Written by Liz Martens

I love love. Especially in spring-time. Everything is fresh! Everything seems so new! I also love poetry, but classic romantic poems have never really been able to reach me in a personally gripping manner. So, here I am to subject you all to my take on “love poems,” where sappy and mushy are not the vibe. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that type of poetry, it is definitely not everyone's style. I offer up these alternatives in the hopes to appease all the people that the traditional love poem cannot reach.

“American Wedding” by Essex Hemphill

This poem speaks to all the passionate individuals. It is written for unapologetic lovers that make it the rest of the world's problem. This is for the people with loyalty born in their bones, but don't mistake them for a dog-like companion. They might bite. If you have anger inside you, this poem might be the spark to an understanding of it. 

“The School of Eternities” by Chen Chen

This is for people who love convoluting simple moments with complex language, drowning pure human interaction in layers of unseen meaning. Read this with a Snapple in hand in the shaky light of a niche grocery store.

“Lake-loop” by Natalie Diaz

This is for those with love to spare. To all those with feelings that seem like they can't be contained by their body, this poem understands. Nature creates the feeling of safety in the certainty of her cycles and beauty in the chaos of the unexpected.

“I Had a Dream About You” by Richard Siken

This poem holds a special place in my heart. This poem is for daydreamers with a knack for creating complicated scenarios to replay until the original is so faded it feels like a distant whisper of what it started as. This is for those that can't seem to tell a coherent story, preferring to branch out into tangents over and over. 

“Wishbone” by Richard Siken

“Wishbone” is for yearners and piners. If you like the movie “Brokeback Mountain”, I can almost guarantee that something in this poem will strike a chord within you. This is for the people who refuse to say anything out loud for fear of ruining something they can't quite understand. If you like to let things eat away at your insides, “Wishbone” won't satisfy the gnawing, but you might find comfort in the shared feeling.

“Bay leaves” by Nikki Giovanni

This poem carries so many lives inside of it. This is for mothers and daughters and the feeling when those daughters take on the role of mother as well. This poem is medicine soup for the achy feeling family members can only seem to pull out of you.