Hate Poem

American poet Julie Sheehan published her award-winning second poetry collection Orient Point in 2006, which includes the free verse “Hate Poem.” The collection features poetry about nature, relationships, and urban life written in a variety of styles, including traditional love poetry forms like the sonnet, a 14-line poem, and the ghazal, an Arabic structure consisting of rhymed couplets. In “Hate Poem,” Sheehan uses humor and hyperbole to explore the complexity of an intimate romantic relationship where the speaker both hates and loves the partner. The poem is expressed from the viewpoint of a woman whose “hate” for her partner permeates everything in her life, though she does not express this sentiment to the oblivious partner. Delivered in a tongue-in-cheek style, “Hate Poem” speaks to the ups and downs of a long-term relationship, the hate lovers can feel in the aftermath of an argument, and the paradox of feeling animosity towards an object of affection, and the effort of trying to make a commitment of this kind work. “Hate Poem” was included in The Best American Poetry 2005 anthology.