Short Valentine’s Day Poems for Dads

Showing him you love him on Valentine’s Day can be a tough call, but one of the most romantic things you can do is send him a short Valentine’s Day poem.

It is easy to go out and buy a card, flowers, chocolate or a gift, but giving an expression of love that has obviously taken a lot of time and thought, is one of the most loving gestures you can make.

Writing a short Valentine’s Day poem is perfect for expressing your feelings, but if you don’t feel confident actually writing the poetry yourself, there are plenty of alternatives out there to suit every mood.

Try to make your handwriting as neat and beautiful as possible, draw pretty hearts and flowers on the card and add dried rose petals. You can even try writing your poem on delicate thin tissue paper and slip it into the card so your loved one can keep it forever.  Though don’t be surprised if your guy isn’t this sentimental and you find it in the trash a week later.

Our advice: For added impact, hold his hand as he reads the card, so he focuses on the meaning of the words you’ve written.

Wendy Cope is a wonderful poet who captures modern love and feelings perfectly. One of her best-loved poems, Valentine’, is just lovely without being too soppy. It reads:

My heart has made its mind up

And I’m afraid it’s you

Whatever you’ve got lined up,

My heart has made its mind up

And if you can’t be signed up

This year, next year will do.

My heart has made its mind up

 And I am afraid it’s you

‘Coat’ by Vicki Feaver is another beautiful love poem which is classic and simple without being too over the top.

Sometimes I have wanted

to throw you off

like a heavy coat.

Sometimes I have said

you would not let me

breathe or move.

But now that I am free

to choose light clothes

or none at all

I feel the cold

and all the time I think

how warm it used to be

For more sensual poetry a poem by Emily Dickinson called ‘a charm invests a face’ adds an air of mystery.

A charm invests a face

Imperfectly beheld.

The lady dare not lift her veil

For fear it be dispelled.

But peers beyond her mesh,

And wishes, and denies,

Lest interview annul a want

That image satisfies.

‘Come slowly’ by Emily Dickinson is another very sensual poem. It reads:

Come slowly, Eden

Lips unused to thee.

Bashful, sip thy jasmines,

As the fainting bee,

Reaching late his flower,

Round her chamber hums,

Counts his nectars -alights,

And is lost in balms!

And for a classic famous love poem there is nothing more enticing than ‘If thou must love me, let it be for nought’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

 If thou must love me, let it be for nought

Except for love’s sake only. Do not say

“I love her for her smile her look her way

Of speaking gently, for a trick of thought

That falls in well with mine, and certes brought

A sense of ease on such a day”

For these things in themselves, Beloved, may

Be changed, or change for thee, and love, so wrought,

May be unwrought so. Neither love me for

Thine own dear pity’s wiping my cheek dry,

A creature might forget to weep, who bore

Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!

But love me for love’s sake, that evermore

Thou may’st love on, through love’s eternity.

If you are looking for something funny and light to express your feelings then something like Roger McGough’s quirky love poem Summer with Monika could be just what you are looking for. It reads:

ten milk bottles standing in the hall

ten milk bottles up against the wall

next door neighbour thinks we’re dead

hasn’t heard a sound, he said

doesn’t know we’ve been in bed

the ten whole days since we were wed

no-one knows and no-one sees

we lovers doing as we please

but people stop and point at these

ten milk bottles a-turning into cheese

ten milk bottles standing day and night

ten different thicknesses and

different shades of white

persistent carol singers without a note to utter

silent carol singers a-turning into butter

now she’s run out of passion

and there’s not much left in me

so maybe we’ll get up and make a cup of tea

and then people can stop wondering

what they’re waiting for

those ten milk bottles a queuing at our door

those ten milk bottles a queuing at our door.

The most important thing of all is to make your Valentine’s card, hand write your verse and send it with love and remember, anyone who doesn’t appreciate it, is not worthy of you.

Check out Valentines’ Day for gifts, ideas, and more.