Sad Love Poems

A selection of love poems which explore the raw emotions which surround disappointment in love. The sections that follow focus on the specifics of romantic traumas, be it the break up of a relationship, the loss of a partner or infidelity and betrayal. These initial poems with the less specific, but more common situation, in which couples gradually growing apart as love withers and gently dies. In spite of the rather downbeat introduction, many of these romantic poems carry an inspirational message about the human spirit's ability to overcome even the most testing of romantic traumas and tragedies.

Living On The Defensive

A suitably ambivalent opening poem for the sad love poems, in which a young man is scared of opening up his feeling to the girl he loves lest he leaves himself dangerously exposed.

Our Love Is

A beautifully crafted, but ultimately depressing poem about a relationship which cannot be resurrected.

Our Love Was Gone

The gradual deterioration of a relationship, expressed through the seasonal changes of a flowering cherry trees, is as irreversible as it is inevitable.

Setting Sail new

The first of three poems in a maritime theme, Setting Sail is gentle and tender in its description of why it would be wrong for a relationship to continue. No doubt the pain of the proposed departure would still be painful to bear.

I Couldn’t Hold You In My Coastal Waters new

The call for the ocean deep may be a metaphor for craving romantic freedom, but equally…

You Took Me By Storm new

A poem which is short and apparently simple, but nonetheless seethes with drama beneath the surface.

The Sound Of Silence new

This is a painful poem to read, both because of the theme of marital disharmony / attritional warfare and the unusual role reversal that the poem portrays.

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

How would you react emotionally to being separated from your partner? The answer in this poem is rather more ambivalent than one would imagine.

Addicted To Love

Addicted to Love is a poem in which the protagonist is cruelly bound to his psychological dominatrix, and emotionally scarred as a result.

But That Was Before Love Died

Resonant with seasonal significance, the narrative recounts the disintegration of a once joyous relationship and the emptiness that follows.

Butterfly Girl

A pastoral romance turns out to be a burning passion for one party and merely playfulness for the other.

Imprudent Heart

‘She fell in love, Too easily, Too deeply, Too desperately’ are the opening lines of Imprudent Heart, about a woman who makes all the wrong choices when it comes to love.

Too Much Love

An intense love poem which lends credence to the belief that there is a fine line separating love and jealousy.

Once Bitten…

For those who have lost in love, there is a natural reluctance to risk further heartache and pain.

Tough Love

At its heart, Tough Love is a inspirational poem for those who have withdrawn wounded from the emotional battlefield.

The Seasons Of Love

A poem of true romance and lost love is tracked through the changing seasons of the year.

Wounded Heart

A poem about a relationship which is entirely one sided, but is there an underlying reason for the reluctance of the other party.

There Is A Ghost In My House

The poem's protagonist feels haunted by the memories of the love that he let go.

Is A Kind Word Enough?

A pre break up poem in which the male voice considers how to let his lover down gently.

A Hard Nut

A lover who has been in a one sided relationship has few regrets bringing it to a conclusion, especially when the news is greeted by his partner with complete indifference.

Unequal Partners

More exploration of one sided relationships and the difficulties the ardent partner has in sustaining them.

The Escapee

Our eponymous heroine, Stephanie, is a figure of adulation and adoration for her male admirer, but that's no guarantee of a happy ending.

Prisoner Of Love

A clever poem in which the quest for love is expressed in the language of the criminal justice system. Will there be remission for good behaviour?