Famous Life Poems

Best Classic Poems On Life's Struggles

Since the dawn of civilization, artists of all forms have sought to express the essence of the human condition and the full range of human experience. Poetry has been one of the most common forms of this expression from the ancients until now. These words have an ability to capture the abstract emotions and concrete experiences that have been part of our humanity throughout the ages. Turning to the words of classic poems can help us to clarify and understand our own experiences better by connecting us to those others who have sought to do the same.

Poems about Life by Famous Poets

1 - 10 of 34

Sort By

Life
- 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

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 9
- Favorited 2
- Votes 4
- Rating 4.25

Work
- By Henry Van Dyke
Let me but do my work from day to day,
In field or forest, at the desk or loom,
In roaring market-place or tranquil room;
Let me but find it in my heart to say,

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 94
- Favorited 2
- Votes 53
- Rating 4.43
Time Is
- By Henry Van Dyke
Time is
Too Slow for those who Wait,
Too Swift for those who Fear,
Too Long for those who Grieve,

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 25
- Favorited 1
- Votes 9
- Rating 4.11

Windows
- By Jessie B. Rittenhouse
I looked through others' windows
On an enchanted earth
But out of my own window--
solitude and dearth.

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 11
- Favorited 0
- Votes 7
- Rating 4.57
Vision
- By Jessie B. Rittenhouse
I came to the mountains for beauty
And I find here the toiling folk,
On sparse little farms in the valleys,
Wearing their days like a yoke.

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 7
- Favorited 1
- Votes 2
- Rating 4.00
My Wage
- By Jessie B. Rittenhouse
I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 34
- Favorited 2
- Votes 4
- Rating 4.50

The Genius Of The Crowd
- By Charles Bukowski
- Published: September 17, 2020
There is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
Human being to supply any given army on any given day

And the best at murder are those who preach against it

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 250
- Favorited 2
- Votes 36
- Rating 4.14
America The Beautiful
- By Katharine Lee Bates
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 50
- Favorited 1
- Votes 10
- Rating 4.10
Sympathy
- By Paul Laurence Dunbar
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 0
- Shares 157
- Favorited 5
- Votes 34
- Rating 4.29
Leisure
- By W. H. Davies
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare

No time to stand beneath the boughs,

Read Complete Poem
- Stories 1
- Shares 951
- Favorited 16
- Votes 138
- Rating 4.54
Featured Shared Story

This is a wonderful poem and has always been one of my favourites. At this time of lockdown restrictions and protecting ourselves, we have that time to stop and look at the world - to enjoy...

Read complete story

1 - 10 of 34