When Love Hurts: Poems about Loving Someone So Much

Love is a powerful emotion that has the ability to bring immense joy and happiness. However, there are times when love can also bring a profound sense of longing, pain, and heartache. Loving someone so much it hurts is a theme that has been explored by poets throughout history, capturing the intense emotions and the complexities of relationships. In this article, we will delve into a selection of poignant poems that beautifully express the bittersweet nature of love.

Poem 1: "Love Alone" by Pablo Neruda

Love is so short, forgetting is so long.
Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
My sight tries to find her as though to bring her closer.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.
I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.
Another's. She will be another's. Like my kisses before.
Her voice, her bright body. Her infinite eyes.
I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, and forgetting so long.

In "Love Alone," Pablo Neruda explores the lingering pain of love lost. The poet eloquently captures the desperate longing and the struggle to let go of a past love. The repetition of the phrase "Love is so short, forgetting is so long" emphasizes the lasting impact of a love that has slipped away, leaving an everlasting ache.

Poem 2: "When You Are Old" by W.B. Yeats

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

W.B. Yeats, in "When You Are Old," speaks of a love that transcends the boundaries of time. The poem reflects on a past love and the pain that comes with knowing the beloved has moved on. The lines "And loved the sorrows of your changing face" and "Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled" capture the melancholic longing for a love that once burned brightly but has now dissipated.

Poem 3: "Separation" by W.S. Merwin

Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.