Reading Love Poems I Wrote to You by Yanyi
“Let this be the stanza / I allow myself love. / Not expecting an answer / but to have said the thing anyway.” — Yanyi
Soot by Kaveh Akbar
“When I fell to earth // I knew the way—through the soot, into the leaves.” — Kaveh Akbar
Instead, I’m Here to Tell You Very Softly by Oliver de la Paz
“it's summer again and the undulant rows / of banners break my heart every time” — Oliver de la Paz
Colosseum by Jericho Brown
“Because I am what gladiators call / A man in love—love / Being any reminder we survived.” — Jericho Brown
Pinguinus Impennis by Kimiko Hahn
“What dreams are worth such extinction? / And are they dreams I'd wish to own?” — Kimiko Hahn
Act Now & Save by Kevin Young
“Whatever the well / you want me // To fall down I will—” — Kevin Young
Love Comes Quietly by Robert Creeley
“What did I know / thinking myself / able to go / alone all the way.” — Robert Creeley
On A Train by Wendy Cope
“Long radiant minutes, / your hand in my hand, / still warm, still warm.” — Wendy Cope