‘A Nation’s Strength’ by William Ralph Emerson asks readers to consider what it is that makes a country great and why countries fail.
What makes a nation's pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?
‘The Soldier’ is a poem by famed war poet Rupert Brooke. It celebrates the sacrifices of soldiers during World War I.
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
‘Anne Rutledge’ by Edgar Lee Masters is an epitaph based on the life of someone who knew and loved Abraham Lincoln in her youth.
Out of me unworthy and unknown
The vibrations of deathless music;
“With malice toward none, with charity for all.”
Out of me the forgiveness of millions toward millions,
‘I died for beauty but was scarce’ by Emily Dickinson reflects her fascination for death and the possible life to follow.
I died for Beauty - but was scarce
Adjusted in the Tomb
When One who died for Truth, was lain
In an adjoining Room -
‘Life in a Love’ by Robert Browning is an obsessive love poem in which a speaker tells the person they’re in love with that no matter how many times they’re torn down; they’re always going to get back up.
Escape me?
Never—
Beloved!
While I am I, and you are you,
So long as the world contains us both,
‘Facing West From California’s Shores’ by Walt Whitman is a unique poem that alludes to the state of California and the potential expansion of the United States.
Facing west, from California's shores,
Inquiring, tireless, seeking what is yet unfound,
I, a child, very old, over waves, towards the house of maternity, the
land of migrations, look afar,
‘Rowing’ by Anne Sexton is a moving and unforgettable poem about depression. It was written two years before Sexton took her life in 1974.
A story, a story!
(Let it go. Let it come.)
I was stamped out like a Plymouth fender
into this world.
First came the crib
‘On Being Human’ by C.S Lewis is incredibly unique and fascinating as it deals with both the physical and the spiritual realm as compared to one another.
Angelic minds, they say, by simple intelligence
Behold the Forms of nature. They discern
Unerringly the Archtypes, all the verities
Which mortals lack or indirectly learn.
‘I Saw From the Beach’ by Thomas Moore is a thoughtful poem. It considers the soul and passion and how the two things change over time as one ages.
I saw from the beach, when the morning was shining,
A bark o’er the waters move gloriously on;
I came when the sun o’er that beach was declining,
The bark was still there, but the waters were gone.
‘Memorial’ by Amanda Gorman is a poem about the past and how poets are able to use their writing to help readers relive it.
When we tell a story.
We are living
Memory.
‘29 April 1989’ by Sujata Bhatt is a sweet, little piece about a mother’s sudden found pleasure in nature’s soggy musicality.
‘A Day’ by Emily Dickinson is a lyrical poem describing sunrise and sunset. In a metaphysical sense, it also portrays the beauty of life and the uncertainty of death.
I’ll tell you how the sun rose, —
A ribbon at a time.
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.
‘A Murmur in the Trees— to note’ by Emily Dickinson is a poem about nature’s magic. It includes mysterious images of fairy men, glowing lights in the woods, and the murmuring of trees.
A Murmur in the Trees – to note –
Not loud enough – for Wind –
A Star – not far enough to seek –
Nor near enough – to find –
‘Afterglow’ by Helen Lowrie Marshall is a popular funeral poem. It describes a speaker’s hope that they’re remembered fondly and warmly.
‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ by Cecil Frances Alexander describes how God is responsible for creating all things, positive and negative, big and small, in the world.
‘Among the Rocks’ is a beautiful lyric poem written from the perspective of James Lee’s wife, a character of Robert Browning’s collection, Dramatis Personae (1864).
‘Anne Hathaway’ by Carol Ann Duffy is told from the perceptive of Shakespeare’s wife who discusses their enduring love through the symbol of a bed.
The bed we loved in was a spinning world
of forests, castles, torchlight, cliff-tops, seas
where he would dive for pearls. My lover’s words
were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses
August Morning by Albert Garcia explores the serene moments of human life. Garcia focuses on a morning’s bliss: the smell,
‘Blaen Cwrt,’ a poem by Welsh poet Gillian Clarke depicts the pleasant dwelling of the speaker in rural Ceredigion, West Wales.
Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue ‘Confessions,’ as the title says, is written in the confessional mode and is about a speaker’s secretive meetings with a girl.
‘Crossing the Bar’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson is about the journey into death from life. This poem sees death as a promising opportunity to move from mortality to something better.
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
Danse Russe by William Carlos Williams is a lighthearted poem in which the poet dances naked before a mirror. The poet, as he dances, admires himself and his own company, relishing his loneliness.
If I when my wife is sleeping
and the baby and Kathleen
are sleeping
and the sun is a flame-white disc
‘Departed To The Judgment’ by Emily Dickinson discusses death and the afterlife. The speaker explores their beliefs about both and how they contrast with others’.
Departed to the judgment,
A mighty afternoon ;
Great clouds like ushers leaning,
Creation looking on.
‘Dreams’ by Anne Bronte explores the power of dreams as the speaker fantasizes about having a child to call her own.
While on my lonely couch I lie,
I seldom feel myself alone,
For fancy fills my dreaming eye
With scenes and pleasures of its own.
‘Epitaph’ by Merrit Malloy is a beautiful poem about the good that can come out of death. The speaker wants their memory used to make the world a better place.
‘Fame is a bee’ by Emily Dickinson uses a bee to describe the fleeting nature of fame. She uses clever images and original poetic writing throughout.
Fame is a bee.
It has a song—
It has a sting—
‘February’ depicts a stunning and figurative encounter with Clarke’s familiar Welsh landscape on a snowy February day.
As a poet and author, Anne Brontë (or Acton, as the gender-neutral name through which she published several works, this
‘For My Lover Returning To His Wife’ by Anne Sexton compares the relationship the speaker has with her lover and that which he has with his wife.
‘From cocoon forth a butterfly,’ also known as ‘The Butterfly’s Day,’ is a beautiful poem written by the American poet Emily Dickinson. This poem presents the themes of the vanity of life and oblivion.
From Cocoon forth a Butterfly
As Lady from her Door
Emerged — a Summer Afternoon —
Repairing Everywhere —
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