Love Letter (Clouds)
Love Letter (Clouds) by Sarah Manguso explores the end of relationships, and how it can often seem like you’ve wasted
Jack Limebear
Diagnosis
Diagnosis by Meena Alexander explores illness and the approach of death. Being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Alexander focuses on
Giverny
Giverny by Ian Pople explores the beauty of nature, the poet reflecting on Giverny, France. The landscape is vast and
Going Wrong
Going Wrong by Jack Gilbert is a narrative poem that explores a man’s retreat into the wild. Having rejected society,
The Song Is You
The Song Is You by Marilyn Nelson explores love through the metaphor of musical instruments being played. When in love,
Duplex
‘Duplex’ by Jericho Brown explores physical and mental abuse, looking at how memory can impact a person.
For the Time Being
For the Time Being by Carmen Bugan explores living through the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The poem touches on aspects of
The Bear
‘The Bear’ by Susan Mitchell explores the journey of a bear to hibernation, moving sleepily through the forest.
I Thought a Tree Dying
I Thought a Tree Dying by Sandra Doller is a philosophical poem in which the poet traces many lines of
Love, I’m Done with You
Love, I’m Done With You by Ross Gay explores a breakup, the poet realizing how bad their relationship was once
Twelve
Twelve by Lynn Melnick focuses on the role of a parent, Melnick providing a better life for her daughter than
Winter Trees
Winter Trees by William Carlos Williams personifies deciduous trees, the poet watching them lose their leaves and go to sleep.
The Rest
The Rest by Jane Huffman explores sickness and pain, the poet conveying the reality of lung disease. Huffman focuses on
Ghosts (Homage to Burial)
Ghosts (Homage to Burial) by Emily Berry explores human connection, making an impact, and being important to others. The poem
August Morning
August Morning by Albert Garcia explores the serene moments of human life. Garcia focuses on a morning’s bliss: the smell,
The Flurry
The Flurry by Sharon Olds explores a couple discussing how they will tell their children about their divorce. Olds is
Hour
Hour by Reginald Gibbons explores one sleepless hour of the poet’s life. After breaking up with someone, he lies away
Things
‘Things’ by Lisel Mueller explores loneliness, how humans have reacted to this emotion in the form of personifying their surroundings.
Blues for Almost Forgotten Music
Blues for Almost Forgotten Music by Roxanne Beth Johnson explores nostalgia for past relationships, thinking about fragments of something now
Movement Song
Movement Song by Audre Lorde explores the process of breaking up and moving on from a lost love. Lorde presents
Such Simple Love
Such Simple Love by Thomas McGrath explores human companionship, mutual love for the human race. McGrath examines a slumbering world,
Bullet Points
Bullet Points by Jericho Brown explores hate crimes in America, particularly looking at those of the police against Black Americans.
For Some Executors of Gay Writers
For Some Executors of Gay Writers by Dan Vera explores the prosecution of gay writers within history. Vera writes in
Old Men
‘Old Men’ by Kenneth Fearing explores the depiction of being old, but, still, have lots of hope for the future
The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High
‘The Laughter of Stafford Girls’ High‘ by Carol Ann Duffy explores freedom, women’s voices, and education through a laughter pandemic.
A Dreaming Week
‘A Dreaming Week‘ by Carol Ann Duffy explores Duffy’s escape into fantasy, linked closely with her love of writing poetry.
Beautiful
Beautiful by Carol Ann Duffy explores the physical and mental damage that can come from beauty. Duffy traces four women:
The Map-Woman
‘The Map-Woman‘ by Carol Ann Duffy explores the inescapability of identity through the metaphorical depiction of the female body. The
Tall
‘Tall’ by Carol Ann Duffy explores the difficulty of social mobility for women, suggesting that they have trouble fitting in.
Loud
‘Loud‘ by Carol Ann Duffy explores the power of women’s voices, while also exposing the horrors of the modern world.