Where Is the Love? Getting Inspired to Write Love Poems

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Raymond Quattlebaum is the author of Poetry In Motion and The Color of Love.

There are very few universals that humanity shares with each other. One of them, and perhaps the most besotten amongst those who label themselves “creatives,” is love. For millennia, and even now, love has been the perennial muse of creatives. Everyone has written, sung, drawn, or been inspired by love. In the realm of poetry, this is especially so. Many a poet has cut their teeth on opining about love in their verses. This is because love is an emotion that can be both exhilarating and agonizing, sometimes even at the same time. There was synthesis when thesis and anthesis met, and this was all present in the confines of this single emotion of love. It could bring you to your highest, but it could also just as easily pull you down. Yet, there was also something greater after the grind. That feeling between the high and the low was something that poets have wanted to write down for centuries.

Getting Inspired to Write Poems OF ROMANCE AND AFFECTION

So where is the love? Where do you begin to write about something so nebulous? Something so swift but slow? There are many places to feel love from. And here they are.

Where is the Love: Pulling from Within

Of course, the rawest and most authentic place to find love is within oneself. One of the most potent pieces of advice for writing is to “write what you know.” And isn’t love something that we all know?

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There is something special in recalling moments from your life–moments that ignited your heart, where a stolen glance and a whispered secret was enough to keep you awake for nights upon nights. There is depth there–depth that will take a lifetime or more to fully explore. For that is the kind of emotion that love is: complicatedly infinite and infinitely complex. Within its many aspects and variances, a poet can find nuance and a new way of looking at this universal emotion.

When you begin to discover the love that is inside you, never forget to be honest about it. Be authentic in your representation of love with all your fears, hopes, and desires. The greatest lines of poetry were written in moments of vulnerability.

Where is the Love: Looking Around You

Now that you’ve begun plunging deep into yourself, you might also wish to walk outside and take a deep breath. Where there is something inside, there is also something beyond it. It’s good to pore over yourself and discover the wonder within, but it’s equally important to be without. There is the beauty of the sunrise. There is the tranquil forest and the majestic storm. The outside is a world that is suffused with a love that is both subtle and powerful. The emotion that flows inside you is something that is a small part of the greater love that resonates over everything. For people who are spiritual or religious, the natural world is evidence of The Creator’s adoration for the whole of creation.

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And an important part of the outside world is other people and their works of art. Find inspiration in the works of others, look at their paintings, feel their sculptures, and read their stories. Let yourself be the vessel for the grand love of the world, and let it write through you.

Where is the Love: The Words of Others

Then, there are others. You are not the only poet in the world. There are others that have come before you, are walking with you now, and will walk farther ahead of you. Do not be overwhelmed by this. You are simply another drop in this great river of poetry. Studying the works of great poets can provide immense and invaluable insights into your writing. Be open-minded and read the works of poets like Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Pablo Neruda, Rupi Kaur, Ocean Vuong, and many more. Be an avid reader of everything, consume wildly and without discrimination. Don’t hesitate to analyze their techniques and their use of language. Understand their perspectives and the complexities of their meaning-making.

Raymond Quattlebaum’s Poetry in Motion and The Color of Love are both great examples of anthologies where great poems can be found. Go through this link to learn how to buy a copy now.

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