How to Write About Love Without Writing a Love Poem

Love is the most written-about subject in poetry and the most clichéd. A judge on the four moves that turn a love poem into a real one, the test that tells you if the poem is about love or about the idea of love, and the one image that always works.

Love is the most written-about subject in poetry, and it is also the most clichéd. Every contest pile has a stack of love poems that say the same thing: the heart, the soul, the forever, the always. The love poem is the poem that everyone writes and almost nobody gets right.

The love poem that works is not the poem about love. It is the poem about the thing that love does.

The four moves that turn a love poem into a real one

Move one: the specific person. The love poem that works is about a specific person, not a general one. The poem that says 'I love you' is a poem about the idea of love. The poem that says 'the way you hold a cup with both hands' is a poem about a person, and the person is the love.

Move two: the ordinary thing. The love poem that works is about the ordinary thing, not the extraordinary one. The poem that says 'the stars' is a poem about the idea of love. The poem that says 'the way you leave the light on in the hall' is a poem about a habit, and the habit is the love.

Move three: the imperfection. The love poem that works is about the flaw, not the perfection. The poem that says 'you are perfect' is a poem about the idea of love. The poem that says 'the way you snore on your side' is a poem about a real person, and the real person is the love.

Move four: the ending that is not an ending. The love poem that works does not end with 'I love you'. It ends with the thing that the love has made possible, the thing that would not exist without it. The poem that says 'I love you' is a poem that is over. The poem that says 'the way the house sounds different when you are in it' is a poem that is still going.

The test that decides

Here is the test I use on my own love poems, and it is the only one that works: is this poem about love, or is it about the idea of love? If the poem is about the idea, it is a cliché. If it is about a specific person doing a specific thing, it is a poem.

The cliché is the poem that could be about anyone. The real poem is the one that could only be about one person.

The one image that always works

The image that always works in a love poem is the one that is so specific it could only belong to the person the poem is about. The way they hold a pen. The way they say a particular word. The way they stand at the kitchen counter on a Tuesday. The image that is so small and so specific that it could not be a symbol; it could only be a fact.

The love poem that works is the poem that has one of those images in it, and the image is the thing that makes the poem true.

Where the love poem goes wrong

The trap is the poem that is about the feeling instead of the person. 'I love you' is a feeling; 'the way you leave the light on in the hall' is a person. The feeling is the cliché; the person is the poem.

If you want to see a love poem that is about the person, the prompts library has a set on the ordinary and the specific, and the contest window is open when the draft is ready. Love is not the subject. The person is.

Keep reading

For the craft side, the love poems collection covers the deeper method. The metaphor module is the page to read next, and the sonnet form is where the work goes when it is done.

By Writory Editorial, for Writory.

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