‘Tissue’ by Imtiaz Dharker is a beautifully thoughtful poem about the power paper has in human lives and how, by understanding it, one can also understand humanity.
Paper that lets the light
shine through, this
is what could alter things.
‘Early Death’ by Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal is a haunting meditation on mortality and spiritual transcendence. Written in the mid-19th century, the poem’s evocative imagery and simple yet powerful language have made it a lasting contribution to the canon of Victorian poetry.
Oh grieve not with thy bitter tears
The life that passes fast;
The gates of heaven will open wide
And take me in at last.
‘First autumn morning’ by Murakami Kijo explores the process of aging and how one learns more about their parents as one gets older.
First autumn morning:
the mirror I stare into
shows my father's face.
IN ‘Heaven-Haven: A Nun Takes the Veil’ the speaker yearns for a tranquil sanctuary, free from life’s storms, desiring a realm of eternal springs and serene beauty.
I have desired to go
Where springs not fail,
To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail
And a few lilies blow.
‘A Rhyme for Halloween’ by Maurice Kilwein Guevara captures the ethereal macabre essence of the holiday in a poem that is as captivating as it is haunting.
Tonight I light the candles of my eyes in the lee
And swing down this branch full of red leaves.
Yellow moon, skull and spine of the hare,
Arrow me to town on the neck of the air.
‘Columbus’ by Joaquin Miller is a perfectly rhymed poem that narrates a few moments in Columbus’ voyage to the new world. It focuses on the hardship the crew had to endure.
Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
‘Come In’ by Robert Frost is a poem that takes a look at how we as people project ourselves onto nature.
As I came to the edge of the woods,
Thrush music — hark!
Now if it was dusk outside,
Inside it was dark.
‘I tie my Hat—I crease my Shawl’ by Emily Dickinson is a deeply melancholic poem that elucidates the ways in which people try to go on living when they’ve lost all love of life.
I tie my Hat—I crease my Shawl—
Life's little duties do—precisely—
As the very least
Were infinite—to me—
‘In Celebration of My Uterus’ by Anne Sexton is an uplifting poem about the meaning of womanhood. The poem explores Sexton’s perspective on feminine identity.
Sweet weight,
in celebration of the woman I am
and of the soul of the woman I am
and of the central creature and its delight
‘Jada’ is a romantic poem written by Tupac to Jada, a woman he loves.
U R the omega of my heart
The foundation 4 my conception of Love
When I think of what a black woman should be
Its u that I First think of
Saddened by the results of the American civil war, Walt Whitman wrote the elegy, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ in memory of deceased American President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. The civil war occurred during his lifetime with Whitman a staunch supporter of unionists.
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night,’ with its spooky mood and setting, captures the tortured and fragmented human psyche amidst a destructed modern world.
Twelve o'clock.
Along the reaches of the street
Held in a lunar synthesis,
Whispering lunar incantations
‘Scent’ by Jennie S. Redling is a reflective poem that tells us about the speaker’s unrealized ambition that is causing her agony.
My finger
Stroke old artwork,
Programs I designed once to
Align myself with small theatre companies
‘Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand’ by Walt Whitman presents itself as a declaration of how best to engage with the poet’s ardently intimate verses.
Whoever you are holding me now in hand,
Without one thing all will be useless,
I give you fair warning before you attempt me further,
I am not what you supposed, but far different.
Adrienne Rich’s ‘Orion’ explores the emotional depths of relationships and the search for self-identity amidst societal pressures.
Far back when I went zig-zagging
through tamarack pastures
you were my genius, you
my cast-iron Viking, my helmed
Edgar Albert Guest’s ‘Thanksgiving’ radiates familial warmth, intertwining laughter, gratitude, and time-honored traditions in shared gatherings.
Gettin’ together to smile an’ rejoice,
An’ eatin’ an’ laughin’ with folks of your choice;
An’ kissin’ the girls an’ declarin’ that they
Are growin’ more beautiful day after day;
Longfellow’s contemplative journey reveals the weariness of the human experience and the limitations of language.
Once upon Iceland's solitary strand
A poet wandered with his book and pen,
Seeking some final word, some sweet Amen,
Wherewith to close the volume in his hand.
‘The crow has flown away’ by Natsume Sōseki is a beautifully contemplative haiku about a crow, tree, and the whole natural world
The crow has flown away;
swaying in the evening sun,
a leafless tree.
In ‘Dream Song 149,’ Berryman mourns Delmore’s death and reflects on their profound connection amidst disillusionment with the world.
This world is gradually becoming a place
where I do not care to be anymore. Can Delmore die?
I don’t suppose
in all them years a day ever went by
‘Still I Rise’ is an inspiring and emotional poem that’s based around Maya Angelou’s experiences as a Black woman in America. It encourages readers to love themselves fully and persevere in the face of every hardship.
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
‘Ulalume’ explores the depths of sorrow and the haunting impact of loss, as the speaker navigates a dark and mysterious landscape.
The skies they were ashen and sober;
The leaves they were crispéd and sere—
The leaves they were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonesome October
‘A Contribution to Statistics’ by Wislawa Szymborska provides a statistical yet poignant snapshot of human behavior, attitudes, and emotional states.
Out of a hundred people
those who always know better
-- fifty-two
‘I felt a Funeral, in my Brain’ by Emily Dickinson is a popular poem. In it, she depicts a very unusual idea of life after death.
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading - treading - till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through -
‘Invictus’ is W.E. Henley’s most famous and inspirational poem, that resonates with people worldwide. He wrote the poem in 1875 and dedicated it Scottish flour merchant named Robert Thomas Hamilton Bruce.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
‘Last Lesson of the Afternoon’ portrays a disillusioned teacher’s weariness with unengaged students and the futility of teaching.
When will the bell ring, and end this weariness?
How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart,
My pack of unruly hounds! I cannot start
Them again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt,
‘Over the wintry’ by Natsume Sōseki is a short, evocative poem that captures the desolate beauty of a winter landscape. It’s written in the form of a haiku.
Over the wintry
forest, winds howl in rage
with no leaves to blow.
In ‘The Mariner’s Progress,’ amidst shifting landscapes, souls lift and fall, echoing life’s transient beauty, ancestry’s embrace, and enduring legacy.
“With never a whisper on the main,” so the snow falls,
glaring through the festschrift of acacia leaves
at sunrise and seeping a dye of immortelle
on mild fleece, shrinking back eternity
‘Reservist’ describes the repetitive nature of war and the preparations that go into arming reserve soldiers and preparing them for battle.
Time again for the annual joust, the regular fanfare,
a call to arms, the imperative letters stern
as clarion notes, the king's command, upon
‘My Number’ by Billy Collins takes a jocular approach to wrangling with the existential anxieties brought on when thinking about death.
Is Death miles away from this house,
reaching for a widow in Cincinnati
or breathing down the neck of a lost hiker
in British Columbia?
“All You Have is A Country” by Ha Jin explores patriotism and how it can be negatively ingrained into someone’s personality.
You are so poor that all you have is a country.
Whenever you open your mouth
you talk about the country
to which you can no longer return.
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