Lines to Love: What to Write in Your Valentine's Day Card

When you love someone, it can be difficult to come up with the right words to express the depth, width, and breadth of your love. You have all the feelings and emotions, but somehow the words just won’t come out right. And while Shakespeare did proclaim that

“Silence is the perfectest herald of joy. I were but little happy if I could say as much.”

That doesn’t help us much when we’re trying to write out a meaningful Valentine’s Day card. Have no fear. Today we’re looking to some men and women who majored in distilling the grandeur of love into words. So, if you’re looking for something to give a little oomph to your Valentine’s Day card, feel free to pilfer these jewels. After all, if you must steal, steal from the best.

And, since I’ve mentioned the best, I suppose it would be only right to start with the Bard of Strafford-on-Avon.

When you’re writing out your Valentine’s Day card, it’s important to highlight one important fact: your Valentine has been on your mind. A lot.

This next one by Tennyson is the perfect quote to include in a card that accompanies a bouquet of flowers. A LARGE bouquet of flowers.

Two very popular romantic tropes are the ideas of meant to be and made for each other. Sometimes those particular words can become trite and hackneyed. So, if you want to tell your Valentine that your love was destined, I recommend these poets:

There’s a wonderful song written by husband and wife team, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, called On My Way To You. Those lyrics echo Neruda’s words here. In fact, they are so superb, I would recommend including them in either this years Valentine’s Day card or one in the future.

Of course, if space is scarce on your card, then you can keep the sentiment the same with fewer words. If such brevity is your desire, then look not further:

Since we’ve met Mr. Browning, it seems only correct that we move over to Mrs. Browning. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a poet in her own right when she met her husband. However, she was a very sick woman whose overbearing father had consigned her to remain the whole of her life sequestered away in her rooms as an invalid. Robert Browning was so touched by her poetry, he wrote to her. Their letters’ topics varied, as Elizabeth and Robert talked poetry, literary criticism, and classic literature. They kept up correspondence and met a few times when her father sanctioned her meeting with Browning as a colleague. Overcoming familial disapproval, which was sure to come, Elizabeth and Robert eloped and moved to Italy. Her health improved drastically, enough that the couple had a son. Her Sonnets from the Portuguese are a three year heart project chronicling their courtship and marriage. (If you would like to know more about one of the greatest true romances of all time, I encourage you to read this article in London’s Evening Standard.) This line comes from Sonnet 43, perhaps her most famous sonnet. You know the one: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

Isn’t that romantic? However, if you wish to switch the subject from the love you bare for your Valentine to who your Valentine is to you, then I could recommend e. e. cummings.

But, at the end of the day, remember, when it comes to love, the simplest words have the most power. If you find that you’re more the silent type, the sort to say it in as few words as possible, then we’ve got something for you, too. You don’t need to be verbose or florid or wordy. You need only be sincere. And honest. And true.

I hope these lines have inspired you this Valentine’s Day. Whatever you write in your Valentine’s Day cards, make sure you let your Valentine know you love them. A truthful I love you is profound. The whole of that sentiment is worth more than all the wordy parts. I promise.

Happy Valentine’s Day, dear readers.

If you have a quote or poem that you find particularly romantic, please share it in the comments section below.