Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems
Featured PoemsTo My Dear and Loving Husband
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
Summary
Bradstreet writes directly to her husband, saying their love is richer than gold and stronger than any ordinary repayment. The poem feels intimate, faithful, and grateful.
Meaning
This poem works well for someone who wants to make a husband, wife, or life partner feel special. It says love is not just emotion; it is loyalty, gratitude, and shared life.
Best For
A spouse, wedding anniversary, or a sincere note to a long-term partner.
A Birthday
My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a watered shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me.
Raise me a dais of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.
Summary
The speaker feels so joyful that the heart becomes a bird, a fruit-filled tree, and a bright shell. Love arrives like a new birthday of life.
Meaning
This poem is perfect for making someone feel loved because it says their arrival changes the speaker’s whole inner world. The person is not just liked; they make life feel newly born.
Best For
A birthday message, romantic appreciation, or a joyful poem for someone special.
I Am Not Yours
I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.
You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.
Oh plunge me deep in love—put out
My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
A taper in a rushing wind.
Summary
This poem speaks from the edge between selfhood and surrender. The speaker wants to be deeply loved, yet still recognizes the self that longs for that love.
Meaning
For someone searching for deep poems to make someone feel special, this poem gives a more intense feeling than a simple compliment. It says the beloved is bright enough to pull the speaker toward complete emotional surrender.
Best For
A deep romantic mood, a thoughtful love message, or readers who want something more emotional than sweet.
Love and Friendship
Love is like the wild rose-brier;
Friendship like the holly-tree.
The holly is dark when the rose-brier blooms,
But which will bloom most constantly?
The wild rose-brier is sweet in spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air;
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-brier fair?
Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now
And deck thee with the holly’s sheen,
That when December blights thy brow
He still may leave thy garland green.
Summary
Brontë compares romantic love to a rose and friendship to holly. Love may be beautiful in spring, but friendship stays green even in winter.
Meaning
This is one of the best poems for a special friend because it honors steady companionship. It makes someone feel special by saying their friendship is not seasonal; it remains strong in difficult times.
Best For
A close friend, a loyal companion, or a non-romantic message of appreciation.
The Arrow and the Song
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
Summary
A song sent into the world disappears, but later returns in the heart of a friend. The poem suggests that kind words and affection may travel farther than we know.
Meaning
This poem is ideal for friendship poems to make someone feel special. It says what we give through words, songs, and care can live quietly inside another person.
Best For
A friend, mentor, sibling, or anyone who has kept your words close.
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