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Love is everywhere. It’s in every book, every song, every movie that has ever made you cry at 2 a.m. From Shakespeare’s sonnets to Taylor Swift’s heartbreak ballads, love is a story we keep telling, over and over again. And yet, for all the words we’ve devoted to it, love remains elusive—shapeshifting depending on who experiences it.
Some say love is passion, a fire that ignites and consumes. Others see it as devotion, a steady presence that stands unwavering through time. Sometimes love is loud and dramatic, and sometimes it’s quiet—barely a whisper, but felt all the same.
So, what is love, really?
Love as Poetry: The Romantic Notion
Shakespeare, Byron, Browning—poets have been writing about love for centuries, wrapping it in grand metaphors and eternal devotion. Love in poetry is forever. It is deep, tragic, all-consuming. It is Romeo and Juliet, defying fate. It is Elizabeth Barrett Browning counting the ways.
And honestly? We still eat it up. Just listen to Taylor Swift’s "Enchanted"—"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go..."Tell us that doesn’t feel like it belongs in a Victorian-era love letter.
Poetic love is intoxicating. It makes us believe in soulmates, in destiny, in the idea that love is written in the stars. And sometimes, it really is. But love isn’t always a perfect poem.
Love as Chaos: The Messy, Heartbreaking Side
Love can be the most exhilarating thing in the world—but when it unravels, it feels like everything else does too. Shakespeare understood this well. Love, when lost, doesn’t leave quietly; it leaves a mess.
For every "Enchanted", there’s an "All Too Well".
Because let’s be real—love isn’t just candlelight and whispered poetry. It’s also miscommunication, bad timing, and the person who calls you up just to break you like a promise.
Shakespeare gave us Romeo and Juliet, but modern love stories like Normal People or 500 Days of Summer remind us that love can be complicated. It’s exhilarating, and then it’s painful. It makes you feel like you’re flying—until suddenly, you’re not.
But here’s the thing: even heartbreak is proof that love was real. Love, even when it’s messy, teaches us something. It shapes us. And sometimes, it leads us to something even better.
…Well, not for Romeo and Juliet. But for the rest of us, hopefully.
Love as Friendship: The Overlooked Kind
Not all love stories are romantic. Some of the best ones are about friendship.
Think Ted Lasso & Rebecca, Harry & Hermione, Meredith & Cristina ("You’re my person"). Friendship is the love that doesn’t demand grand gestures or dramatic confessions. It’s built in quiet moments, in showing up, in understanding someone without them having to explain.
It’s the friend who remembers how you take your coffee. The one who listens to your rants without judgment. The one who sits with you in silence when words aren’t enough.
We don’t talk about friendship enough when we talk about love. But sometimes, your best friend is your greatest love story.
Love as Devotion: The Lasting Kind
Love isn’t just falling—it’s choosing. Again and again. It’s Carl and Ellie in Up. It’s Noah and Allie in The Notebook. It’s your grandparents, who’ve spent 50 years arguing about what to watch on TV but still wouldn’t trade each other for anything (Most of the time).
Real love isn’t just passion—it’s presence. It’s showing up, even when it’s hard. It’s staying, even when life isn’t perfect. It’s the kind of love that lasts, not because it’s easy, but because it’s worth it.
Love as Self-Acceptance: The Most Underrated Love Story
We spend so much time chasing love from others, but what about the love we give ourselves?
Self-love is the foundation of every other kind of love. It’s learning to enjoy your own company, to forgive yourself, to trust yourself. It’s saying I am enough, just as I am.
It’s not always easy. Some days, loving yourself is looking in the mirror and choosing not to criticize. Other days, it’s leaving a situation that doesn’t serve you. But at the end of the day, self-love is the one love story you’ll always have.
Stanza’s Take: Love in the Details
Heartfelt Necklace | Roselight Hoop Charm
At Stanza, we believe love—like poetry—is something you carry with you. It’s in the details, the small things, the everyday moments that make up a lifetime. Love isn’t just about grand confessions and fireworks—it’s in the way we hold it close, every single day.
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The Heartfelt Necklace keeps love exactly where it belongs—close to your heart. Featuring a rose quartz heart cradled by a golden hand, this piece is a wearable love poem inspired by Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43.
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The Roselight Hoop Charm is a little piece of love and light, designed to shine with you. With a rose quartz heart, a diamond’s soft glow, and inspiration from E.E. Cummings’ "I Carry Your Heart with Me," this charm is love, always within reach.
Love Is Everything
We spend so much of life trying to define things, to hold onto them, to make sense of them. But love? Love refuses to be contained. It is peaceful and chaotic, addicting and soothing, rational and reckless, nourishing and consuming. It exists in every contradiction, in every space in between.
Love isn’t meant to be understood—it’s meant to be felt, given, and lived. The more we try to grasp it, to pin it down into something neat and explainable, the more it slips through our fingers.
Sincerely yours,