Hate. Poems. HATE. Poems. Hate poems?

Do the words “hate” and “poem” seem incongruous? Doesn’t the concept of hate lend itself better to manifestos, or diatribes? Does the idea of writing poetry about such a divisive, even aggressive concept seem bizarre?

Love poems – yes. Hate poems – not so much.

While pure, unadulterated hate has found its way into poetry, there are many poems that rather examine the close relationship between love, that stalwart topic of poetry, and hate. These are hate poems that are concerned with the hate that is borne of love.

A hate poem that belies its origin as a love poem is one by L.M. Montgomery (1875-1942), an author better known for her books about the adolescent Anne of Green Gables than her poetry. “To One Hated” is a particular departure from the sweet stories of Anne and her friends:

A poet who dealt as much in hate as in love was John Donne (1572-1631). Donne, whose metaphysical poetry often delved into the darker aspects of life – particularly of love – captures the dual sides of one coin that are often hate and love in “The Prohibition:”

A hate poem that most succinctly sums up the thin line between love and hate is Carl Sandburg’s (1878–1967) poem titled, simply, “Hate:”

Sandburg explores how a relationship can veer within moments between love and hate, sometimes with horrifying results.

Hate poetry will never be as renowned as love poetry, but poetry that understands the similarity between the two emotions is especially remarkable.