‘Adlestrop’ captures a fleeting moment of tranquility during an unexpected train stop. Through vivid imagery, Thomas paints a serene countryside scene, emphasizing the harmonious sounds of nature.
Yes, I remember Adlestrop —
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.
‘Anorexic’ by Eavan Boland conveys the mindset of a woman determined to destroy her physical body through starvation and filled with hatred for her sinful past, as according to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve.
‘Armistice’ by Sophie Jewett describes a brief moment of magic, contemplation, and peace that two travellers experience as they journey across the ocean.
‘Blizzard’ by the American poet William Carlos Williams is filled with vivid imagery of a blinding snowstorm and its aftermath. This poem taps on the themes of time, human history, and personal experiences.
‘Discovery’ by Florence Ripley Mastin describes a walk through the woods during which a speaker experiences an important change.
Derek Walcott’s poem ‘Ebb’ is about a car journey by the shore and comments on aging, industrialization, and the past.
‘Elegy V’ by John Donne is addressed to the poet’s lover. He asks her to accept him when he returns, despite the fact that he’s going to look and act differently.
Here take my picture; though I bid farewell
Thine, in my heart, where my soul dwells, shall dwell.
'Tis like me now, but I dead, 'twill be more
When we are shadows both, than 'twas before.
‘Epilogue’ is a perfect bid-adieu poem to leave behind amidst a great body of poetic works if one is as great a poet as Victorian-era maestro Robert Browning.
At the midnight in the silence of the sleep-time,
When you set your fancies free,
Will they pass to where—by death, fools think, imprisoned—
Low he lies who once so loved you, whom you loved so,
‘From Blank to Blank’ by Emily Dickinson is a dark poem that ends in a more uplifting manner. She spends the lines discussing how complex life is and how hard it can be to navigate.
From Blank to Blank—
A Threadless Way
I pushed Mechanic feet—
‘High Windows’ by Philip Larkin discusses the way that relationships, sex, and societal standards change from one generation to the next.
When I see a couple of kids
And guess he's fucking her and she's
Taking pills or wearing a diaphragm,
I know this is paradise
‘Holy Sonnet II’ by John Donne is the second in a series of religious sonnets that Donne is well-known for. This poem is directed to God and explores a speaker’s concerns about their fate.
As due by many titles I resign
Myself to thee, O God. First I was made
By Thee; and for Thee, and when I was decay’d
Thy blood bought that, the which before was Thine.
‘Holy Sonnet IX’ by John Donne, also known by its first line ‘If poisonous minerals, and if that tree’ is one of several “Holy Sonnets” the poet composed during his lifetime. This particular poem focuses on a dispute between the speaker and God.
If poisonous minerals, and if that tree,
Whose fruit threw death on (else immortal) us,
If lecherous goats, if serpents envious
Cannot be damn'd, alas ! why should I be ?
‘Homecoming: Anse La Raye’ by Derek Walcott is a complex and interesting poem about when a homecoming doesn’t feel like coming home. It is rich with allusions and connections to Walcott’s real-life experience.
‘How Happy I Was If I Could Forget’ by Emily Dickinson contains a narrator’s confused thoughts and experiences. She uses complex grammar and imagery to convey it further.
How happy I was if I could forget
To remember how sad I am
Would be an easy adversity
But the recollecting of Bloom
‘How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix’ by Robert Browning depicts three riders’ attempting to gallop from Ghent to Aix. The speaker makes it there, delivering a critical, although unknown, piece of news.
I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he;
I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three;
‘Good speed!'’ cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew;
‘Speed!’ echoed the wall to us galloping through;
‘How to Like It’ by Stephen Dobyns was written in order to explore a man’s struggle to accept change as he ages. The poem uses humor and very relatable emotions in order to appeal to readers.
‘I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind’ by Emily Dickinson is a thoughtful poem about friendship. The speaker contemplates what gift she could possibly get a friend she dearly loves.
I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—
But You have enough—of those—
I could bring You Odors from St. Domingo—
Colors—from Vera Cruz—
‘I did not reach Thee’ by Emily Dickinson is a complex poem about a speaker’s journey through life. She expresses both optimism and hesitation in the face of her death and attempts to reach God.
I did not reach Thee
But my feet slip nearer every day
Three Rivers and a Hill to cross
‘I like to see it lap the Miles’ by Emily Dickinson is a thoughtful poem. It explores themes of industrialization, power, and human ingenuity.
I like to see it lap the Miles -
And lick the Valleys up -
And stop to feed itself at Tanks -
And then - prodigious step
‘I now had only to retrace’ by Charlotte Brontë describes a speaker’s harrowing journey through a rapidly darkening landscape.
‘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.
Coming up England by a different line
For once, early in the cold new year,
We stopped, and, watching men with number plates
Sprint down the platform to familiar gates,
‘I saw no Way – The Heavens were stitched’ by Emily Dickinson depicts heaven and the afterlife. The poet thoughtfully explores how she feels about the breadth of the universe.
I saw no Way—The Heavens were stitched—
I felt the Columns close—
The Earth reversed her Hemispheres— I
touched the Universe—
‘I tasted a liquor never brewed’ by Emily Dickinson celebrates life. The poet uses natural imagery, such as that of berries, and pearls, to depict it.
I taste a liquor never brewed –
From Tankards scooped in Pearl –
Not all the Frankfort Berries
Yield such an Alcohol!
‘I Years had been from Home’ by Emily Dickinson is a thoughtful poem that speaks to one’s perceptions and fears of change.
I Years had been from Home
And now before the Door
I dared not enter, lest a Face
I never saw before
‘I’m “wife” – I’ve finished that’ by Emily Dickinson explores independence and womanhood. The poet depicts an unmarried woman and contrasts her with a wife.
I’m “wife”—I’ve finished that—
That other state—
I’m Czar—I’m “Woman” now—
It’s safer so—
Robert Frost’s ‘Into My Own’ explores the concepts of maturity and growing up. The poet delves into the exploration of childhood and self.
One of my wishes is that those dark trees,
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as 'twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.
‘Is it Still the Same’ is a brilliant, affirming poem that explores memory and its relationship to a particular place and time.
And when I returned, I pulled off my stiff and salty sailor’s clothes,
slipped on the dress of the girl I was,
and slid overboard.
A mile from Ithaca, I anchored the boat.
Journey’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay describes a speaker’s desire to live a life experienced on an open path, and filled with natural wonder.
‘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.
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