Last summer I went through my Google Drive and found old love poetry I wrote for my ex. We dated in high school, and oh boy — the cringe was real. Even worse, I found yet another poem that I had given to the guy I liked in middle school; if you can imagine such a thing, it was even worse. Hysterical, I read some of it (through tears, bright red cheeks and embarrassed laughter) to my current boyfriend so we could laugh about it together, and it was cathartic in a way I hadn’t expected.
It’s not too much of a stretch to suggest that love poetry is probably one of the most commonly written types of poetry among teenagers. Rife with emotions, unrequited love, and so much else, you might sneer at the idea of writing love poetry now, especially if you have a cringe-worthy history with it like I do. And yet, as I enter my 22nd year, I haven’t stopped writing love poems, especially for my current boyfriend. In fact, every other year I give him a collection of love poetry I wrote on our anniversary. And despite my creative writing degree training, some of it still kind of sucks.
But that’s okay. The benefits of writing out your feelings are especially well known in this age of journaling: catharsis and decreased anxiety are a few of the many benefits. Writing poetry, specifically, has the additional benefits of gaining a better command of language, improving self awareness and being incredibly therapeutic. Sometimes I feel like I struggle to tell my boyfriend how I feel about him, but the written word, no matter how poorly-put-together I feel it might be, is still incredibly touching to him.
But your bad love poetry doesn’t need to be directed at your boo or crush. Bad love poetry can absolutely be directed at yourself, developing your self confidence. Or it could be for your cousin, a friend, or anyone who has made a difference in your life. And the best part? No one ever has to read your love poetry if you don’t want them to. What’s left, no matter how much you look back on it and cringe years later, is a wonderful document of your feelings at a particular time of your life; and that is worth all the skin-crawling emotions you might feel in the future.