Ma Rainey by Sterling A. Brown
This heartfelt Sterling A. Brown poem is all about the famous 20th-century blues artist Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, also known as the “Mother of the Blues.”
Bleezer’s Ice Cream by Jack Prelutsky
Have you ever gone to an ice cream store selling twenty-eight different flavors of literally everything? You’ll be doing yourself a favor by visiting BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE.
Two Songs by Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Rich’s ‘Two Songs’ explores the themes of lust, physicality, and pleasure. These poems feature a speaker’s “post coitum” feelings.
One For Sorrow
‘One For Sorrow’ it’s an old English nursery rhyme that playfully interprets magpies (a type of bird) as signs of the future.
The Camel’s Hump by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Camel’s Hump’ is a fun poem on the repercussions of lethargy and inactivity. Humorously, we may grow a “Cameelious hump” if we feel like “we haven’t enough to do.”
Of Mere Being by Wallace Stevens
‘Of Mere Being’ by Wallace Stevens describes the world beyond one’s last thought and speaks to the elemental purity of existence.
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.
Song: How sweet I roam’d from field to field by William Blake
‘Song: How sweet I roam’d from field to field’ by William Blake describes the wanderings of a woman who is captured by Apollo.
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.
Old Song by Edward FitzGerald
‘Old Song’ by Edward FitzGerald describes a speaker depression over the long weeks of winter, and eventual joy over the coming spring.
Prologue of the Earthly Paradise by William Morris
‘Prologue of the Earthly Paradise’ speaks of a poet’s intention to create a paradise on earth in which one can escape their troubles.
Summer Past by John Gray
‘Summer Past’ by John Gray describes a past summer which contained elements much treasured by the speaker for their divine and natural beauty.
Songs of the Spavinaw by Ruth Muskrat Bronson
‘Songs of the Spavinaw’ by Ruth Muskrat Bronson describes the powers, abilities and fears of a river which is at the mercy of humankind.
The Word by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
‘The Word’ by Ella Wheeler Wilcox describes the ways in which words can be interpreted and the importance of speaking directly from the heart.
The Schoolboy by William Blake
‘The Schoolboy’ by William Blake is told from the perspective of a young boy who believes school is negatively impacting him.
Whatif by Shel Silverstein
‘Whatif’ by Shel Silverstein is a playful presentation of fears, struggles, and uncertainties that haunt Silverstein at “night“.
Laughing Song by William Blake
‘Laughing Song’ is about an imagined instance of what will happen “[w]hen” a time comes, but will only happen after a series of impossible obstacles.
Musician by Gillian Clarke
‘Musician’ by Gillian Clarke is a poem about her son learning to play the piano, where the imagery around the home aids to describe the creativity of music.
Baby Song by Thom Gunn
‘Baby Song’ by Thom Gunn depicts the experiences, emotions, and thoughts of a baby who has been born recently.
Song: Love, a child, is ever crying by Lady Mary Wroth
‘Love, a child, is ever crying’ is part of ‘Pamphilia to Amphilanthus’ and doesn’t have an innocent view about love and serves as a warning of its nature.
A Song by Helen Maria Williams
‘A Song’ is a poem by Helen Maria Williams it has six sections. Each section consists of one stanza that has four lines and an ABAB rhyme scheme.
The Woman and the Angel by Robert Service
‘The Woman and the Angel’ is an allegory by Robert Service that reflects on the evolving nature of ethics and morality in human society.
The Poet and His Songs by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Poet and His Songs’ written by H. W. Longfellow is both inspirational and introspective, as this poem examines what it is that motivates a poet to write.
Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
‘In Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement’ by S. T. Coleridge considers his home as a place of great beauty and a spiritual retreat away from society.
Song by T.S. Eliot
In this poem, Eliot exposes the transient nature of love and admits that love is not often found in life, however the poem is an optimistic one because it encourages us to think positively.
Easter, 1916 by William Butler Yeats
‘Easter, 1916’ is a reflection on the events surrounding the Easter Rising, an armed insurrection that began in Dublin on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916.