Travel Poems

America For Me

by Henry van Dyke

‘America For Me’ by Henry Van Dyke is a passionate, patriotic poem about America. It celebrates how different the United States is from Europe. 

Travel is one of the main topics at work in this poem. The poet's speaker, who is likely the poet himself, spent time in Europe, seeing a variety of cities and countries. Despite their beauty, he's ready to return to the United States.

Columbus

by Joaquin Miller

‘Columbus’ by Joaquin Miller is a perfectly rhymed poem that narrates a few moments in Columbus’ voyage to the new world. It focuses on the hardship the crew had to endure. 

Travel is at the heart of this poem. It focuses on the brutal conditions that Columbus' crew had to endure as they searched for India. For days and days Columbus inspired the crew to continue onward despite the fact that they were suffering constantly.

Toilet

by Hugo Williams

‘Toilet’ by Hugo Williams is a humorous poem that describes a man’s struggles to speak to a beautiful woman on a train.

This poem takes place on a train as the man and woman are traveling separately to an unknown destination. The fact that the two are not going to see each other again after this train ride certainly weighs on the speaker's mind.

Twenty-One Love Poems XIII

by Adrienne Rich

‘Twenty-One Love Poems XIII’ by Adrienne Rich is a poem about same-sex relationships and how couples in them experience a new, uncharted love. 

Throughout this poem, the poet uses travel-related images to depict her speaker's journey away from mapped roads and into uncharted gorges where she can forge a unique love.

Armistice

by Sophie Jewett

‘Armistice’ by Sophie Jewett describes a brief moment of magic, contemplation, and peace that two travellers experience as they journey across the ocean.

Bobby Shafto’s Gone to Sea

by Anonymous

‘Bobby Shafto’s Gone to Sea’ is a traditional English folk song and nursery rhyme. It describes a speaker’s longing for her love, Bobby Shafto, who is out on a sea voyage.

Directive

by Robert Frost

‘Directive’ by Robert Frost is about the relationship between the past and the present. It is a very well regarded poem that has been described as “dismaying” and “gratifying.”

First Flight

by U.A. Fanthorpe

‘First Flight’ by U.A. Fanthorpe follows a narrator’s first flight as they rise above the ground and commentate on their journey.

Hitcher

by Simon Armitage

‘Hitcher’ by Simon Armitage describes a brutal act of violence against a “free” hitchhiker committed by a speaker who is “under / the weather.” 

I Remember, I Remember

by Philip Larkin

‘I Remember, I Remember’ by Philip Larkin contains a speaker’s thoughts about his home. He expresses what he thinks is an idealized childhood and how it doesn’t match up to it.

In Your Mind

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘In Your Mind’ by Carol Ann Duffy describes a detailed daydream in which the reader of the poem embarks on a strangely familiar trip.

Monuments

by Kamala Wijeratne

‘Monuments’ by Kamala Wijeratne describes the depressed state of a Sri Lankan community in the midst of the Civil War which lasted from 1983 to 2009.  

Night Journey

by Theodore Roethke

‘Night Journey’ by Theodore Roethke is a thoughtful, fairly simple poem about the American countryside. He spends the lines admiring the landscapes one can see by train at night. 

Northern Pike

by James Wright

‘Northern Pike’ by James Wright is a beautiful poem written from the perspective of a man on a fishing trip.

Nutting

by William Wordsworth

‘Nutting’ by William Wordsworth describes a speaker’s boyhood journey into the woods and the resulting pleasure and rage he experiences. 

Ozymandias

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘Ozymandias’ is about the nature of power. It is an important piece that features how a great ruler like Ozymandias, and his legacy, was prone to impermanence and decay.

Pride

by Jackie Kay

‘Pride’ by Jackie Kay is a moving poem about identity and pride. The poet utilized her personal experience when writing this piece. 

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