In ‘The Tables Turned,’ Wordsworth invites us to break free from the constraints of modern society and rediscover the natural world’s beauty and wisdom.
Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?
‘The Barefoot Boy’ by John Greenleaf Whittier is a highly relatable poem that speaks on universal themes of aging and the beauty and joy of youth. The poem celebrates a young boy’s freedom and mourns the coming of age.
In ‘A Rolling Stone’, Robert Service reflects on the simple idea of getting away from the convoluted machinations of the modern world. The poem was published in Rhymes of a Rolling Stone in 1912.
‘A Wise Old Owl’ is an English nursery rhyme. It depicts the qualities an owl has that make him wise and worthy of admiration.
The best stories, it is often said, contain within them elements of truth. A story that is entirely fictional is
‘Expostulation and Reply’ a ballad, written by William Wordsworth, tells the story of Matthew, dissuading the speaker (William) from idling away his precious time in “wise passiveness” or simply daydreaming.
‘For Nanabhai Bhatt’ is about the poet Sujata Bhatt’s grandfather, Nanabhai Bhatt, who was an educationist and activist active during the Indian independence movement.
In ‘Let Me Tell You,’ Miller Williams suggests prospective poets aspiring to express their thoughts through imaginative works. His suggestion is to devour each detail from the commonplace.
No Less by Alice B. Fogel discusses the strange impact decisions and memories can have on a person. While some
‘On Easter Day’ by Oscar Wilde asks readers to consider how Christian teachings align with the modern-day Pope. It’s about the importance of not putting man-made desires and institutions ahead of God.
In the sonnet, The Caged Skylark, Hopkins makes an elaborate comparison between the human spirit and a skylark. There are
‘The Railway Children’ by Seamus Heaney is a beautiful poem about the imagination of children. Specifically, Heaney conveys and experience from his youth.
‘The Rainbow never tells me’ by Emily Dickinson speaks on the knowledge inherent to nature. From a rainbow to the reoccurrence of spring, the speaker says the world is filled with wisdom.
‘The Stare’ by Sujata Bhatt describes an interaction between a human child and a monkey child at a zoo. It conveys the peaceful curiosity the two show towards one another.
‘To Look at Any Thing’ by John Moffitt highlights the importance of long observation in seeing beyond the superficial to a deeper reality.
‘To Madame Curie’ by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson is a fourteen-line sonnet written in the Petrarchan, or Italian, form. This particular
‘To My Sister’ by William Wordsworth is a ten-stanza poem that is separated into sets of four lines, or quatrains.
‘You Reading This, Be Ready’ was written a few days before William Stafford’s death. This poem taps on the theme of savoring the present moment.
‘Zoom!’ by Simon Armitage is a thoughtful poem about the vast nature of the universe. It also emphasizes the tiny role humans have to play in it.