Desire poems delve into emotions, conveying the burning desire for love, success, or a connection with something beyond oneself.
They might describe the ache of unfulfilled desires or the euphoria of having one’s wishes granted. These poems appeal to the most fundamental aspects of being human. They can inspire readers to embrace their desires and pursue their dreams with unwavering determination.
‘Days’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a short allegorical poem reflecting on the passage of time and the expectations of humans that come and go with it. It is celebrated as one of the best transcendental poems of the 19th century.
The major theme of the poem portrays human desire, or the lack thereof, and how it evolves with time. Desire ranks high on the list of themes because Emerson dedicates lines to elaborate on the way man's desires grow and change. He also reveals his own lack of desire and the different ways others may view it.
Part VI of Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘The Merchant’s Tale’ explores moral values as May and Damian begin their affair.
For the first time throughout the entirety of this poem, this section features overpowering mutual desire. In the previous sections, desire has been completely one-sided as both Damian and January lust after May. May reclaims her own sexuality in this section as she makes the decision to become entangled with Damian. This is juxtaposed with the absence of choice she has with January, who commands her to satisfy him sexually. Chaucer challenges the contemporary views of women and sexuality as he creates a margin of sympathy for May despite her adultery.
This section of ‘The Merchant’s Tale’ by Geoffrey Chaucer introduces January’s squire and provides details of the wedding night.
Desire is the overpowering main theme throughout this section of the poem. January's desire consumes him - he has no care for the consequences of his desire despite lamenting the religious repercussions and the potential harm done to his new wife. His desire takes the form of lust as he is unable to wait for the natural conclusion of his wedding day as he hastens the beginning of the wedding night. The abundance of January's desire is particularly evident through his consumption of aphrodisiacs to heighten his already rampant lust.
‘I had been hungry, all the Years’ by Emily Dickinson comes to the ironic realization that a fulfilled desire can be disappointing and anticlimactic rather than satisfying.
Dickinson's poem uses hunger as a metaphor for desire, illustrating the desperate yearning of a speaker starved of food who has finally found themselves seated at a feast. Finally confronted with an opportunity to fulfill their wildest dreams, you'd think that they'd indulge without hesitation, yet that's not the reaction of the poem's speaker. Instead, they come to the sudden realization that it's the impossibility and elusiveness of a desire that feeds its existence within us.
‘Love Sonnet XI’ by Pablo Neruda presents passionate longing and consuming desire through sensual imagery and intense metaphors.
Desire is the primary theme of this poem as it expresses the speaker's ardent desire for his beloved's physical and emotional presence. The poem begins with the speaker's cravings for physical aspects of the beloved as he states, 'I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.' The speaker's desire is all-encompassing and consuming to the extent that it makes him insatiable and restless as he prowls through the streets looking for the beloved, stating, even 'Bread does not nourish me'; his desire thus is above the need of sustenance as he craves for his beloved's skin, voice, mouth, laughter, lashes, heart, etc.
I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market,’ narrates the fantastical tale of Laura and Lizzie, delving into sin, redemption, and sisterhood.
Desire is central to the poem's action. Laura's eating of goblins' fruits represents and warns against recklessly going through forbidden or evil desires that make one transgress moral codes by showing its consequences through her fate. Her curse is to suffer from a perpetual insatiable desire. Such desires never yield true satisfaction and only fool with superficial joy, leaving one yearning for more. The fruits, in fact, symbolize such evil desires, which keep growing once tasted but never make one fulfilled; instead, they cause restlessness and emptiness, impacting mental and physical health. Laura gnashing her teeth 'for baulked desire' and weeping 'As if her heart would break' show the intense restlessness and ache of an all-consuming desire that destroys one.
‘Why did you come’ by Hilda Doolittle is about love, self-criticism, aging, and the human inability to control judgments and desires.
"Why did you come" is all about the desire that the poet feels for her unnamed visitor and the other feelings that come up, such as guilt, shame, fear, and disbelief. However, ultimately, desire wins, even if the poet is still afraid of judgment from herself and others as a result of her lust and attraction.
‘Gacela of Unforseen Love’ explores the relationship between love and despair through a remembered romance which has run its course.
Like so much of Lorca's work, desire is the catalyst for the poem and is imbued within its images. The poem is principally concerned with impotent longing for something the narrator cannot have.
In Part VII of ‘The Merchant’s Tale’, Chaucer delves deep into symbolism as Damian and May make the final arrangements for their affair.
Desire is the overpowering main theme throughout this section of the poem. While previous sections of the poem have featured January being consumed by desire, this section exposes the desires of Damian and May. The two are so overcome by their desires that they take great risk to indulge in them. When they are unable to immediately act upon their lust, they become bereft at their separation. In this section, Chaucer explores how desire corrupts the innocent and fractures relationships.
‘An Ancient Gesture’ explores timeless sorrow through parallels between modern tears and those of mythic figures Penelope and Ulysses.
Desire is recognized as a driving force behind Penelope's enduring wait for Ulysses' return. Her longing for him is palpable through her tears and weary efforts, symbolizing the depth of her emotional attachment. Desire fuels her persistence and resilience, motivating her to endure the passage of time and uncertainty in anticipation of reunion, highlighting the power and intensity of romantic longing.
I thought, as I wiped my eyes on the corner of my apron:
Penelope did this too.
And more than once: you can't keep weaving all day
‘Lot’s Wife’ acknowledges the biblical figure’s famous look back as an all-too-human inability to relinquish the past despite the peril.
One of the core themes of Akhmatova's poem deals with Lot's wife's desire to steal one final "sight" of her "native Sodom." The speaker crucially doesn't condemn her for the choice, instead earnestly memorializing her as one "who, for a single glance, gave up her life." In this way, the poet seems to perceive her mistake not as a spiritual or moral failing but as a powerful emotional longing for everything she is about to lose. To dismiss her as deserving of the punishment is to ignore our own potential for self-destructive yearning.
‘After’ by Marston captures the eternal ache of loss, where brief joys transition to lasting sorrow, reflecting on grief’s permanence.
Throughout this piece, Marston’s poetic persona lists the things that seem “little” but hold immense value. His strong urge to be with his loved one resonates in each line and his sadness rings in the phrase, “no more.”
‘Sonnet 131,’ also known as ‘Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,’ is a poem about how the Dark Lady’s beauty moves the speaker. He knows she’s untraditionally beautiful but he doesn’t care!
The Dark Lady sparks similar desires in the speaker’s heart as does a woman who is regarded pretty as per accepted standards. In a sense, society’s objectification of women’s beauty is indirectly criticized in this piece.
‘The Rose’ by Richard Lovelace explores beauty, love, and their brief nature through the symbolism of a rose.
In the poem, the theme of desire is depicted as a force that controls the heart and consequently determines an individual’s subjectivity. The poem discusses passion as one of the main motifs, thus reflecting the concepts of needing and wanting with references to eroticism. Desire is presented as the main drive of people towards love, and beauty, and, therefore, enriches human relations and makes it deeper and more passionate.
In “Take me anywhere, anywhere;” by Hilda Doolittle, the poet-speaker addresses a lover, expressing the way in which she takes refuge in their affection.
In "Take me anywhere, anywhere;" the poet expresses an all-consuming desire to be close to her lover. She is so enraptured by her passion that she doesn't care about places or things. All she wants to do is crawl into the mind of her lover, where she will be safe from the rest of the world.
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