Famous Poems - Page 2

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21. Aerialist

Sylvia Plath lived in both the United States and England during her life. Most of the poems written by Plath were crafted in the last months of her life. This poem was written on her 30th birthday, just a few months before her death in 1963.

Famous Poem
- By Sylvia Plath
Each night, this adroit young lady
Lies among sheets
Shredded fine as snowflakes
Until dream takes her body

Each night, this adroit young lady
Lies among sheets
Shredded fine as snowflakes
Until dream takes her body
From bed to strict tryouts
In tightrope acrobatics.
Nightly she balances
Cat-clever on perilous wire
In a gigantic hall,
Footing her delicate dances
To whipcrack and roar
Which speak her maestro's will.
Gilded, coming correct
Across that sultry air,
She steps, halts, hung
In dead center of her act
As great weights drop all about her
And commence to swing.
Lessoned thus, the girl
Parries the lunge and menace
Of every pendulum;
By deft duck and twirl
She draws applause; bright harness
Bites keen into each brave limb
Then, this tough stint done, she curtsies
And serenely plummets down
To traverse glass floor
And get safe home; but, turning with trained eyes,
Tiger-tamer and grinning clown
Squat, bowling black balls at her.
Tall trucks roll in
With a thunder like lions; all aims
And lumbering moves
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22. Beat! Beat! Drums!

Walt Whitman was known as the founding father of American poetry. This poem was first published in 1861, the year the Civil War began. Although this poem depicts life during wartime in the 1860s, it shows a broad picture of how war changes the everyday lives of communities. No matter the time period, war impacts people in many ways.

Famous Poem
- By Walt Whitman
Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Through the windows—through doors—burst like a ruthless force,
Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,
Into the school where the scholar is studying,

Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Through the windows—through doors—burst like a ruthless force,
Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,
Into the school where the scholar is studying,
Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with his bride,
Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his grain,
So fierce you whirr and pound you drums—so shrill you bugles blow.

Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Over the traffic of cities—over the rumble of wheels in the streets;
Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? no sleepers must sleep in those beds,
No bargainers’ bargains by day—no brokers or speculators—would they continue?
Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing?
Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge?
Then rattle quicker, heavier drums—you bugles wilder blow.

Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
Make no parley—stop for no expostulation,
Mind not the timid—mind not the weeper or prayer,
Mind not the old man beseeching the young man,
Let not the child’s voice be heard, nor the mother’s entreaties,
Make even the trestles to shake the dead where they lie awaiting the hearses,
So strong you thump O terrible drums—so loud you bugles blow.
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23. A Blade Of Grass

This poem employs personification to imbue a blade of grass with human-like qualities. The grass becomes a symbol of empathy and compassion. The poet contrasts the seemingly emotionless stream with the grass's ability to feel and respond to the water's implied sorrow. The poem explores the idea of empathetic projection, as the grass takes on the emotional burden of the stream.

Famous Poem
- By Ruby Archer
A blade of grass is bending
Above the moaning stream,
In sympathy is blending
Where troubles only seem.

A blade of grass is bending
Above the moaning stream,
In sympathy is blending
Where troubles only seem.

The waters have no sorrow,
Real anguish ne'er can know;
And yet the grass will borrow
And bear the waters' woe.

It quivers with compassion
And quakes with foreign fears,
Then yields to loving passion,
And weeps the torrent's tears.
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24. Theme For English B

This poem, published in 1949, is told from the perspective of a young black student who, through a class assignment, takes a look at how he relates and doesn’t relate to his white professor. He is searching for how his experiences can compare to those of his white classmates. However, it goes beyond the issue of race. Any human who has struggled with identity can connect with this poem written by an influential leader of the Harlem Renaissance.

Famous Poem
- By Langston Hughes
The instructor said,

Go home and write
a page tonight.

The instructor said,

Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you—
Then, it will be true.

I wonder if it’s that simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem,
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:

It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you.
hear you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk on this page.
(I hear New York, too.) Me—who?

Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records—Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like
the same things other folks like who are other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white—
yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
That’s American.
Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that’s true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me—
although you’re older—and white—
and somewhat more free.

This is my page for English B.
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This poem!! I felt a tug in my heart because it was truly a story of truth from your heart! Very well expressed, and I can't say but one thing more. If we keep our ears open we learn from...

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25. The Poet

Raymond Garfield Dandridge (1883–1930) was an American poet from Cincinnati, Ohio. Despite being affected by partial paralysis in 1911, which left him bedridden for the remainder of his life, he taught himself to write with his left hand. Influenced by Paul Laurence Dunbar, he often wrote in African-American dialect. In "The Poet," we glimpse the struggles of a poet who must juggle his creative dreams with manual labor to survive. Despite meager pay and criticism from editors, he perseveres, aware that his true worth may only be recognized after his time. This poem sheds light on the challenges faced by poets and the harsh realities they confront while pursuing writing poetry.

Famous Poem
- By Raymond Garfield Dandridge
The poet sits and dreams and dreams;
He scans his verse; he probes his themes.

Then turns to stretch or stir about,

The poet sits and dreams and dreams;
He scans his verse; he probes his themes.

Then turns to stretch or stir about,
Lest, like his thoughts, his strength give out.

Then off to bed, for he must rise
And cord some wood, or tamp some ties,

Or break a field of fertile soil,
Or do some other manual toil.

He dare not live by wage of pen,
Most poorly paid of poor paid men,

With shoes o'er-run, and thread bare clothes,
And editors among the foes

Who mock his song, deny him bread,
Then sing his praise when he is dead.
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26. What Are Heavy?

Christina Rossetti reflects on things that are heavy, brief, frail, and deep. She shares both concrete items and metaphorical ones, whether it’s a state of mind or moment in time. It’s a poem that makes the reader reflect on the meaning of life.

Famous Poem
- By Christina Rossetti
What are heavy? Sea-sand and sorrow;
What are brief? Today and tomorrow;
What are frail? Spring blossoms and youth;
What are deep? The ocean and truth.

What are heavy? Sea-sand and sorrow;
What are brief? Today and tomorrow;
What are frail? Spring blossoms and youth;
What are deep? The ocean and truth.
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It’s pure perfection, this poem. It couldn't have been said any better and yet be any more poetic and precise. Beautiful.

This poem shall stand the test of time,
For it's got so much...

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27. Life

In life, we often look too far into the future or linger too long on the past that we miss what’s right in front of us. No matter where our path leads, let’s find joy in the moment. Let’s enjoy all the things that come our way. Famous poet Henry van Dyke (1852-1933) was a preacher for nearly 20 years, and he was known as one of the best preachers in New York City.

Famous Poem
- By Henry Van Dyke
Let me but live my life from year to year,
With forward face and unreluctant soul;
Not hurrying to, nor turning from the goal;
Not mourning for the things that disappear

Let me but live my life from year to year,
With forward face and unreluctant soul;
Not hurrying to, nor turning from the goal;
Not mourning for the things that disappear
In the dim past, nor holding back in fear
From what the future veils; but with a whole
And happy heart, that pays its toll
To Youth and Age, and travels on with cheer.

So let the way wind up the hill or down,
O'er rough or smooth, the journey will be joy:
Still seeking what I sought when but a boy,
New friendship, high adventure, and a crown,
My heart will keep the courage of the quest,
And hope the road's last turn will be the best.
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28. America The Beautiful

Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write this poem while on a trip to Colorado Springs in 1893. When she reached the top of Pikes Peak, she had this to say. “All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse." The first version of “America the Beautiful” was published in a weekly journal, The Congregationalist, on July 4, 1895. Revisions were made in 1904 and then again in 1913 to become the version we know today. It became a patriotic song sung to Samuel A. Ward’s tune “Materna."

Famous Poem
- By Katharine Lee Bates
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
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21 - 28 of 28

Famous Poems - Page 2

21. Aerialist

Sylvia Plath lived in both the United States and England during her life. Most of the poems written by Plath were crafted in the last months of her life. This poem was written on her 30th birthday, just a few months before her death in 1963.

22. Beat! Beat! Drums!

23. A Blade Of Grass

24. Theme For English B

25. The Poet

26. What Are Heavy?

Christina Rossetti reflects on things that are heavy, brief, frail, and deep. She shares both concrete items and metaphorical ones, whether it’s a state of mind or moment in time. It’s a poem that makes the reader reflect on the meaning of life.

27. Life

28. America The Beautiful