Love Hurts: 5 Poetry Collections That Will Help Heal Heartbreak
Because why shouldn’t the cure be as exquisite as the wound.
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
There’s something sacred about reading poetry after heartbreak. It’s a ritual in itself—one hand on her chest, the other tracing the curve of verse as if it might contain the secrets of our agony.
These five poetry collections won’t try to fix you. They’ll sit beside you in your robe, pour a glass of something dark and hold your hand while black eyeliner-stained tears stain your cheeks.
Because healing isn’t always gentle—and love takes its pound of flesh.
Each book below comes paired with a ritual or scent. Because recovery, like romance, should be decadent.
1. “The Dream of a Common Language” by Adrienne Rich
A post-love anthem for those reclaiming their voice
This is not a soft book. Rich speaks with the precision of a scalpel—cutting away the parts of you that were never yours. It’s about building new language after your resurrection.
“I came to explore the wreck.
The words are purposes.
The words are maps.
I came to see the damage that was done
and the treasures that prevail.”
Ritual:
Write your shipwrecker’s name in ink. Then write your own. Burn only one. Breathe it in.
Scent Pairing:
Palo Santo + Rosewood. For grounding and poetic clarity.
2. “Crush” by Richard Siken
For when you’re spiralling but want it to sound beautiful
Siken doesn’t hold back. His work is feverish, obsessive, utterly cinematic. This collection is chaos incarnate.
“Look at the light through the windowpane. That means it’s noon, that means we’re inconsolable. Tell me how all this, and love too, will ruin us..”
Ritual:
Play your favourite sad song on repeat.
Read aloud until your voice cracks.
Scent Pairing:
Black pepper, cardamom and incense. For ache, burn, and holy release.
3. “Love and Misadventure” by Lang Leav
A soft gothic lullaby for the romantically bruised
Lang Leav writes the kind of heartbreak poems you wish your lover had sent. Gentle, sharp and stitched with just enough sweetness to swallow whole.
“He and I collided like two predestined stars—and in that brief moment I felt what it was like to be immortal.”
Ritual:
Handwrite your favourite poem from this book in red ink.
Sleep with it under your pillow.
Scent Pairing:
Cherry blossom, violet and a drop of oud. Haunted feminine.
4. “The Undressing” by Li-Young Lee
Soft surrender, sacred ache
This is poetry as prayer. Erotic, mournful, reverent. Perfect for those who loved too much and need to feel holy again.
“The heart's need for justice is the same as the lung’s for air.”
Ritual:
Take a hot bath with essential oils.
Read this book aloud until the water cools.
Scent Pairing:
Amber, sandalwood, and vanilla. For warmth, depth, and remembering softness.
5. “Aphrodite Made Me Do It” by Trista Mateer
Divine femininity meets exorcism
For the broken-hearted goddess in recovery. This collection unravels toxic love and reweaves you in myth and magic. It’s for the ones ready to rise—but still a little salty about it.
“You are not too much. You have never been too much.”
Ritual:
Dress up. Alone. Perfume your wrists.
Read your favourite prose in this book in the mirror.
Scent Pairing:
Blackcurrant, patchouli and jasmine. For vengeance that smells like victory.
Heartbreak doesn’t make you less divine; it makes you dangerous, seasoned and wise.
And remember, the most romantic thing you can do is to come back to yourself.
