote:


Cookie Monster

scent of baking dough
wobbling eyes alight with love
me doth want cookie

Although the haiku is brief, it can be powerful, and its brevity makes it excellent for a small, romantic note, perhaps accompanied by a hand picked flower or flower petals. Plus, if they don't already know, you'll get to tell them that it's a haiku.

As with anything, you'll become better at writing as you spend more time doing it, so if you're initially daunted by the idea of writing a love poem, allow yourself time to grow. Let your mind run free—scribble down as many ideas as you can without judging how good or bad they are, and then pick the ones you like the best afterwards. And don't forget that your effort alone counts!