Recently, we marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's sonnets on Morning Edition. It gave us an excuse to think about the next 400 years: Could any words of love from our time possibly last as long as Shakespeare's poetry?
We put the question to you, our listeners. We asked you to suggest a modern love poem or song that's good enough — enduring enough — to be remembered 400 years from now.
Several hundred people sent suggestions, and it turns out a lot of you are Bob Dylan fans. For great love music, you also recommended the Beatles' "In My Life," Janis Joplin's performance of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee," Leonard Cohen and Joan Baez.
You also voted for the love lyrics of Billy Idol, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and 50 Cent.
Many of you suggested great romantic dialogue from the movies, though who knows if the movies will even exist in 400 years. There were the usual suspects, like Casablanca, but there were also some surprising choices, such as this line from Jerry Maguire: "You had me at 'hello.' "
And some of you waxed poetic about plain old poetry. Gwendolyn Brooks, E.E. Cummings and Pablo Neruda — below is a tiny sampling of some of the more literary suggestions submitted.
Read more listener responses here, and if you missed the chance to submit your ideas, you still can! Share them with us in the comments section below. Remember, we're looking for words of romance that might last the next 400 years.
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