Poems For High School Students

Published: October 2017

Poems To Use With High School Students In Grades 9-12

These poems are great to use with high schoolers because they help develop critical thinking and analytical skills. In addition to academic benefits, these poems also deal with difficult and thought-provoking topics of life. They include themes such as death, betrayal, brokenness, and disappointments. Many high schoolers have faced ups and downs of life, and they will find these poems relatable. Some poems in this collection have been written by famous poets such as Maya Angelou and Pablo Neruda.

27 Poems To Use With High School Students In Grades 9-12

  1. If

    Famous Poem

    Rudyard Kipling was an English poet who lived from 1865-1936. He also wrote many children's stories. The poem's line, "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same," is written on the wall of the players' entrance at Wimbledon.

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    If you can keep your head when all about you
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
    If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too:

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    I was never an avid reader nor appreciated poetry most of my life. My dad sent me this poem for my 28th birthday, printed along with a lovely card. Living many miles away from him I often...

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  2. Phenomenal Woman

    Famous Poem

    Maya Angelou is one of the most influential women of our time. Her writing pulls on the hearts of many readers. In addition to her proliferous writing career, Maya Angelou has been a civil rights activist. This poem shows how even though someone is not beautiful on the outside compared to society's standards, there is an inner beauty that makes a woman even more beautiful.

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    Analysis of Form and Technique

    Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
    I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
    But when I start to tell them,
    They think I'm telling lies.

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    Phenomenal Woman By Maya Angelou this poem is a Classic that deals with every women in the world. This poem shows that beauty is compare by what society thinks a woman should looked like,...

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  4. When Great Trees Fall

    Famous Poem

    Maya Angelou (1928-2014) uses symbolism and strong imagery in this poem to show a person’s response to loss. It doesn’t matter how strong or tough you are; when an influential person in your life passes away, you feel the effects. Although this poem does show that we experience regrets with things left unsaid, our lives are made better by that person's influence. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on Maya Angelou’s birthday (April 4) in 1968, and his death deeply affected her. In fact, she stopped celebrating her own birthday for many years.

    in Famous Death Poems

    When great trees fall,
    rocks on distant hills shudder,
    lions hunker down
    in tall grasses,

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    Featured Shared Story

    I have also lost a son, a baby boy. Back then I was very grieved by that experience. I was told by people that loved me and helped support me to quickly heal and get over the way I felt, even...

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  5. See It Through

    Famous Poem

    Many of the poems by Edgar Guest (1881-1959) are encouraging and share important life lessons. In this poem, he shares powerful advice about standing strong in the face of trials and dark days. The poetic technique of repetition is used at the end of each stanza with the line, “See it through.” That brings the reader's attention to the themes of courage and perseverance.

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    When you’re up against a trouble,
    Meet it squarely, face to face;
    Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
    Plant your feet and take a brace.

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    I was feeling down, discouraged, confused and all sorts of unpleasant ways today. Going through a failed marriage, raising two young boys by myself, but moreover struggling with my own...

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  7. Tonight I Can Write The Saddest Lines

    Famous Poem

    This poem was published in 1924, just as Pablo Neruda entered his 20s. In this poem, the speaker is dealing with the end of a relationship and longing for the woman to be back in his arms. The repetition of, “Tonight I can write the saddest lines,” brings the reader’s attention to that theme throughout this sad love poem. Pablo Neruda used alliteration throughout this poem with many words beginning with “s” (saddest, shattered, stars, sky, soul, etc.).

    in Famous Sad Love Poems

    Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

    Write, for example, 'The night is shattered
    and the blue stars shiver in the distance.'

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    Neruda's poem resonates. Letting go is a process, when love is not requited anymore. How is it possible to do so easily? It is not. Today we are constantly surrounded by memories. The pain...

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  8. One Hundred Love Sonnets

    Famous Poem

    Many of Pablo Neruda’s love poems helped him get known as an important Chilean poet. In this poem, he can’t fully explain his love, but he feels it deeply. It’s not one of show. Instead, it’s a love that’s simple and humble, a love that sees the beauty hidden within a person. The repetition of “I love you” brings attention to the poet’s desire to convey his feelings for the subject of this poem.

    in Famous Love Poems

    I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
    or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
    I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
    secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

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    This poem touched my heart in ways that I didn't even know was possible. I never thought I would be able to understand my own heart as well as I do now. This poem completely captures the way...

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  9. Be The Best Of Whatever You Are

    Famous Poem

    In this poem, Douglas Malloch (1877-1938) shares an encouraging message for readers of all ages. Although we don't all hold prestigious jobs, we can all be the best at who we are. Our position in life doesn't make us more or less valuable. The beauty of this world is shown when each person does what he has been called to do and does it with great pride. When we measure our success by the standards of this world, many of us will feel as though we've fallen short. Douglas Malloch reminds us that success is measured by being the best at whoever you are. Like many, he came from humble roots, but he used his gift of writing to touch the lives of many people.

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
    Be a scrub in the valley — but be
    The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
    Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

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    Featured Shared Story

    Two years ago I was in depression and isolated. I felt frequently that I was worthless and deserved no love, no appreciation, no friends. I kept myself aloof from everyone, thinking that I...

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  10. Caged Bird

    Famous Poem

    Caged Bird By Maya Angelou was first published in her book, "Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?" in 1983. The poem is a Metaphor illustrating the differences between African-Americans and Whites during the civil rights era. The author, a black woman who grew up in the South during this era, is expressing her feelings at the discrimination she faced during her life. Her first autobiography published in 1970 is titled, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    Analysis of Form and Technique

    The free bird leaps
    on the back of the wind
    and floats downstream
    till the current ends

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    Featured Shared Story

    I remember this poem from my guided reading class in 5th grade. I remember it well. This poem really touched me, and reading it again just made my day. This poem, I remember it being about...

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  11. Mother, A Cradle To Hold Me

    Famous Poem

    When we are small, our mothers are everything to us. Her arms were made to cradle us and provide for all our needs. At first, we don’t want to be separated from her. As time passes, a mother helps us become more independent. Even in our teenage years, we still love our mother even though we don’t show it well, and we finally come to realize the wisdom she has. This is a great Mother’s Day poem that thanks her for her guidance and unconditional love. No matter our stage of life, whether an infant, young child, teenager, or adult, our mother’s love for us is unconditional.

    in Famous Family Poems

    It is true
    I was created in you.
    It is also true
    That you were created for me.

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  12. Old Friends

    Famous Poem

    It’s wonderful to have new friends, but old friends are the ones we want by our side during hard times because their friendship has been tried and true. Those friends understand us unlike anyone else because their devotion has stood the test of time. The dialect used in this poem gives a down to earth feel and informal tone. The author, Edgar Guest (1881-1959) was known as The People’s Poet.

    in Famous Friendship Poems

    I do not say new friends are not considerate and true,
    Or that their smiles ain't genuine, but still I'm tellin' you
    That when a feller's heart is crushed and achin' with the pain,
    And teardrops come a-splashin' down his cheeks like summer rain,

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  13. Mad Girl's Love Song

    Famous Poem

    Many of Sylvia Plath's poems have a theme of unrequited love, and this one is no different. She wrote this poem while she was a twenty-year-old student at Smith College. It has that very natural and relatable element of someone that age looking for love. The speaker is addressing a former lover, wishing he would return to her. Plath writes with a lot of emotion, making it clear how it feels to be rejected while still longing for someone to return feelings of love. She uses personification to give the stars and darkness human characteristics. This poem also utilizes the poetic technique of repetition.

    in Famous Sad Love Poems

    "I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
    I lift my lids and all is born again.
    (I think I made you up inside my head.)

    The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
    And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
    I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

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  14. It's Fine Today

    Famous Poem

    In this world, we face troubles of many kinds. Things are not always going to go our way. Some people wallow in that misery, but others have a positive perspective and can push past the trouble they face. What makes the difference? Douglas Malloch (1877-1938) shares the answer in this poem. When we don’t focus on our problems, they get smaller and smaller. We can’t worry about what happened in the past or what could happen in the future. Instead, we need to look at what is positive for us today. Douglas Malloch came from simple roots, and that simplicity is seen in the dialect of this poem.

    in Famous Sad Poems

    Sure, this world is full of trouble
    I ain't said it ain't.
    Lord, I've had enough and double
    Reason for complaint;

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    Wow, this poem gives a cool perspective on life. This poem makes one realize worrying doesn't help.

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  15. I Measure Every Grief I Meet

    Famous Poem

    In this poem, the speaker compares her grief to the grief of those around her. She talks about the different types of grief and tries to make this emotion tangible. Emily Dickinson’s poems have consistent components, and this poem follows many of them: dashes, capitals in the middle of lines, and four-line stanzas.

    in Famous Sad Poems

    I measure every Grief I meet
    With narrow, probing, eyes –
    I wonder if It weighs like Mine –
    Or has an Easier size.

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    Penny, you are so right to be honest and tell it like it is for you because that's how I feel as well. It's ok not to be ok. My daughter died on May 23, 2019, of a drug overdose. She had...

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  16. Life Is Fine

    Famous Poem

    In this poem, the speaker is considering giving up on life, but he can’t go through with it. He finds that since he hasn’t died, he has something to live for. This poem has a strong sense of structure. It’s made up of single lines and quatrains with the ABCB rhyme scheme.

    in Famous Poems

    I went down to the river,
    I set down on the bank.
    I tried to think but couldn't,
    So I jumped in and sank.

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    Everyone is born for a purpose, but we forget that in pursuit of money. Then God gifted me with poetry and uses it as a medium to educate people, and in each of my poems there is a story...

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  17. Choice

    Famous Poem

    Angela Morgan was an American author who lived from 1875-1957. She wrote about many social issues, both of the wealthy and the poor. The narrator in this poem would rather hold onto thoughts of a loved one who has moved on than love another because no one can make the narrator feel the same way.

    in Famous Sad Love Poems

    I'd rather have the thought of you
    To hold against my heart,
    My spirit to be taught of you
    With west winds blowing,

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    I have never read anything by Angela Morgan, but this truly speaks to me right now.

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  18. Time Does Not Bring Relief (Sonnet II)

    Famous Poem

    Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was considered one of the most skillful writers of sonnets during the 1900s. This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet that follows the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA CDEECD. She writes of the pain experienced from the death of a loved one. Everything reminds her of him, and the passing of time does not ease the immense hurt she is experiencing, even though people said it would. Anyone who has lost someone they’ve loved will be able to relate to the raw emotion in this poem.

    in Famous Death Poems

    Time does not bring relief; you all have lied
    Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
    I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
    I want him at the shrinking of the tide;

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    I relate to her deep pain, I lost my precious son Chris a little over 3 years ago, suddenly. Now my heart and my soul are shattered forever on this earth, my life altered. I'm yet in that...

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  19. Acquainted With The Night

    Famous Poem

    “Acquainted With The Night” was published in 1928. It has themes of sadness and isolation. The narrator avoids contact with people and tries to escape his despair. The narrator doesn’t want to let anyone in, which continues his cycle of loneliness. Robert Frost himself was familiar with despair. At the time of writing this poem, he had already lost two children. Two more of his six children would pass away before him in later years. This poem includes symbols such as night (depression) and the moon (hope). It’s written as a “terza rima,” which is a poem made up of tercets (three-line stanzas). Within those stanzas, the ending word of the second line sets up the rhyme of the first and third lines of the next stanza.

    in Famous Sad Poems

    I have been one acquainted with the night.
    I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
    I have outwalked the furthest city light.

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    Each word of the poem is uttering its deep pain in the darkness of night. Highly weighted poem like any other poem of him. Only the one who has gone through this sea of sorrow can understand...

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  20. Advice To A Girl

    Famous Poem

    Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) was an American poet who wrote seven books of poetry during her lifetime. Many of her poems focused on the emotional development of women. In this poem, the opening lines are repeated at the end, bringing attention to the theme of this poem that no one is in control of who you are. Each person has value and cannot be possessed by another.

    in Famous Love Poems

    No one worth possessing
    Can be quite possessed;
    Lay that on your heart,
    My young angry dear;

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  21. My Papa's Waltz

    Famous Poem

    Theodore Roethke is the small boy in this poem. His father died when he was just fifteen. Roethke struggled with mental illness all his life. His first book of poetry, Open House, was published in 1941. His relationship with his father occupied a large part of his writings.
    In this poem it is unclear if the memories of his drunk father putting him to bed are happy or sad, abusive or merry, scary or sweet.

    in Famous Family Poems

    The whiskey on your breath
    Could make a small boy dizzy;
    But I hung on like death:
    Such waltzing was not easy.

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  22. My Melody

    • By Eric Pribyl
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2010 with permission of the Author.

    I'm in love with a girl, but she doesn't see it, and I want her to, so I wrote this.

    in Poems for Her

    Analysis of Form and Technique

    Amazing and beautiful,
    not a flower or a tree.
    Much prettier than that,
    and only I can see.

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    Love's First Words, My Melody

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    Featured Shared Story

    Beautiful poem. I love it. One of my favorite poems from Familyfriendspoems.com .

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