It's incredibly difficult to write a love poem. I should specify that I am referring to human love - the love between two partners. It's an onerous task because the topic has been covered repetitively in the literary corpus. One has to be creative and present their story in a manner which distinguishes it from the others. Otherwise the work just seems mundane and unimaginative. This is where the poetic masters shine. They know how to tell a story like it's never been told before. The poem below by Yeats exemplifies the unique character of a well versed love story. Following the reading is a brief reflection on some aspects of this work. 

When You Are Old

By: William Butler Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

The poem, "When you are old," by W.B. Yeats is a beautifully crafted story about an alluring and classy woman who was admired by several men. The genuine nature of their love for her was 

questionable. But, one man stood out distinctively among the rest. He loved her in her most troubled of times (.."loved the sorrows of your changing face"). His admiration for her didn't alter with time - rather it grew as she changed over the years - be it physically, emotionally, socially or psychologically ("..one man loved the pilgrim soul in you). The work concludes on the theme of loss. The tragic death of ones' lover("how Love fled...And hid his face amid a crowd of stars").

I love the rhythm of this poem. The way it takes you from the present  (1st paragraph) to the past (2nd paragraph) to the near present (3rd paragraph). The language is sweet and delicate - it doesn't impose feelings of gaiety or sorrow upon its audience. Instead, these words provide readers with space to appreciate the story and allow their sentiments to develop appropriately at their own free will. Herein is the meritorious aspect of fine writing. This space left for interpretation enables readers to bring in their own experiences to the work. In so doing, readers gain a bona fide appreciation of the poet's work while simultaneously gaining a deeper, at times philosophical, understanding of their personal experiences or their existence as a whole.