Love Poems by NEA Literature Fellows
"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.
![Red graphic with white text on the right (that says: “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) and a photo of a Native woman on the left wearing a red shirt](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/joy_harjo-nea_fellows_love_poems.jpeg?itok=LWgkvkWN)
“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
![Pink graphic with white text on the right (that says: “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 ) and a Black woman on the left wearing black glasses and a white shirt](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/donika_kelly-nea_fellows_love_poems.jpeg?itok=A_nhR3y4)
“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
![Purple graphic with white text on the right (that says: “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) and a woman on the left wearing glasses and a multi-colored shirt](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/kiki_petrosino-nea_fellows_love_poems_1.jpeg?itok=C4IQziAh)
“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
![Red graphic with white text on the right (that says: “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) and a White woman on the left that is wearing a black shirt](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/joy_ladin-nea_fellows_love_poems.jpeg?itok=c9I-CC-J)
“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
![Red graphic with white text on the right (that says: “but flush / again // first bud at spring / perennial // as field burning / after harvest” From “The Bruise” by Jenn Givhan, 2015 NEA Literature Fellow) and woman on the left with shoulder length hair](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/jenn_givhan-nea_fellows_love_poems.jpeg?itok=i6uyiWF1)
“but flush / again // first bud at spring / perennial // as field burning / after harvest”
From “The Bruise” by Jenn Givhan, 2015 NEA Literature Fellow
![Pink graphic with white text on the right (that says: “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) and a Black man on the left wearing a hat and blue blazer](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/yusef_komunyakaa-nea_fellows_love_poems.jpeg?itok=yXZi0CtY)
“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
![Purple graphic with white text on the right (that says: “You, rare as Georgia / snow. Falling // hard. Quick. / Candle shadow.” From “Ditty” by Kevin Young, 2005 NEA Literature Fellow) and a Black man on the right wearing glasses](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/kevin_young-nea_fellows_love_poems.jpeg?itok=AH-Pdsbl)
“You, rare as Georgia / snow. Falling // hard. Quick. / Candle shadow.”
From “Ditty” by Kevin Young, 2005 NEA Literature Fellow
![Red graphic with white text on the right (that says: “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 a Black woman on the left wearing red lipstick on her lips and a black shirt](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/rita_dove-nea_fellows_love_poems_0.jpeg?itok=y8av1FAf)
“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