Poems About

Curated anthologies on the subjects poetry keeps returning to. Real poems by the masters and living Writory poets, each framed by a short editorial note. Read a collection, then write your own.

Find your next poem

Poems to share with a friend

Find lasting affection in Brontë, comfort in Shakespeare and a city of friends in Whitman.

Poems for autumn days

Read Shelley, Dickinson and Longfellow on changing seasons, ripeness and letting go.

Emotions

Poems About Love
14 poems. Read 14 of the greatest poems about love, from Shakespeare and Burns to Rossetti and Byron. Full texts with short notes on what makes each one last.
Poems About Hope
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about hope, from Dickinson's 'Hope is the thing with feathers' to Longfellow. Full texts with notes on each one.
Poems About Grief
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about grief and loss, from Tennyson and Rossetti to Hopkins and Poe. Full texts with notes on each.
Poems About Loneliness
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about loneliness and solitude, from John Clare and Whitman to Dickinson and Poe. Full texts with notes on each.
Poems About Sadness
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about sadness and sorrow, from Poe and Byron to Dickinson and Wilde. Full texts with notes on each one.
Poems About Joy
13 poems. Read 13 of the greatest poems about joy and gladness, from Blake and Dickinson to Whitman and Dunbar. Full texts with short notes on what makes each one sing.
Poems About Peace
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about peace and quiet, from Hopkins and Whitman to Rossetti and the Brontes. Full texts with short notes on where each one finds its calm.
Poems About Faith
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about faith and doubt, from Donne and Dickinson to Hopkins and the Brontes. Full texts with notes on how each one holds or tests belief.
Poems About Courage
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about courage and resolve, from Longfellow and Whitman to Dickinson and Henley. Full texts with notes on where each finds its nerve.
Poems About Longing
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about longing and absence, from Keats and Dickinson to Tennyson and Barrett Browning. Full texts with notes on what each reaches for.
Poems About Silence
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about silence and stillness, from Poe and Dickinson to Clare and Arnold. Full texts with short notes on what each one hears in the quiet.

People & Bonds

Poems About Friendship
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about friendship, from Shakespeare's sonnets to Tennyson and Whitman. Full texts with notes on each.
Poems About Memory
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about memory and remembering, from Dickinson and Poe to Byron and Rossetti. Full texts with notes on each.
Poems About Home
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about home and homesickness, from Browning and Rossetti to Dickinson and Whitman. Full texts with short notes on what each one longs for.
Poems About Family
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about family, from Burns and Keats to Dickinson and Longfellow. Full texts with notes on the brothers, sisters and hearths each honours.
Poems About Mother
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about mothers, from Poe and Barrett Browning to Dickinson and Burns. Full texts with short notes on the love and loss each one carries.
Poems About Father
11 poems. Read 11 classic poems about fathers, from Burns and Whitman to Longfellow and Shakespeare. Full texts with notes on the fathers and children each holds.
Poems About Marriage
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about marriage, from Poe and Dickinson to Barrett Browning and Wilde. Full texts with short notes on the vows and doubts each one carries.

Life & Time

Poems About Death
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about death, from Donne's 'Death, be not proud' to Dickinson and Poe. Full texts with notes on how each poet faces the end.
Poems About Dreams
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about dreams and sleep, from Poe and Blake to Dickinson and Donne. Full texts with notes on each one.
Poems About Time
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about time and its passing, from Herrick and Shakespeare to Shelley's 'Ozymandias.' Full texts with notes on each.
Poems About Freedom
14 poems. Read 14 classic poems about freedom and liberty, from Blake and Byron to Dunbar and Whitman. Full texts with notes on each.
Poems About War
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about war, from Owen and Brooke to Whitman and Crane. Full texts with notes on how each poet meets the drum, the trench and the loss.
Poems About Change
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about change and impermanence, from Shelley and Hopkins to Longfellow and Dickinson. Full texts with notes on what each lets go of.
Poems About Childhood
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about childhood, from Blake and Longfellow to Stevenson and Hopkins. Full texts with notes on the small first world each one recovers.
Poems About Growing Older
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about growing older, from Browning and Tennyson to Landor and Dickinson. Full texts with notes on how each weighs age against youth.
Poems About Music
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about music and song, from Poe and Browning to Dickinson and Barrett Browning. Full texts with short notes on how each one chases sound.

Nature & World

Poems About Nature
15 poems. Read 15 of the best poems about nature, from Wordsworth's daffodils to Blake's Tyger and Keats's autumn. Full texts with notes on each.
Poems About The Sea
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about the sea and ocean, from Whitman and Dickinson to Poe and Hopkins. Full texts with short notes on what each one hears in the tide.
Poems About Autumn
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about autumn, from Shelley and Dickinson to Bryant and Swinburne. Full texts with notes on how each holds ripeness and loss together.
Poems About Winter
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about winter, from Shakespeare and Keats to Burns and Clare. Full texts with short notes on the cold, the frost and the fire in each one.
Poems About Spring
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about spring, from Blake and Shakespeare to Dickinson and Clare. Full texts with short notes on the thaw and the first green in each one.
Poems About Night
13 poems. Read 13 classic poems about night and darkness, from Blake and Byron to Shelley and Hopkins. Full texts with short notes on what each one meets in the dark.
Poems About Rain
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about rain, from Longfellow and Dickinson to Clare and Henley. Full texts with short notes on the showers and storms in each one.
Poems About Stars
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about the stars, from Keats and Hopkins to Emily Bronte and Rossetti. Full texts with short notes on what each one finds in the night sky.
Poems About The Moon
12 poems. Read 12 classic poems about the moon, from Coleridge and Stevenson to Dickinson and Moore. Full texts with notes on what each one makes of the moonlight.

Occasions

Poems About Funeral
11 poems. Read 11 of the best funeral poems to read aloud, from Shakespeare and Donne to Longfellow and Whitman. Full texts chosen for comfort and for the reader's voice.
Poems About Wedding
12 poems. Read 12 of the best wedding poems to read aloud, from Shakespeare and Burns to Barrett Browning and Wilde. Full texts chosen for the day and the reader's voice.
Poems About Birthday
10 poems. Read 10 of the best birthday poems, from Rossetti and Burns to Landor and Longfellow. Full texts to read aloud or copy into a card, with notes on choosing one.
Poems About Graduation
9 poems. Read 9 of the best graduation poems, from Longfellow and Whitman to Dickinson and Henley. Full texts about beginnings and resolve, chosen for reading aloud.
Poems About Anniversary
9 poems. Read 9 of the best anniversary poems, from Shakespeare and Burns to Barrett Browning and Rossetti. Full texts about lasting love, chosen for reading aloud.
Poems About Farewell
12 poems. Read 12 of the best farewell poems, from Stevenson and Burns to Shakespeare and Tennyson. Full texts for goodbyes and partings, chosen for reading aloud.
Poems About Mother's Day
8 poems. Read 8 of the best Mother's Day poems, from Kipling and Stevenson to Rossetti and Dickinson. Short full texts to copy into a card or read aloud to mom.
Poems About Valentine's Day
8 poems. Read 8 of the best Valentine's Day poems, from Burns and Shakespeare to Barrett Browning and Dickinson. Full love poems to copy into a card or send today.
Poems About Sympathy
9 poems. Read 9 of the best sympathy poems for cards and condolences, from Dickinson and Rossetti to Stevenson and Tagore. Full texts, short enough to copy out.
Poems About Memorial
8 poems. Read 8 of the best memorial poems for services and tributes, from Rossetti and Tennyson to Dickinson and Stevenson. Full texts, with notes on choosing one.
Poems About Healing
8 poems. Read 8 of the best healing poems for recovery and hard days, from Dickinson and Henley to Wordsworth and Teasdale. Full texts, short enough to keep close.