Kiss Me, Curse Me: Iconic Love Poems to Recite to Your Beloved
Hauntingly beautiful words to articulate your quickened heartbeat
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
Love letters are an art. But love poems? They’re an invocation.
Whether you’re in the throes of devotion or teetering on the edge of obsession, there’s a poem for that. Throughout history, poetry has been the preferred weapon of the heartstruck and the twitterpated—used to seduce, sanctify or even scorch a former flame.
Below, we trace the evolution of love poems from parchment to plasma screen—and offer tips for crafting your own unforgettable prose.
The Originals: Poems That Loved So Loud They Echoed Through Time
1. Pablo Neruda – “Sonnet XVII”
Obsession disguised as restraint. This is for those who feel things in marrow and silence.
“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.”
2. Sylvia Plath – “Mad Girl’s Love Song”
Delirious and hallucinatory. Perfect for sending to someone who haunts your dreams.
“I think I made you up inside my head.”
3. e.e. cummings – “i carry your heart with me”
Soft, simple, devastating — truly a classic. Its subject: a love that makes you feel stitched to someone, soul-tied.
“i am never without it…”
When Poetry Became Song
The love poem evolved, slinking into music that moves us in body, as it does in mind.
Below, we’ve included a selection of different experiences with love from masochism to longing, devotion to adoration and despair.
Pick your poison.
1.“Heroin” – Jessie Murph
For those that keep going back to the well after it has long been dry.
“There’s a violence in the way I long for you.
And it’s a war, the way you love me like you do.”
2. “A Sunday Kind of Love” – Etta James
For those longing for love and connection that transcends passion and survives daybreak.
“I want a Sunday kind of love
A love to last past Saturday night
And I'd like to know it's more than love at first sight
And I want a Sunday kind of love”
3. “Take Me to Church” – Hozier
Devotion as sacrilege. For those who worship at the altar of their lovers’ hips.
“If the heavens ever did speak
She's the last true mouthpiece
Every Sunday's gettin' more bleak
A fresh poison each week
We were born sick, you heard them say it
My church offers no absolutes
She tells me, "Worship in the bedroom"
The only heaven I'll be sent to
Is when I'm alone with you”
4. “Like My Father” – Jax
Earnest, aching and tender from an emerging talent that has grown at the hearth of a great romance.
“I wanna come home to roses
And dirty little notes on Post-its
And when my hair starts turning grey
He'll say I'm like a fine wine, better with age”
5. “Snuff” – Slipknot
A ballad dressed in darkness. Brutal and beautiful. Despair has never sounded so intimate.
“I still press your letters to my lips
And cherish them in parts of me that savor every kiss
I couldn't face a life without your light (without your light)
But all of that was ripped apart when you refused to fight
So, save your breath, I will not hear
I think I made it very clear
You couldn't hate enough to love
Is that supposed to be enough?”
… And Then, Text
Somewhere between war-era love letters and texts from under the covers, we started abbreviating our feelings.
But that doesn’t mean they lost their magic, they’ve just transformed.
A simple, direct,“I miss you,” text can still turn your whole day around.
A voice note that sounds like a confession can linger longer than a thousand emojis.
How to Draft a Siren Song Love Text
Want to make someone blush... or burn for you? Here's your blueprint. Let’s use: “I miss you,” as an example.
Start with a moment in your day that brings you back to a fond memory of the recipient. Make it sensory.
“The smell of French toast at brunch today reminded me of that weekend we spent in X.”You can say the words without saying the words…
Playful: My bed keeps asking where you went. My lipstick remains unsmudged without you here; how dull.
Sincere: I reached for you in my sleep last night but you weren’t there — that sucked. When I got home today, what I’m craving most is curling up in your arms.
Bratty: The audacity of you not being here is unacceptable. I miss you; it’s gross; fix it.
Once you have their attention, beckon them home to you.
Playful: Come over—I just poured a drink and I’m wearing the black lace negligee you like.
Sincere: Come over, I made your favourite tea and it tastes better when you’re here.
Bratty: If you’re not here in 20 mins, I’m starting without you.
Return to Penned Prose
Lastly, if you’re feeling so bold, take inspiration from Jax and leave a dirty little note in your lover’s pocket so they find it later and think of you.
