The lines “no one leaves home unless/ home is the mouth of a shark” that made us rethink the global refugee crisis, appear in Somali-British poet Warsan Shire’s poem ‘Home.’ This poem vividly depicts the lived experiences of the refugees both inside and outside of their countries.
‘Homecoming’ by Lenrie Peters is a poem about someone returning home after a long time away. This person is moved by the immense changes that their home has undergone during this period.
‘There’s No Power Like Home’ by Amanda Gorman is a beautiful testament to the difficulties associated with COVID-19 restrictions.
‘The Tropics in New York’ by Claude McKay is a thoughtful poem about homesickness. It takes place in New York and includes a speaker’s longing for the elements of his home.
‘I Years had been from Home’ by Emily Dickinson is a thoughtful poem that speaks to one’s perceptions and fears of change.
‘The Bustle in a House’ by Emily Dickinson is a short poem about the effects of death. It describes the “bustle” in a home the morning after an important loss.
‘Sonnet’ by George Henry Boker is a war-time sonnet. It was written in order to emphasize how brave soldiers are and what they sacrifice.
The poem used in the Nationwide advert, ‘The Birth of the Building Society’ by Stephen Morrison-Burke, was written to tell the origin story of building societies. It also seeks to differentiate them from banks in customer’s eyes.
‘The Ballad of the Landlord’ is a poem that explores the relationship between a Black tenant and his white landlord. The latter refuses to fulfill his duties and the former ends up in jail.
‘Suburban Sonnet’ by Gwen Harwood is a powerful poem about a woman’s struggles with motherhood. It explores the mundane elements of her life and her lost dreams.
‘Wife’ by Ada Limón investigates how women are portrayed within their marriages and challenges the patriarchal mindset that women have to be submissive to their husbands.
‘Gymnopédies No. 1’ by Adrian Matejka is a comforting poem that depicts a snowy landscape and explores the peace one can find in it alongside loved ones.
‘Identity’ by Abhimanyu Kumar is a relatable poem that explores themes of memory, identity, and personal history while inspiring readers to take control of their lives.
‘Small-Scale Reflections on a Great House’ by A. K. Ramanujan is an incredible poem that uses a house and all the objects and memories, happy and sad, it contains to speak about a family’s personal history.
‘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.
‘At Home’ describes the plight of a ghost who is kept separate from happiness, friends, and her no longer possible future.
‘Love in a Life’ is Browning’s unending quest to find his lover in the numerous rooms of their house. By the end, he still has not found her, which alludes to the possibility that the search will continue.
‘The Autumn day its course has run’ by Charlotte Brontë describes the comforting presence of darkness as it travels through a speaker’s home.
‘Constancy’ by Joseph Brodsky describes what it means to change over time, specially when moving from one’s own home to another wholly unknown environment.
‘The Listeners’ by Walter de la Mare describes the actions of a Traveller who knocks at the door of a seemingly deserted home at night.
‘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.
‘Folk poet, Ysinno’ by Lakdasa Wikramasingha describes the plight of the folk poet “Ysinno” and his efforts to roof his newly built bamboo hut.
‘Rose-Cheeked Laura’ by Thomas Campion describes a speaker’s idealized image of what love should be and how one woman personifies that love.
‘Passers-by’ by Carl Sandburg describes the emotions interpreted and the sights seen by speaker after a walk through the streets of a city.
‘Originally’ by Carol Ann Duffy describes a child’s transformation after unwillingly emigrating to a very new, different country.
‘Mid-Term Break’ by Seamus Heaney describes the emotional turmoil experienced by a speaker who has lost a loved one in a traumatic way.
‘Song’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is made up of a speaker’s plea that his “heart” remain indoors and avoid the brutal real world.
“Translation” describes a spiritual journey undertaken by the speaker and her companion. She wonders at the transcence they encounter.
‘Doing it Wrong’ by Carol Parsons describes the relationship between a brother and sister and the building frustrations between the two.