‘My Garden — like the Beach’ by Emily Dickinson is a beautiful, short poem. It compares the speaker’s garden to the beach and the summer to the sea. Read the full poem, with a complete analysis.
My Garden—like the Beach—
Denotes there be—a Sea—
That's Summer—
‘Ghazal’ is an ancient Persian form of poetry that makes use of couplets, which are quite similar to sonnets that have been in use by the European poets.
If I am the grass and you the breeze, blow through me.
If I am the rose and you the bird, then woo me.
‘On the one-ton temple bell’ by Yosa Buson is a beautiful haiku. It describes a moonmoth sleeping on a temple bell.
On the one-ton temple bell
A moonmoth, folded into sleep,
‘The Three Oddest Words’ is a poem that addresses peculiarities of language in ways that reflect the peculiarities themselves.
When I pronounce the word Future,
the first syllable already belongs to the past.
‘The Wind in the Dooryard’ by Derek Walcott was written after the death of Eric Roach, a well-respected poet who died by suicide in 1974. This poem is dedicated to his life and work.
I didn't want this poem to come from the torn mouth, I didn't want this poem to come
‘At Pegasus’ by Terrance Hayes is a powerful poem about identity that uses a youthful memory and a contemporary experience to speak about life.
How could I not find them
beautiful, the way they dive & spill
into each other,
‘29 April 1989’ by Sujata Bhatt is a sweet, little piece about a mother’s sudden found pleasure in nature’s soggy musicality.
‘A Butterfly Talks’ is a children’s poem written by the American poet Annette Wynne. In this short poem, the poet emphasizes the splendor of simple things in nature.
A butterfly talks to each flower
And stops to eat and drink,
And I have seen one lighting
In a quiet spot to think;
‘A drop fell on the apple tree’ by Emily Dickinson is filled with joy. It describes, with Dickinson’s classic skill, images of the summer season and how a storm can influence it.
A drop fell on the apple tree
Another on the roof;
A half a dozen kissed the eaves,
And made the gables laugh.
‘A light exists in spring’ is about the light in spring that illuminates its surroundings. Though this poem is about nature, it has a deep religious connotation that science cannot explain.
A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period —
When March is scarcely here
‘A Route of Evanescence’ by Emily Dickinson describes its subject through a series of metaphors, allusions, and images. But, never actually states that the subject is a hummingbird.
A Route of Evanescence,
With a revolving Wheel –
A Resonance of Emerald
‘Acrostic’ by Lewis Carroll is an acrostic poem. The poet talks about three “little maidens” in the poem and how
‘Breaking the Surface’ by Jean Bleakney is about the “art of skimming,” an extended metaphor for the art of writing poetry.
‘For Sidney Bechet’ is a poetic tribute to Sidney Bechet, one of the early jazz maestros that poet Philip Larkin admired the most.
In ‘Full Moon and Little Frieda,’ Ted Hughes describes his daughter’s observations of the world around her, reflecting on nature and family.
‘Going for Water’ by Robert Frost depicts a simple errand in joyful, uplifting language. The poem suggests that any task, no matter how annoying, can be enjoyed if one is outside.
The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if still it ran;
‘How the old Mountains drip with Sunset’ by Emily Dickinson celebrates the beauty of the natural world. She focuses specifically on a sunset and how impossible it is to capture it in words or paint.
How the old Mountains drip with
Sunset How the Hemlocks burn—
How the Dun Brake is draped in Cinder
By the Wizard Sun—
‘How to Eat a Poem’ by Eve Merriam uses eating fruit as a metaphor for reading poetry to encourage readers to enjoy poetry.
‘I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind’ by Emily Dickinson is a thoughtful poem about friendship. The speaker contemplates what gift she could possibly get a friend she dearly loves.
I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—
But You have enough—of those—
I could bring You Odors from St. Domingo—
Colors—from Vera Cruz—
‘I dwell in Possibility’ by Emily Dickinson is a short, memorable poem. It explores themes of writing, specifically poetic writing, and the power it has.
I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –
‘I like to see it lap the Miles’ by Emily Dickinson is a thoughtful poem. It explores themes of industrialization, power, and human ingenuity.
I like to see it lap the Miles -
And lick the Valleys up -
And stop to feed itself at Tanks -
And then - prodigious step
‘I saw no Way – The Heavens were stitched’ by Emily Dickinson depicts heaven and the afterlife. The poet thoughtfully explores how she feels about the breadth of the universe.
I saw no Way—The Heavens were stitched—
I felt the Columns close—
The Earth reversed her Hemispheres— I
touched the Universe—
‘I Started Early – Took my Dog’ by Emily Dickinson personifies the sea. Dickinson depicts it as a lover and alludes to her speaker’s fears in regard to sex and love.
I started Early – Took my Dog –
And visited the Sea –
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me –
‘I tasted a liquor never brewed’ by Emily Dickinson celebrates life. The poet uses natural imagery, such as that of berries, and pearls, to depict it.
I taste a liquor never brewed –
From Tankards scooped in Pearl –
Not all the Frankfort Berries
Yield such an Alcohol!
‘In the Seventh Year’ by Jackie Kay is a short, beautiful lyric poem. It describes the timeless and changing nature of a speaker’s relationship.
‘It sifts from Leaden Sieves’ by Emily Dickinson is a beautiful nature poem. The poet explores the way that a fresh snowfall can reframe the whole world.
It sifts from Leaden Sieves -
It powders all the Wood.
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road -
‘Lines Written in Early Spring’ by William Wordsworth is a beautiful landscape poem that is largely concerned with nature.
I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.
On the surface, William Wordsworth’s ‘My Heart Leaps Up’ is about the simple beauty of a rainbow. Looking at it more closely, the poet is saying people should maintain their sense of childlike wonder well into adulthood and old age.
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
‘Nature is what we see’ by Emily Dickinson is a poem about how humanity tries and fails, to define nature.
“Nature” is what we see—
The Hill—the Afternoon—
Squirrel—Eclipse—the Bumble bee—
Nay—Nature is Heaven—
‘Ode to a Butterfly’ by Thomas Wentworth Higginson is a thoughtful meditation on nature’s one of the daintiest creations, the butterfly. Higginson glorifies this tiny insect by using several metaphors and symbols.
Thou spark of life that wavest wings of gold,
Thou songless wanderer mid the songful birds,
With Nature's secrets in thy tints unrolled
Through gorgeous cipher, past the reach of words,
support@poemanalysis.com
Poem Solutions Limited, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom
