Writer’s block? Let World Poetry Day inspire you

Some of us are wordsmiths. When it comes to writing, it just comes naturally. Others leave it in the hands of experts. 

Getting married means there’s quite a bit to write. Vows, readings, wedding speeches, love letters. There’s no shortage of meaningful things to say to your partner and your friends and family. 

If you have a little trouble putting pen to paper, you’re not alone. With World Poetry Day on 21 March, we’ve gathered some of our favourite romantic words. From medieval to modern, Shakespeare to Dolly Alderton – there’s a poem, a sonnet or a lyric for all nearlyweds.

Whether you use these as part of a speech, as your vows, or just written in a card to your love, these words could make even the most cynical melt.

Let World Poetry Day inspire you

Here’s some of our favourite prose and poems to get you started.

Shakespeare, of course

You couldn’t do a list of powerful love poems without the works of William Shakespeare. It’s hard to narrow down Shakespeare’s most romantic words. Although some of his works are tragedies, his love sonnets have stood the test of time and remain a tried and tested way to tell someone you love them.

One half of me is yours, the other half yours,
Mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours,
And so all yours.

– The Merchant of Venice

Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move his aides, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love.”

– Hamlet

The oldest written love poem

The oldest script on this list, these words prove that love transcends time. It does not age, nor does it fade. Grace your guests with what is assumed to be the first-ever love poem proving that grand and pure love outlives us all and is remembered forever.

That heart my heart hath in grace,
That of two hearts one heart make we;
That heart hath brought my heart in case,
To love that heart that loveth me.

Medieval love poem – author unknown

A declaration of love

Scottish poet and novelist Edwin Muir is remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry. His powerful imagery is never more evident than in The Confirmation. A tale of two travellers who found one another and fell in love, this poem is perfect for vows to declare a life of love. The two travellers who will spend their lives exploring together.

Yes, yours, my love, is the right human face.
I, in my mind, had waited for this long,
Seeing the false and searching for the true,
Then found you as a traveller finds a place,
Of welcome suddenly amid the wrong.
Valleys and rocks and twisting roads. But you,
What shall I call you? A fountain in a waste,
A well of water in a country dry,
Or anything that’s honest and good, an eye
That makes the whole world bright. Your open heart,
Simple with giving, gives the primal deed,
The first good world, the blossom, the blowing seed,
The hearth, the steadfast land, the wandering sea,
Not beautiful or rare in every part,
But like yourself, as they were meant to be.

The Confirmation – Edwin Muir 

An Irish prose

There is countless Irish prose about love. Dating back to Medieval times, Irish writers have been telling stories, professing love, and writing jokes through prose and passing them down through generations. Written by Gabriel Fitzmaurice, this one ditty sums up loving relationships perfectly—the mundane and the things in between. This celebrates it all.

Just to be beside you is enough,
Just to make your breakfast tea and toast,
To help you with the ware, that kind of stuff,
Just to get the papers and your post;
To hold you in my arms in calm embrace,
Just to sit beside you at the fire,
Just to trace my fingers on your face
Is more to me than all of youth’s desire;
Just to lie beside you in the night,
To hear you breathe in peace before I sleep,
To wake beside you in the morning light
In the love we sowed together that we reap.
Together we have taken smooth and rough.
Just to be beside you is enough.

Just to be Beside You is Enough – Gabriel Fitzmaurice

Chinese Proverb

With no authors nor dates, Chinese proverbs aren’t as much poems as they are guidance for life. It’s a short, wise saying that conveys traditional wisdom, moral lessons, or practical advice. Rooted in thousands of years of Chinese history, culture, and philosophy, these proverbs are often derived from classical literature, folklore, or historical events. Many Chinese proverbs use metaphors and symbolic language to express deeper meanings, making them both poetic and thought-provoking. They are commonly used in everyday conversations to offer guidance, reflect on life experiences, or teach valuable lessons in a concise and memorable way.

They’re a simple and to-the-point way to say something – even about love.

With affection, the lovers could feel enough though they only drink water, but without affection, the lovers could be hungry though they eat food.

– Chinese Proverb

Maya Angelou

Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style. Her words continue to resonate around the world. ‘Touched by an Angel’  explores the transformative power of love, detailing that the risk is worth it in the end. 

A perfect poem for a reading at a wedding, sure to touch the hearts of your guests and your partner.

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

Maya Angelou — Touched by an Angel

Song lyrics

There are so many love songs to choose from. An endless list of poems, stories, and declarations of love. Choosing which poetic love song is big enough for your love can be hard. We’ve settled on Fruits of my Labour. Lucinda Williams is an American singer-songwriter known for her raw, emotionally charged lyrics and blend of country, blues, and rock influences. With a decades-long career, she has become one of the most respected voices in Americana music, earning multiple Grammy Awards and a dedicated following. Fruits of My Labour is a soulful, melancholic song that captures themes of love, longing, and personal growth. 

Baby, I remember all the things we did
When we slept together in the blue behind your eyelids, baby
Sweet baby
Traced your scent through the gloom
‘Til I found these purple flowers
I was spent, I was soon
Smelling you for hours
Lavender, lotus blossoms too
Water the dirt, flowers last for you, baby
Sweet baby

Lucinda Williams – Fruits of My Labour

Dolly Alderton

Known for her book-turned-TV show, ‘Everything I Know About Love’, Irish writer Dolly Alderton has become a voice of a generation. Her realistic and most relatable words ring true for women all over the world. And none more so than her poem of the same name. She writes about the loud and the quiet parts of love—the bits in between the grand. 

This poem is perfect for a speech or a reading.

I know that love can be loud and jubilant.
It can be dancing in the swampy mud and the pouring rain at a festival and shouting “YOU ARE AMAZING” over the band.
It’s introducing them to your colleagues at a work event and basking in pride as they make people laugh and make you look lovable just by dint of being loved by them.
It’s laughing until you wheeze.
It’s waking up in a country neither of you have been in before.
It’s skinny-dipping at dawn.
It’s walking along the street together on a Saturday night and feeling an entire city is yours.
It’s a big, beautiful, ebullient force of nature.
I also know that love is a pretty quiet thing.
It’s lying on the sofa together drinking coffee, talking about where you’re going to go that morning to drink more coffee.
It’s folding down pages of books you think they’d find interesting.
It’s hanging up their laundry when they leave the house having moronically forgotten to take it out of the washing machine.
It’s saying ‘You’re safer here than in a car’ as they hyperventilate on an EasyJet flight to Dublin. It’s the texts: ‘Hope your day goes well’, ‘How did today go?’, ‘Thinking of you today’ and ‘Picked up loo roll’. I know that love happens under the splendour of moon and stars and fireworks and sunsets but it also happens when you’re lying on blow-up airbeds in a childhood bedroom, sitting in A&E or in the queue for a passport, or in a traffic jam.
Love is a quiet, reassuring, relaxing, pottering, pedantic, harmonious hum of a thing; something you can easily forget is there, even though its palms are outstretched beneath you in case you fall.