Happiness-themed poems are vibrant and uplifting, celebrating the joyous moments of life. They capture the beauty of joyful experiences, shared laughter, and contentment.
The poet uses a lively, buoyant language, radiating positivity and exuberance. These verses spark joy in the reader, creating a shared celebration of life’s simple pleasures. Such poetry is a toast to happiness, encouraging us to savor the joyful moments in our lives.
‘My Grandmother’s Houses’ by Jackie Kay is a thoughtful recollection of youth and a young speaker’s relationship with her eccentric grandmother, who is forced to move homes.
She is on the second floor of a tenement.
From her front room window you see the cemetery.
‘June’ by James Russell Lowell is a religiously-charged romantic narrative poem about the overwhelming beauty and rejuvenating power of summer.
And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays:
‘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 –
‘Beeny Cliff’ by Thomas Hardy examines the disenchantment of a location that was once fondly beloved for its setting as a happy memory.
O the opal and the sapphire of that wandering western sea,
And the woman riding high above with bright hair flapping free–
The woman whom I loved so, and who loyally loved me.
In ‘Three with the Moon and his Shadow,’ Li Bai contemplates solitude, friendship, and the transcendent power of revelry, invoking the beauty of the moon and the playful dance of the shadow. The poem celebrates the unity found in shared experiences and yearns for connections that surpass mortal boundaries.
With a jar of wine I sit by the flowering trees.
I drink alone, and where are my friends?
Ah, the moon above looks down on me;
I call and lift my cup to his brightness.
‘Music’ by Walter de la Mare is a passionate poem about the transcendent effects of music upon the world around us.
When music sounds, gone is the earth I know,
And all her lovely things even lovelier grow;
Her flowers in vision flame, her forest trees
‘The Owl and the Pussy-Cat’ by Edward Lear is a simple, joy-filled poem that tells the marriage story of an owl and a cat.
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
‘Corsons Inlet’ is a complex, nuanced poem on the natural world and the character of reality by one of the major American poets of the latter half of the 20th century.
I went for a walk over the dunes again this morning
to the sea,
then turned right along
the surf
‘The Song of the Jellicles’ introduces merry and bright felines – Jellicle cats awaiting to dance by the light of the Jellicle Moon.
Jellicle Cats come out to-night
Jellicle Cats come one come all:
The Jellicle Moon is shining bright—
Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball.
‘I Give You Thanks My God’ by Bernard Dadié describes the nature of blackness and the speaker’s gratitude for the strength to carry the world.
I give you thanks my God for having created me black
For having made of me
The total of all sorrows,
and set upon my head
‘Solitude’ by Ella Wheeler Wilcox describes the connection between one’s outlook on life and the friends and community one attracts.
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
‘Try to Praise the Mutilated World’ by Adam Zagajewski focuses on the most important ways that people can find happiness in their everyday lives. They can step out into nature or return to memories.
Try to praise the mutilated world.
Remember June's long days,
and wild strawberries, drops of rosé wine.
The nettles that methodically overgrown
Tupac Shakur’s ‘Dear Mama’ expresses heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for a mother’s love and sacrifices, showcasing profound emotions.
There's no way I can pay you back
But my plan is to show you that I understand
You are appreciated
‘The Crocodile’ by Lewis Carroll tells, very briefly, of a crocodile who sneakily attracts fish and then swallows them with a big smile on his face.
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
William Wordsworth’s literary classic, ‘Daffodils,’ also known as ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,’ is one of the most popular poems in the English language. It is a quintessential poem of the Romantic movement.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Harriet Maxwell Converse’s poem ‘The Thanksgivings’ expresses profound gratitude for nature and the Great Spirit, emphasizing unity and harmony.
We who are here present thank the Great Spirit
that we are here to praise Him.
We thank Him that He has created men and
women, and ordered that these beings shall
Edmund Spenser’s ‘Amoretti LXVII: Like as a Huntsman’ explores the pursuit of love and the unexpected rewards it brings.
Like as a huntsman after weary chase,
Seeing the game from him escap'd away,
Sits down to rest him in some shady place,
With panting hounds beguiled of their prey:
‘Late Love’ explores the transformative power of love, contrasting its passionate heights with the fading memories and passage of time.
How they strut about, people in love,
how tall they grow, pleased with themselves,
their hair, glossy, their skin shining.
They don’t remember who they have been.
‘Still I Rise’ is an inspiring and emotional poem that’s based around Maya Angelou’s experiences as a Black woman in America. It encourages readers to love themselves fully and persevere in the face of every hardship.
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
‘Emmonsail’s Heath in Winter’ by John Clare is a beautiful nature poem that describes a specific area in Northamptonshire in winter. The poem focuses on plants and birds.
I love to see the old heath's withered brake
Mingle its crimpled leaves with furze and ling,
While the old heron from the lonely lake
Starts slow and flaps his melancholy wing,
‘My True Love Hath My Heart’ by Sir Philip Sidney is a Shakespearean sonnet. It captures the intensity and depth of two people who experience love at first sight.
My true-love hath my heart and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss;
There never was a bargain better driven.
‘November Blue’ by Alice Meynell draws attention to the weather in November and what people do to make up for it.
O, Heavenly colour! London town
Has blurred it from her skies;
And hooded in an earthly brown,
Unheaven'd the city lies.
‘On the Beach at Night Alone’ by Walt Whitman is a powerful poem. In it, Whitman discusses how everything that has ever existed or will ever exist is connected.
A vast similitude interlocks all,
All spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets,
All distances of place however wide,
All distances of time, all inanimate forms,
‘When Spring Comes’ by Alberto Caeiro is a poem dedicated to nature, while emphasizing the insignificance of our human life.
When spring comes,
If I've already died,
The flowers will bloom in the same way
‘Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout’ by Gary Snyder is a beautiful two-stanza poem. In it, the speaker conveys descriptions from the top of Sourdough Mountain.
Down valley a smoke haze
Three days heat, after five days rain
Pitch glows on the fir-cones
Amidst scarlet flames and camaraderie, ‘Around the Campfire’ captures transformative connections. Vivid imagery illuminates rekindled friendships, binding souls in tranquility.
Rising from the fire like a phoenix,
ash morphs into flights of flaming darts.
And shadows mark the fringes of light,
extinguishing all unwary sparks.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem celebrates the ethereal beauty of a sleeping child and his profound connection to the divine.
How he sleepeth! having drunken
Weary childhood's mandragore,
From his pretty eyes have sunken
Pleasures, to make room for more---
Edgar Albert Guest’s ‘Thanksgiving’ radiates familial warmth, intertwining laughter, gratitude, and time-honored traditions in shared gatherings.
Gettin’ together to smile an’ rejoice,
An’ eatin’ an’ laughin’ with folks of your choice;
An’ kissin’ the girls an’ declarin’ that they
Are growin’ more beautiful day after day;
‘Learning to Read’ by Frances Harper is a powerful poem about formerly enslaved people learning to read and gaining independence and strength through education.
Very soon the Yankee teachers
Came down and set up school;
But, oh! how the Rebs did hate it,—
It was agin’ their rule.
Longfellow’s contemplative journey reveals the weariness of the human experience and the limitations of language.
Once upon Iceland's solitary strand
A poet wandered with his book and pen,
Seeking some final word, some sweet Amen,
Wherewith to close the volume in his hand.
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