Famous Short Poems - Page 2

Harlem
- By Langston Hughes
Famous Poem

We all dream of what we want to experience in life, but what happens when those dreams are put on hold or ignored? That’s what Langston Hughes attempts to answer in this poem. None of the possibilities are positive, making the reader realize the importance of pursuing dreams. Langston Hughes was a key contributor during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. He wrote many poems about what life was like for African Americans.

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What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?
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A wonderful poem by Langston Hughes, some dreams drift off with the morning mist, others come through if one persists..... A dream differed is a dream put on hold until the time comes for...

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There Is Another Sky
- By Emily Dickinson
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This poem about finding a beautiful garden is one of Emily Dickinson's most well known poems. The precise meaning of the poem is a matter of opinion. One possibility is that she is pointing out that a person may be disappointed in his quest to experience beauty in the world. However, when we look inside ourselves and one another, we may find a flourishing beautiful garden of delights!

in Famous Nature Poems

There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;

There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!
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My mother, Joyce, loves her garden, which she made and made beautiful; and her other garden is the seeds of positivity, love, and joy that she has sown throughout her life. Joyce is 84 now...

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Morning Prayer
- By Ogden Nash
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Ogden Nash was an American poet who lived from 1902-1971 and was known for his light verse. This poem captures the honesty of a child who has a difficult time behaving during the day. It’s much easier when he’s sleeping. It’s a reminder to all of us to look for new opportunities presented each day.

in Famous Children Poems

Now another day is breaking,
Sleep was sweet and so is waking.
Dear Lord, I promised you last night
Never again to sulk or fight.

Now another day is breaking,
Sleep was sweet and so is waking.
Dear Lord, I promised you last night
Never again to sulk or fight.
Such vows are easier to keep
When a child is sound asleep.
Today, O Lord, for your dear sake,
I'll try to keep them when awake.
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He did an amazing job on this poem.

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The Eagle
- By Alfred Tennyson
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In this short poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), he captures the majesty of an eagle hunting from the top of a cliff. This descriptive poem is comprised of tercets (three-line stanzas).

in Famous Nature Poems

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
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This poem touched my heart as no other poem has. I love nature and most poems don't interest me. When I can, I am outside in nature and when I have to go inside, I fall just like the Eagle at...

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Fog
- By Carl Sandburg
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“Fog” was part of Carl Sandburg’s first poetry collection, Chicago Poems, published in 1916. Sandburg wrote simply and was known to use the “language of the people.” This poem was no different. He used simple imagery, personification and a metaphor to compare fog to the movement of a cat. Sandburg was inspired to write this poem when he saw the fog roll in to the Chicago harbor.

in Famous Nature Poems

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

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My dear neighbor, Nellie, who is in her 80s, asked me, as I am an artist, to paint a picture for her to give to her husband for Christmas. She said he loves the poem "Here Comes the Fog" by...

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Won't You?
- By Shel Silverstein
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A Funny Valentine's day Poem for Kids By Shel Silverstein. Have you ever wished for a girl but she's already taken, or even worse, she's not taken but she hates you? Well, a message from this poem is, take comfort you're not the only one.

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Barbara's eyes are blue as azure,
But she is in love with Freddy.
Karen's sweet, but Harry has her.
Gentle Jane is going steady.

Barbara's eyes are blue as azure,
But she is in love with Freddy.
Karen's sweet, but Harry has her.
Gentle Jane is going steady.
Carol hates me. So does May.
Abigail will not be mine.
Nancy lives too far away...
Won't you be my Valentine?
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What Are Heavy?
- By Christina Rossetti
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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.

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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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The Sick Rose
- By William Blake
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William Blake was an English poet who lived from 1757-1827. Blake spoke of having visions as a young child, and since he was different than others, his parents did not send him to school. He learned to read and write at home, and he began writing poetry at the age of twelve. The rose in this poem is a symbol of love and how love can become sick without realizing it. There are various "worms" that can come to destroy the love between two people.

in Famous Sad Love Poems

O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,

O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
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I'd Love To Be A Fairy's Child
- By Robert Graves
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Robert Graves was an English poet who lived from 1895-1985. He became known as a war poet, and he published three books of poetry while on active duty during World War I. This poem was published the same year the war ended, and it can be felt that Robert Graves was writing about his desire for children to face an easier life, one that’s not filled with so much pain, suffering, and unmet needs.

in Famous Children Poems

Children born of fairy stock
Never need for shirt or frock,
Never want for food or fire,
Always get their heart's desire:

Children born of fairy stock
Never need for shirt or frock,
Never want for food or fire,
Always get their heart's desire:
Jingle pockets full of gold,
Marry when they're seven years old.
Every fairy child may keep
Two strong ponies and ten sheep;
All have houses, each his own,
Built of brick or granite stone;
They live on cherries, they run wild--
I'd love to be a Fairy's child.
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Very nice poem. It deals with the aspirations of children. Childhood is the stage of innocence, and the present poem describes the same. It's lyrical, rhythmic and rhymed.

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Maggie And Milly And Molly And May
- By E.E. Cummings
Famous Poem

Just like other poems by E.E. Cummings (1894-1962), standard punctuation and capitalization rules are not followed in this poem. While at the surface, this can be a lighthearted poem about four children playing on the beach, there is a much deeper meaning about who we are as people. Just like the girls in this poem, when we step out into nature, we are bound to find new things and learn new things about ourselves. This poem is lyrical, and the alliteration of each girl’s name beginning with “m” adds to the rhythm.

in Famous Children Poems

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea
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A Riddle
- By Christina Rossetti
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Children enjoy the playful nature of words. They like to figure out riddles and laugh at jokes. Are you able to use the clues in this poem to figure out the riddle?

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There is one that has a head without an eye,
And there's one that has an eye without a head.
You may find the answer if you try;
And when all is said,

There is one that has a head without an eye,
And there's one that has an eye without a head.
You may find the answer if you try;
And when all is said,
Half the answer hangs upon a thread.
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Pins and needles Try this: The beginning of eternity, The end of time and space, The beginning of every end, And the end of every place. -The Guess Book (c. 1820)

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Famous Short Poems - Page 2

In this short poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), he captures the majesty of an eagle hunting from the top of a cliff. This descriptive poem is comprised of tercets (three-line stanzas).

A Funny Valentine's day Poem for Kids By Shel Silverstein. Have you ever wished for a girl but she's already taken, or even worse, she's not taken but she hates you? Well, a message from this poem is, take comfort you're not the only one.

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.

Children enjoy the playful nature of words. They like to figure out riddles and laugh at jokes. Are you able to use the clues in this poem to figure out the riddle?