‘Patterns’ by Amy Lowell is an unforgettable poem about a woman’s loss during World War I. It describes the “patterns” of a speaker’s life and how, with the knowledge that her fiancé has died in the War, she’s doing to be confined to a far more sorrowful one.
‘Splendour in the Grass’ by William Wordsworth is an excerpt from the poet’s much longer, ‘Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood.’ The excerpt describes aging and where, after their youth has ended, one should seek strength and happiness.
‘Flower On the Road’ by Chitra Padmanabhan is a sweet and simple children’s poem that emphasizes everyone’s ability to bring joy to the world, no matter their size.
‘A Dirge Without Music’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a beautiful dirge. The poet uses clear and lyrical language to describe how lovers and thinkers alike go into the darkness of death with a little remaining.
‘A Small Needful Fact’ by Ross Gay is a powerful poem that presents an image of hope and beauty after a loss. The poem addresses the legacy of Eric Garner and how one might still find his presence in the world.
Amy Lowell’s ‘Chinoiseries’ is an ekphrastic poem depicting the engravings on chinoiserie pottery. Lowell’s speaker gets lost in the art as if it is the eyes of her loved one.
A. E. Housman’s poem ‘When green buds hang in the elm’ is about a speaker’s attachment to nature and how it reminds him of his own mortality. It appears in the poetry collection Last Poems (1922).
‘There is a Garden in Her Face’ by Thomas Campion is a poem about a woman’s beauty. It also contains a warning to suitors that she won’t let anyone kiss her or come near her in any meaningful way.
‘Snow’ by Louis MacNeice looks like a straightforward poem about a winter scene, but the truth is much more complex.
‘Iris’, a heart-touching poem about death and love, appears in the American poet David St. John’s collection Study For The World’s Body. This poem is dedicated to the poet’s grandmother Vivian St. John.
‘The Garden’ by H.D. is a thoughtful poem about oppression. The speaker uses natural imagery in order to depict oppression during her lifetime.
‘Peonies’ by Mary Oliver uses imagery to depict peonies. She also explores the importance of relishing in humanity’s connection to the natural world.
‘My Garden — like the Beach’ by Emily Dickinson is a beautiful, short poem. It compares the speaker’s garden to the beach and the summer to the sea. Read the full poem, with a complete analysis.
‘In pale moonlight’ by Yosa Buson is a Japanese haiku that depicts a night scene filled with the scent of wisteria.
‘A Poppy Blooms’ by Katsushika Hokusai is a thoughtful poem about writing. The poet uses a metaphor to depict how his process works.
Read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 102, ‘My love is strengthen’d, though more weak in seeming,’ with a summary and complete analysis of the poem.
‘To an Early Daffodil’ by Amy Lowell contains a depiction of the beauty and strength of a single blooming daffodil.
In the beautiful poem, ‘There is another sky,’ Dickinson addresses themes that are common to Shakespearean sonnets. These include writing as a way of preserving experience and beauty.
‘From the Garden’ by Anne Sexton is a peaceful poem in which the speaker describes how beneficial it is to spend time in nature.
‘Of Mothers, among other things’ by A.K. Ramanujan uses nontraditional images to depict and define the speaker’s mother as someone strong, determined, and eagle-like.
‘The Question’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley tells of a dream in which a speaker encounters a vast forest of pristine, blooming flowers.
‘A Song: Ask me no more where Jove bestows’ by Thomas Carew describes how in winter beauty doesn’t die, rather, it moves from nature to the listener’s body.
‘Warning’ by Jenny Joseph describes what the future has in store as one ages and throws off societal restraints and expectations.
‘Every Day You Play’ by Pablo Neruda describes the overwhelming love a speaker has for the listener and the way his life is improved by their relationship.
‘Stages’ by Hermann Hesse describes how death is only a stage through which one progresses during life. The speaker wants death to be embraced.
‘First Love’ by John Clare describes the sudden, overwhelming love a speaker feels for a woman he is seeing for the first time.
‘somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond ‘ describes the control a fragile and gentle lover has over a speaker’s state of mind.