The Three Ravens (English Folk Ballad)
‘The Three Ravens’ is an English ballad. It contains a conversation between three hungry ravens who are seeking out a meal.
Love Cycle by Chinua Achebe
‘Love Cycle’ by Chinua Achebe describes sunrise, sunset, and their effects on Earth using the metaphor of a barely happy couple.
Snow Vision by Rita Reed
‘Snow Vision’ is a beautiful short poem that uses natural images, such as that of a tree, the snow, the wind, and the sun, to craft a fleeting scene.
Try to Praise the Mutilated World by Adam Zagajewski
‘Try to Praise the Mutilated World’ by Adam Zagajewski focuses on the most important ways that people can find happiness in their everyday lives. They can step out into nature or return to memories.
Answers by Elizabeth Jennings
‘Answers’ by Elizabeth Jennings describes how one speaker compartmentalizes the big questions and answers in life in the back of her mind.
The World by Henry Vaughan
‘The World’ by Henry Vaughan speaks on the ways men and women risk their place in eternity by valuing earthly pleasures over God.
Going by Philip Larkin
‘Going’ by Philip Larkin is a memorable poem about death. In it, he depicts death as a dark form that consumes everything.
Orinda to Lucasia by Katherine Philips
‘Orinda to Lucasia’ by Katherine Philips describes the importance and intensity of the relationship she holds with her close friend, Anne Owens.
The cold earth slept below by Percy Bysshe Shelley
‘The cold earth slept below’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley describes the state of the world on a freezing winter night and the discovery of a lover’s cold body.
Love and a Question by Robert Frost
‘Love and a Question’ by Robert Frost is a curious poem in which a couple encounters a stranger. It brings up questions of what’s right and wrong, what’s too selfish, and what’s simply common sense.
Sunday Morning by Wallace Stevens
‘Sunday Morning’ by Wallace Stevens discusses the existence of an afterlife and the role God and nature play in the creation of paradise.
Tell all the truth but tell it slant by Emily Dickinson
‘Tell the truth but tell it slant’ by Emily Dickinson is one of Dickinson’s best-loved poems. It explores an unknown “truth” that readers must interpret in their own way.
Good Timber by Douglas Malloch
‘Good Timber’ by Douglas Malloch describes the way that trees of good timber and strong men are formed through hardship and struggle.
The Living Temple by Oliver Wendell Holmes
‘The Living Temple’ by Oliver Wendell Holmes describes the relationship between humankind and God’s marvellous natural creation.
Love by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
‘Love’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge details the emotional and physical relationship between a speaker and the woman he woos through storytelling.
Weariness by Eva Gore-Booth
‘Weariness’ by Eva Gore-Booth describes a world weary speaker who is tired of living amongst the constant chatter of her everyday life.
Sea of Death by Thomas Hood
‘Sea of Death’ by Thomas Hood describes the nature of the sea of death as seen through the eyes of an observer, anchored in a boat.
Sudden Light by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
‘Sudden Light’ by Dante Gabriel Rossetti describes a speaker’s moments of recollection when faced with an emotional scene involving someone he loves.
They are all Gone into the World of Light by Henry Vaughan
‘They are all Gone into the World of Light’ by Henry Vaughan describes a speaker’s longing to understand what death is and where his loved ones have gone.
I Am Not Yours by Sara Teasdale
‘I Am Not Yours’ by Sara Teasdale describes the emotions of a speaker who is seeking out a love which does not strive to confine her.
Sabbath Morning at Sea by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Sabbath Morning at Sea’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning describes the experiences of a speaker trapped on board a ship at sea.
Now Winter Nights Enlarge by Thomas Campion
‘Now Winter Nights Enlarge’ by Thomas Campion describes the “enlarg[ing]” of night and the shrinking of a day’s light hours.
Squall by Leonora Speyer
‘Squall’ by Leonora Speyer describes the progress of a powerful storm, or squall, that drenches a wooded landscape and the peace which follows.
My Picture Left in Scotland by Ben Jonson
‘My Picture Left in Scotland’ by Ben Jonson is a humorous tale of rejection told from the perspective of a rejected would-be-lover.
Amends by Adrienne Rich
‘Amends’ by Adrienne Rich is a beautiful poem in which the poet depicts the moon. She describes its presence in the sky and the peace it brings to humanity.
Drifting Flowers of the Sea by Sadakichi Hartmann
‘Drifting Flowers of the Sea’ by Sadakichi Hartmann describes the presence of white flowers and their relation to perseverance and unspoken dreams.