Poem Examples

My Papa’s Waltz BY THEODORE ROETHKE The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother’s countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you...

Subtitled as ‘Brother Square-Toes’—Rewards and Fairies, the poem “If” is a masterpiece written by Rudyard Kipling. The great British poet who was born in Mumbai, India is best known for his novels The Jungle Book, The Second Jungle Book, and Kim. “If” is his most famous poem, and loved by people the world over. If BY RUDYARD KIPLING If you...

A literary voice well-known globally for her poetic command and her commitment to civil rights, Maya Angelou first published her poem “Still I Rise” in her similarly titled 1978 book of poetry. In the poem, she tells she is ready to overcome anything with her self-esteem. She shows how nothing can bring her down. Still I Rise BY MAYA ANGELOU...

E. E. Cummings's "I Carry Your Heart with Me," often described as one of the most talked about love poems of the modern times, was first published in 1952. In this poem, Cummings focuses on the power and unity of love, and how love connects not just two individuals but also the world at large. I Carry Your Heart with...

W.H Auden's "Funeral Blues," written in 1936, illustrates a funeral scenario where the speaker expresses his sadness over the loss of a loved one, and the respect and silence that was present, followed by past memories. The speaker ends the poem with how nothing matters to him anymore, as nothing can take him back to the past. Funeral Blues BY...

In her poem "Success is Counted Sweetest," published in 1864, Emily Dickinson uses great images of a winning army and a dying soldier to illustrate that only those who have experienced defeat can understand and acknowledge the real value of success, and people require privation to fully appreciate something. Success is Counted Sweetest BY EMILY DICKINSON Success is counted sweetest...

"All The World’s a Stage" is an excerpt taken from Shakespeare’s poem ‘As You Like It’ where the speaker Jaques sees the world as a temporary stage where all of mankind plays particular roles in seven different stages of life. All the World's a Stage BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely...

“There is Another Sky” is a sonnet that depicts the beauty of nature itself in her described "Garden of Eden" as many call it. However, the poem was written in conjunction with a letter the writer sent to her brother pleading him to come back home. She would give anything for him to come back. There is another sky BY...

The poem “A Dream Within a Dream” was published back in 1849, written by one of the greatest American poets Edgar Allan Poe. In this poem the poet shows a rare contradiction between the two stanzas where his narratives change drastically in illustrating the inner and outer reality of the narrator’s mind. A Dream Within A Dream BY EDGAR ALLAN...

“Digging” is one of Heaney’s first top writings and is one of his best achievements. Appearing in one of his first collections Death of a Naturalist in 1966, the poem divulges into a depiction of a picturesque contrast between the poet and his forefathers and enacts the act of delving itself. Digging BY SEAMUS HEANEY Between my finger and my...