There’s a reason there are so many poems about lost love. From grief and heartache to anger and depression – the end of a loving relationship is one of the most painful parts of being a human. Where does the love go? What now? Who am I without this love in my life? Poets know that these intense feelings can torture you if kept hidden away. 

A poem on self-love

I recently came across the poem “Love After Love” by Derek Walcott, and immediately thought of my clients who strive to find themselves after a break-up, divorce, or death of a partner. It’s full of hope and empowerment, and reminds us that you can always rely on yourself when searching for love.

Love After Love
By Derek Walcott

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Poems about lost love

Not all of us can write beautiful poetry that perfectly captures how we’re feeling, but luckily, reading the poetry of others can have a similar effect. To know that a stranger from a different time and living in a different place knows exactly how your pain feels – well, suddenly, you’re not suffering alone. 

Find more poems on whatever you’re feeling at PoetryFoundation.org.