29 April 1989
by Sujata Bhatt
‘29 April 1989’ by Sujata Bhatt is a sweet, little piece about a mother’s sudden found pleasure in nature’s soggy musicality.
A Red, Red Rose
by Robert Burns
‘A Red, Red Rose’ by Robert Burns is a poem that is in the ballad formation of four-line stanzas with ABBA rhyme schemes.
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
A still— Volcano —Life
by Emily Dickinson
‘A still— Volcano —Life’ by Emily Dickinson is an unforgettable poem that uses an extended metaphor to describe the life of the poet. She compares herself to a volcano that erupts under the cover of darkness.
A still — Volcano — Life —
That flickered in the night —
When it was dark enough to do
Without erasing sight —
Ah, Moon–and Star!
by Emily Dickinson
‘Ah, Moon–and Star!’ by Emily Dickinson is an unforgettable love poem. The poet skillfully uses the universe to depict what it’s like for two lovers to be separated.
Ah, Moon — and Star!
You are very far —
But were no one
Farther than you —
Anne Hathaway
by Carol Ann Duffy
‘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
Break of Day
by John Donne
‘Break of Day’ by John Donne is an aubade told from a female perspective. It conveys a woman’s understanding of her relationship with a busy lover.
‘Tis true, ‘tis day, what though it be?
O wilt thou therefore rise from me?
Why should we rise because ‘tis light?
Did we lie down because ‘twas night?
Caged Bird
by Maya Angelou
‘Caged Bird’, or ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ as the poem is sometimes referred to, by Maya Angelou, is arguably one of the most moving and eye-opening poems ever written.
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
Despondency
by Anne Brontë
‘Despondency’ by Anne Brontë is a spiritual poem about rekindling one’s passion for God. The poem hinges on the speaker’s self-reflection and the emotions it stirs in them.
Elegy VII: Nature’s lay idiot, I taught thee to love
by John Donne
‘Elegy VII’ by John Donne, also known as ‘Nature’s lay idiot, I taught thee to love,’ is a typical piece about unrequited love.
Nature’s lay idiot, I taught thee to love,
And in that sophistry, oh, thou dost prove
Too subtle: Fool, thou didst not understand
The mystic language of the eye nor hand:
Fiddler Jones
by Edgar Lee Masters
Masters’ ‘Fiddler Jones’ highlights how following one’s passion, no matter what it is, is always worthwhile and helps lead a life without any regrets. As the title says, this poem is about a wayward fiddler devoted to his passion.
For Sidney Bechet
by Philip Larkin
‘For Sidney Bechet’ is a poetic tribute to Sidney Bechet, one of the early jazz maestros that poet Philip Larkin admired the most.
That note you hold, narrowing and rising, shakes
Like New Orleans reflected on the water,
And in all ears appropriate falsehood wakes,
Havisham
by Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Havisham’ is a response to Charles Dickens’s portrayal of the character Miss Havisham in his famous novel Great Expectations. This poem refers to the character as “Havisham” rather than “Miss Havisham.”
Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then
I haven’t wished him dead. Prayed for it
so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes,
ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.
Heart, we will forget him! By Emily Dickinson
by Emily Dickinson
‘Heart, we will forget him!’ by Emily Dickinson is a keen observation of the aftermath of a powerful love affair and how it will, or will not, be “forgotten.”
Heart, we will forget him!
You an I, tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave,
I will forget the light.
I Want to Die While You Love Me
by Georgia Douglas Johnson
‘I Want to Die While You Love Me’ by Georgia Douglas Johnson is a moving love poem. In it, the speaker addresses her desire to die before a love affair ends.
If you were coming in the Fall
by Emily Dickinson
‘If you were coming in the Fall’ by Emily Dickinson is a meaningful poem about true love and a speaker’s willingness to wait for her lover to return.
If you were coming in the fall,
I'd brush the summer by
With half a smile and half a spum,
As housewives do a fly.
Indeed, Indeed I Cannot Tell
by Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau’s ‘Indeed, Indeed I cannot Tell’ was written about Ellen Sewall. This piece manages to relate with almost every living human being and communicates a feeling that is familiar for many.
Love is…
by Adrian Henri
‘Love is…’ by Adrian Henri provides readers with various ways to consider love and how it tints even the smallest objects and experiences with more meaning.
Love on the Farm
by D.H. Lawrence
‘Love on the Farm’ by D.H. Lawrence is a poem about the universality of love, passion, and death. Lawrence depicts these elements through the various lives observable on a farm.
What large, dark hands are those at the window
Lifted, grasping the golden light
Which weaves its way through the creeper leaves
To my heart’s delight?
Nature is what we see
by Emily Dickinson
‘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
‘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,
One’s-Self I Sing
by Walt Whitman
‘One’s-Self I Sing’ by Walt Whitman is a short poem that explores a few of the themes Whitman is going to use in Inscriptions. The poem celebrates the beauty and wonder of the common and separate identities of humanity.
Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,
Cheerful, for freest action form’d under the laws divine,
The Modern Man I sing.
Renouncement
by Alice Meynell
‘Renouncement’ by Alice Meynell is a passionate poem in which the speaker fights to fend off thoughts of the person she loves. She refuses to allow herself to think about this person during the day.
Reunion
by Charles Wright
‘Reunion’ by Charles Wright is an emotionally charged poem that expresses the author’s personal relationship to his writing. The author views his poetry as a way to make peace with the past.
Sea Grapes
by Derek Walcott
‘Sea Grapes’ by Derek Walcott is a deep and interesting poem. In it, Walcott uses numerous allusions to convey a message about choosing between lust and responsibility.
She Walks in Beauty
by Lord Byron
Scholars believe that ‘She Walks in Beauty’ was written when Byron met his cousin Mrs. Anne Beatrix Wilmont.
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part
by Michael Drayton
Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part by Michael Drayton describe the state of and then the truth of a speaker’s relationship.
Sonnet 130
by William Shakespeare
When contemporary poets chose to glorify their loved ones by using hyperbolic expressions, Shakespeare preferred an unflattering and realistic tone in his ‘Sonnet 130’. The speaker of this sonnet ignores all the elevating epithets and stays in solace with his beloved as she is.
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
Sonnet 43: How do I love thee?
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
In ‘Sonnet 43’, or ‘How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways’ the speaker is proclaiming her unending passion for her beloved.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
Sonnet 8
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Sonnet 8’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also known as ‘What can I give thee back, O liberal,’ is a Petrarchan sonnet. It explores the poet’s relationship with her new lover, Robert Browning.
What can I give thee back, O liberal
And princely giver, who hast brought the gold
And purple of thine heart, unstained, untold,
And laid them on the outside of the-wall
That girl who laughed and had black eyes
by Stephen Spender
‘That girl who laughed and had black eyes’ by Stephen Spender is all about a girl the speaker admires and loves. She still lives in the speaker’s thoughts even after her death.
That girl who laughed and had black eyes
Spoke here ten days ago. She smiles
Still in my thought; the lip still promises
The body lives, and the quick eye beguiles.
