Inspired by Auden’s incantation “O tell me the truth about love,” we’ve selected ten works that speak to the age-old and universal mystery. Passion, heartache, sex, it’s all here. The near-misses and the successes, the highs and the lows, the doubts and the certainties—if we know anything, we know that love takes many forms. We celebrate that and hope you do too. Now grab your chocolate and indulge!
Taha Muhammad Ali
Meeting at an Airport
You laughed . . . and the almond tree blossomed.
Ifeoma Sesiana Amobi
A Small Blip on an Eternal Timeline
The Pushcart Prize series, 2022
The kiss lingered there. Hope flew into my chest.
Ellen Bass
Ode to Repetition
I still come to her like a beggar.
Ann Beattie
Four-Night Fight
She had apparently thrown the phone book at him.
Marc and Bella Chagall
The First Meeting
The boy’s face ran along beside me like a shadow
Natalie Diaz
Four Poems
You roll back your eyes and drag me into the fathoms.
Liza Donnelly and Michael Maslin
Married Cartoonists: The True Story
“This better not be me in this cartoon!”
Carol Edgarian
Amazement
Lena understood desire; she understood it in her bones.
Li-Young Lee
The Invention of the Darling
My friend and I are in love with the same woman.
Shubha Sunder
The Western Tailor
The word sweetly sent a tremor down his spine.
