12 Most Popular Poems by Sara Teasdale

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There Will Come Soft Rains (War Time)

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in Famous Nature Poems

The Sedition Act of 1918 made it a crime to express any dissenting views about the U.S. involvements in World War I. This forced writers like Sara Teasdale to express their opposition to the war in more subtle ways. The poem suggests that even if humans were to be destroyed by war, the earth would continue to exist and even flourish without us. The personification of Spring as being indifferent to the fate of humanity emphasizes that the meaning of our existence is something that we create for ourselves, and that nature is not concerned with us. The poem is a powerful statement against the wasteful nature of war, and a reminder that we must strive to protect the natural world that sustains us.

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,

There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
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The New Moon

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in Famous Sad Poems

In Sara Teasdale's "The New Moon," the poet reflects on a day of hardship and struggle. Through the use of vivid imagery and personification, the poem portrays the day as a force that has physically and emotionally wounded her. However, amidst the bleakness, the poet discovers a glimmer of hope in the form of a delicate new moon. This celestial presence, described as a "maiden moon," brings beauty and inspiration, challenging bitterness and despair. Teasdale's skillful use of contrast and the moon's symbolism creates a sense of resilience and the power of finding solace in moments of darkness.

Day, you have bruised and beaten me,
As rain beats down the bright, proud sea,
Beaten my body, bruised my soul,
Left me nothing lovely or whole—

Day, you have bruised and beaten me,
As rain beats down the bright, proud sea,
Beaten my body, bruised my soul,
Left me nothing lovely or whole—
Yet I have wrested a gift from you,
Day that dies in dusky blue:

For suddenly over the factories
I saw a moon in the cloudy seas—
A wisp of beauty all alone
In a world as hard and gray as stone—
Oh who could be bitter and want to die
When a maiden moon wakes up in the sky?
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11 - 12 of 12

12 Most Popular Poems by Sara Teasdale

There Will Come Soft Rains (War Time)

The New Moon