Journey
by Gillian Clarke
‘Journey’ by Gillian Clarke is a poem of three stanzas that focuses on a road trip and all the things that are witnessed by the couple in the car.
Journey of the Magi
by T.S. Eliot
Journey of the Magi’ by T.S. Eliot describes the terrible conditions through which the Magi traversed to meet the Christ child.
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
Kamikaze
by Beatrice Garland
‘Kamikaze’ by Beatrice Garland is a narrative poem wherein the poet explores the journey of a kamikaze pilot toward battle,
Midnight on the Great Western
by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy’s ‘Midnight on the Great Western’ is a powerful piece of poetry that examines the story of a young boy, traveling forward to an unknown destination from an unknown place.
Night Journey
by Theodore Roethke
‘Night Journey’ by Theodore Roethke is a thoughtful, fairly simple poem about the American countryside. He spends the lines admiring the landscapes one can see by train at night.
Nostalgia
by Carol Ann Duffy
‘Nostalgia’ by Carol Ann Duffy explores the moment in which the term ‘Nostalgia’ was coined following the crusades of 17th-century Swiss mercenaries.
Those early mercenaries, it made them ill –
leaving the mountains, leaving the high, fine air
to go down, down. What they got
was money, dull, crude coins clenched
Nutting
by William Wordsworth
‘Nutting’ by William Wordsworth describes a speaker’s boyhood journey into the woods and the resulting pleasure and rage he experiences.
—It seems a day
(I speak of one from many singled out)
One of those heavenly days that cannot die;
When, in the eagerness of boyish hope,
On Another’s Sorrow
by William Blake
‘On Another’s Sorrow’ by William Blake describes the love God has for the world and how it has inspired the speaker to act similarly.
Can I see another's woe,
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another's grief,
And not seek for kind relief?
Passage to India
by Walt Whitman
‘Passage to India’ by Walt Whitman describes an imaginary journey that a speaker wants to take into fabled India.
Passers-by
by Carl Sandburg
‘Passers-by’ by Carl Sandburg describes the emotions interpreted and the sights seen by speaker after a walk through the streets of a city.
Poem in October
by Dylan Thomas
‘Poem in October’ tells of a speaker’s journey out of autumn and up a hill to reclaim childhood joy, the summer season and his spirituality.
Postcard from a Travel Snob
by Sophie Hannah
Everyone has been on a holiday at least once in their lives; whether that holiday was a jaunt to a
Pride
by Jackie Kay
‘Pride’ by Jackie Kay is a moving poem about identity and pride. The poet utilized her personal experience when writing this piece.
Redemption
by George Herbert
‘Redemption’ by George Herbert speaks on one man’s long journey to find God amongst the secular, and therefore the ability to start a new life.
Sailing to Byzantium
by William Butler Yeats
Yeats’ poems are continually referenced in popular culture, including the poem ‘Sailing to Byzantium’. Its first line, “That is no country for old men…” was used for the title of Cormac McCarthy’s popular novel, “No Country for Old Men,” later adapted for the big screen.
Song for Lonely Roads
by Sherwood Anderson
‘Song for Lonely Roads’ by Sherwood Anderson describes the value of a stretch of farmland and a divine deal struck in the name of hard work.
Song of the Owl
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
‘Song of the Owl,’ a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, describes the hooting of the great black owl. It taps on the themes of silence and darkness.
Ojibwa
The owl,—
Au
The owl
Au
Sonnet 20 (Beloved, my Beloved, when I think)
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Sonnet 20’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also known as ‘Beloved, my Beloved, when I think’ explores the ways that a new love changed a speaker’s life.
Sonnet 35
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Sonnet 35’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning expresses the speaker’s worries about the changes in her life. She embarks on a new life with her beloved and hopes he’s ready to accept her in the same way she’s accepting him.
Sonnet 7
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘Sonnet 7’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a love sonnet that is dedicated to the poet’s husband, Robert Browning. It expresses her happiness that he came into her life and changed her outlook as he did.
Stabat Mater
by Sam Hunt
‘Stabat Mater’ by Sam Hunt is commentary on the complexities of time that can take a person from weak and timid, to strong and capable, and back to weak and timid.
Tavern
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
‘Tavern’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a beautiful, short poem that speaks to one person’s desire to take care of others.
The Ballad of William Sycamore
by Stephen Vincent Benét
‘The Ballad of William Sycamore’ by Stephen Vincent Benet is a nostalgic articulation of a dead person about his eventful mortal days.
The Butterfly
by Alice Freeman Palmer
‘The Butterfly’ by Alice Freeman Palmer is one of the best poems concerning the beauty of a butterfly. This poem is a poetic longing for being like a butterfly, beautiful, and heavenly.
I hold you at last in my hand,
Exquisite child of the air.
Can I ever understand
How you grew to be so fair?
The Conway Stewart
by Seamus Heaney
‘The Conway Stewart’ by Seamus Heaney describes a pen the speaker received in his youth and how it symbolized his family and his new life.
The Cricket Sang
by Emily Dickinson
‘The Cricket Sang’ by Emily Dickinson is a memorable nature poem. It focuses on the daily routines of all living things.
The cricket sang,And set the sun,And workmen finished, one by one,Their seam the day upon.
The Express
by Stephen Spender
‘The Express’ is an enthralling and uncanny poem which explores the feelings of awe and concern after a new train leaves the station.
The Five Students
by Thomas Hardy
In ‘The Five Students’ The Speaker employs the metaphor of changing seasons to indicate the inexorable passage of time as five people journey through life.
The Furthest Distances I’ve Travelled
by Leontia Flynn
‘The Furthest Distances I’ve Travelled’ by Leontia Flynn describes the way the travel can impact the traveller and all those they meet.
