Immigrant Blues by Li-Young Lee
How does it feel when the body and the soul are not in conjunction? Read Li-Young Lee’s meditative piece ‘Immigrant Blues’ to understand what it really feels like.
The Mechanic by Diane Wakoski
‘The Mechanic’ by Diane Wakoski discusses men’s intuitive powers and the complexity of women’s hearts. The poet uses an extended metaphor comparing men to mechanics and women to the complex engines of cars.
Love Songs In Age by Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin explores the immense power in ‘Love Songs In Age,’ and how reality can never fulfill the potential they promise us.
The Pornographer by Robert Hass
‘The Pornographer’ appears in Robert Hass’s Yale Series of Younger Poets Award-winning collection Field Guide (1973). This poem is all about an artist who finds it difficult to get rid of his thoughts.
The Kid by Ai
Ai’s poem ‘The Kid’ presents a haunting tale of a fourteen-year-old boy who kills his mother, sister, and grandfather, and then runs away. It appears in her award-winning poetry collection Vice: New and Selected Poems (1999).
The River by Sara Teasdale
‘The River’ by Sara Teasdale is a short and effective poem. It uses a river as a narrator and describes its journey towards the ocean.
Icarus by Edward Field
‘Icarus’ by Edward Field places the Icarus of Greek mythology in a modern context to explore themes of alienation and displacement.
Cargoes by John Masefield
‘Cargoes’ by John Masefield is a well-loved, short poem that explores cargo ships. The poet empathizes the way the ships have changed throughout history.
America by Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg’s ‘America’ deals with the turbulent times in America. It was written during and focused on the period after the Second World War.
Living in Sin by Adrienne Rich
‘Living in Sin’ by Adrienne Rich is a deeply evocative poem. In it, the poet depicts a woman’s exceptions and contrasts them with reality.
Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock by Wallace Stevens
‘Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock’ by Wallace Stevens describes a speaker’s disappointed with a population living predictably boring lives.
I Gave Myself To Him by Emily Dickinson
‘I Gave Myself To Him’ by Emily Dickinson is a clever love poem. It gives the readers a glimpse of the intensity of a relationship between the speaker and her subject.
Death in the Arctic by Robert Service
Robert Service’s ‘Death in the Arctic’ tells a bleak, dark story in such an evocative way that even after the poem finishes, the reader can’t help but wonder for more.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ is about the choices and opportunities in life. The poem highlights the sensation of regret that accompanies all the roads that a person doesn’t take.
