Free Verse Poems

Published: August 2017

Examples Of Free Verse Poems From Modern And Famous Poets

Examples of free verse poems about different areas of life. Free Verse poetry allows the poet to freely express their thoughts and feelings without being constrained by traditional poetic forms. Free verse poems can be structured in any way the poet chooses, and they often rely on natural rhythms and cadences of language to create their unique poetic form. Many modern poets use free verse to create a more conversational, free-flowing style of poetry that is more closely aligned with the rhythms of everyday speech.

16 Examples Of Free Verse Poems From Modern And Famous Poets

  1. [i Carry Your Heart With Me(i Carry It In]

    Famous Poem

    Edward Estlin Cummings (1894 - 1962) was a famous American Poet with an unusual style of writing. His name is frequently written in lowercase, e.e. cummings, and his poetry is probably best known for his unorthodox usage of both capitalization and punctuation, in which unexpected and seemingly misplaced punctuation sometimes interrupt sentences and even individual words.

    in Famous Love Poems

    i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
    my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
    i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
    by only me is your doing,my darling)

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    I just heard this today and love, love, love this poem. I am not really a reader, especially poetry, though I do enjoy both and lived through that lens growing up. But I wouldn't generally be...

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  2. Mother To Son

    Famous Poem

    Langston Hughes was a prominent writer during the Harlem Renaissance. In this poem, a mother uses the metaphor of life being like a staircase to give advice to her son. While there are difficult times, you must keep moving like you would while walking up a staircase.

    in Famous Family Poems

    Well, son, I'll tell you:
    Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
    It's had tacks in it,
    And splinters,

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    I was not a very good student when I was in school. I did the minimal amount of work required, retained little and barely paid attention. In 1965, my 8th grade English teacher read MOTHER TO...

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  4. Tulips

    Famous Poem

    Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) wrote “Tulips” while she was in the hospital. It reveals the struggle she had with her mental state. Sylvia wants to die at that moment, but the bright red tulips make her think about life and living. She almost feels as though the flowers are taunting her. “Tulips” was written in 1961 but wasn’t published until 1965 - a couple of years after her death.

    in Famous Sad Poems

    The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here.
    Look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in.
    I am learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly
    As the light lies on these white walls, this bed, these hands.

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  5. Touched By An Angel

    Famous Poem

    "Touched By An Angel" by Maya Angelou is a powerful poem that explores the transformative power of love. Through the use of poetic techniques such as repetition and imagery, Angelou conveys the message that love can liberate individuals from their emotional confines. The poem's emotional tone is hopeful and optimistic, encouraging readers to be bold in the pursuit of love even though love does have a cost.

    in Famous Sad Love Poems

    We, unaccustomed to courage
    exiles from delight
    live coiled in shells of loneliness
    until love leaves its high holy temple

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  7. Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond

    Famous Poem

    E.E. Cummings (1894-1962) was an American poet. He had his own unique writing style where he didn’t use spaces after commas or capital letters where appropriate. E.E. Cummings did not give his poems titles, so editors would generally take the first line of his poems to create titles. In this poem, the speaker is head-over-heels in love. His lover has complete control over him, and she constantly amazes him. Similes, personification, and alliteration can be found in this piece. It is made up of quatrains that do not follow a rhyme scheme.

    in Famous Love Poems

    somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
    any experience,your eyes have their silence:
    in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
    or which i cannot touch because they are too near

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    This poem is the one that did it! I read this along with my class, in seventh grade, and was forever inspired by the way Cummings uses words to create this picture of love and roses. He uses...

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  8. Mirror

    Famous Poem

    Sylvia Plath was an American author and poet who lived from 1932-1963. She was a driven person, and she graduated summa cum laude from Smith College in 1955. Despite her success, Plath struggled with depression, and committed suicide in 1963. This poem shows the struggle a woman has with her identity as she grows older and begins to lose her youthfulness. It also uses personification by giving human characteristics to the mirror.

    in Famous Sad Poems

    I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
    Whatever I see I swallow immediately
    Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
    I am not cruel, only truthful,

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    A mirror never lies. It shows what is what exactly. Just as Plath writes: "I am silver and exact". The truth of our mortality is what we keep on negating and the speaker too finds it hard to...

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  9. I, Too

    Famous Poem

    Langston Hughes (1902-1967) settled in Harlem, New York, in 1924 and was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance. In this poem, he wrote of the reality that faced many in the black community and how they were regarded as “less than” by other people. The poem ends with the hope that one day it would be different. He shared the expectation that those who looked down on them would be ashamed.

    in Famous Poems

    I, too, sing America.

    I am the darker brother.
    They send me to eat in the kitchen

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  10. I Am Not A Victim Of Breast Cancer

    • By Laura Barnes
    • Published by Family Friend Poems August 2013 with permission of the Author.

    Originally from England, Laura Barnes has lived and worked as a teacher, trainer and life coach across four continents. Laura now lives happily in Gilbert, Arizona, and is the Owner/Founder/Chief Coffee Maker at Your Potential Power, a heart-centered life coaching practice. Laura is also an online instructor at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, AZ. She is currently in training for her June 2012 climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro for charity. Laura would love to hear from you.

    in Inspirational Poems

    Analysis of Form and Technique

    I am not a victim of breast cancer. I am experiencing breast cancer.
    I am not dying. I am living.
    I am not curing. I am healing and restoring.
    I am not fearing. I am loving and trusting.

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    I am a two time cancer survivor. I had a wonderful doctor. The first time I had a lumpectomy and radiation. The second time was five years later and I had a mastectomy with radiation and...

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  11. She Is Strong

    • By Mary Ann Parks
    • Published by Family Friend Poems August 2015 with permission of the Author.

    My daughter was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 13. She is now 28. We have been through some rough times with ketoacidosis, and I have known what it is like to have a doctor say, "We are doing all we can." On October 5, 2013, she will have gone one year without a hospital visit. She is struggling with some of the complications of diabetes in her digestive system and it is becoming harder for her to control her blood sugars. This poem is about my admiration for her.

    in Sickness Poems

    At birth,
    she was strong.

    It was her

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    This is very similar to my younger sister. About 2 years ago she was really sick. I look back on pictures of her before she was diagnosed (T1D) and I can't believe I didn't notice something...

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  12. These Stories We Wear

    • By Sabina Laura
    • Published by Family Friend Poems October 2021 with permission of the Author.

    in Life Lesson Poems

    these stories we wear –

    scars,
    stretchmarks,

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  13. Dreaming On Paper

    • By Rebecca
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2009 with permission of the Author.

    I was reading some poetry online, and I saw a poem that a disabled boy wrote. It inspired me to write this because many people think that disabled people cannot think or write as well as people without disabilities, which is not true at all.

    in Dream Poems

    I don't talk.
    My lips part and air pushes out,
    but the sound must not fit,
    because my thoughts are so big.

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  14. Tiny Shred Of Love

    • By Swetha Baskaran
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2013 with permission of the Author.

    This poem is about my struggle with depression and a hope that I will be able to leave all the grief behind and find happiness in the days to come.

    in Hope Poems

    Floating, heart askew
    In the dark, deep tunnel of nothing
    Claw with every cell of me
    Reach out for anger, greed, sorrow

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  15. I DON’T CARE!!!

    • By Renee Hunt
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2010 with permission of the Author.

    in Heartbreak Poems by Teens

    I don’t care where you go from now...
    I don’t care who you love or even how...
    I don’t care if you’re happy...
    Sure don’t care if you’re sad...

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  16. A Rhapsody Of Empowerment

    • By Vaishali Vishnukandan
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2018 with permission of the Author.

    It is all about encouraging a women to come out of her cage and work for upliftment.

    in Poems about Life Struggles

    Come on, women!
    Must rise to the challenges
    Of your enhanced responsibilities.

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  17. Change Is All

    • By Olivia Libby
    • Published by Family Friend Poems May 2011 with permission of the Author.

    Nobody knows what I go through. I just can't put it in words. Be a friend and help somebody today. When you see a kid sitting alone, go and sit by them. It really does make a difference! Probably nobody will ever see this side of me. But whoever reads this, thank you so much just for reading this. At least I know somebody cared a little.

    in Alone Poems

    No one will ever know how I feel,
    For I cannot even explain it all.
    Nobody to love,
    Nobody to blame,

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    All I can say about this poem is "me." Thank you for sharing your story. Felt every word of it. I believe in doing the exact thing. Go help someone that's tormenting themselves. People who...

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  18. A Lot Of Anger

    • By Julia Docking
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2010 with permission of the Author.

    I wrote this because I was tired of people judging me without knowing me.

    in Compassion Poems

    I ache with this...
    words scream out of my mouth with no meaning.
    No sounds compare to the things I seem to say.
    I am sorry.

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    This poem touched me a lot. Coming from an abusive home, I did not know anything about myself, wasn't taught anything, wasn't loved or cared for. I was neglected, left to fend for myself. It...

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