Poems About Life: Life is full of surprises. It’s a never-ending journey that sometimes offers up beautiful and profound moments, and other times is just downright confusing. These poems explore the many facets of life, both good and bad.
Poems About Life
Life is a beautiful experience.
It’s a journey that we all must go on, and the battle we fight in this life is to make it worth something.
Some people choose to live for themselves and their own happiness, while others choose to live for the good of others.
We can’t always know what will happen in this life, but we can be sure that if we try our best, it will work out in the end.
There is a place where the sun always shines,
Where the rain never falls and the sky is always blue.
I know I can’t stay there forever, but for now it’s enough.
To know that I’m not alone in my sorrow.
This poem is about how the speaker wants time to stop and go back. The speaker doesn’t want to get any older and live in the past.
The poem is written in free verse, which means there are no set patterns of rhythm or rhyming words. This makes it more difficult to read than a regular poem because it lacks a clear pattern.
To know that I’m not alone in my sorrow.
A Prayer for Survival of an Abusive Relationship is a poem that was written by the author, Sandra L. Stovall, to give hope to those who are still in abusive relationships.
This poem is about the cycle of an abusive relationship and how it affects the victim’s self-esteem. It also gives advice on how to get out of an abusive relationship.
Short Poems About Life
Life is Strange is a video game that can be played on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It was developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix.
The game revolves around Max Caulfield, a high-school student who discovers she has the ability to rewind time and thus tries to prevent the death of her best friend Chloe Price.
The player controls Max in most parts of the game, while some parts require only quick time events to advance the story.
The player has an opportunity to explore different areas of Arcadia Bay at their leisure, talk with non-player characters (NPCs), examine objects in order to find clues, answer text messages from other characters, help out NPCs with their problems or just take selfies with them.
Laughter is a great way to improve your health and well-being. Laughter is the best medicine.
Laughter is a powerful tool for creativity and stress relief, but it also has many other benefits for our mental and physical health.
It’s been proven that laughter can strengthen our immune system, reduce anxiety, decrease pain, clear the mind from negative thoughts, and even lower cholesterol levels.
In this article we’ll explore some of the most surprising ways laughter can improve your life.
Inspirational Poems About Life
Everyone has a tough time in life and everyone needs a little encouragement. This section is dedicated to the best inspirational and motivational poems that will help you get through the toughest times.
This section contains the most popular poems that are encouraging, uplifting, and inspiring.
Life is not about getting. It is about giving.
Life is not about being selfish. It is about loving unconditionally.
Life is not about having more rights than others. It is about taking care of others’ needs before one’s own needs.
“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” – Maya Angelou
You will not
The following is a poem by Maya Angelou:
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Forgetting what doesn’t matter”
“What does it mean when people say life is short?”
“The Moment when everything changes.”
An example of these types of poems would be “Inner Peace”.
A Poem for New Graduates
It’s not your time to worry how you’ll pay the bills;
Just keep your head up in all kinds of weather;
Still find time to say “I love you” out loud.
Remember that joy is always just around the bend.
Deep Poems About Life
Down in the Deep of the Deep
Lives a creature with tentacles
It lives in blue and green
With its 3 eyes on each side.
It crawls over lava
And it slides over sand,
It’s surrounded by bubbles
And it can’t speak human tongue.
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
The sky is a vast land that seems to stretch on forever.
It’s freckled with trees and blue oceans that wash the shores.
When the sun rises, its morning rays shimmer over the hills, dappling through leaves in a dance of light.
And when it sets, the evening sky reflects back at us in shades of gold and red and violet, like an old fighter’s jacket strewn over a battlefield.
Beautiful Poems About Life
I want to be free from these chains.
So I can dance with the wind and
feel the heat of the sun
bathe my face in joy
freedom like no other
to let my wings spread and soar high
I want to be free from these chains.
I am a thing of beauty, a child of life from which I emerge from to see the wonders of this world.
My world is warm with smiles and laughing eyes, peace and contentment fill my days.
But there is so much more out there for me to give- so much love I have left to share, so many kindnesses still unknown.
But for now, while my heart beats in these walls, while my feet walk this earth- I will live my best life
” This quote by Pindar is one of the most famous quotes about life. It beautifully captures how life and love are intrinsically connected to each other. Whether you like it or not, life is full of highs and lows. You can live a happy life with no worries or you can live sad, worrying life full of responsibilities. It’s up to you to choose what kind of life you want to lead.”
Life can be a challenge at times. But, with the right perspective, it’s a gift. Here are some poems that celebrate life and all of its beauty.
To live is so startling it leaves one breathless – Emily Dickinson
That you should live as long as you want, and want as long as you live – W. Hodding Carter
The sun sets not because each day is done but for another day’s work to begin” by Langston Hughes
– “…we can see it through and know we’ll make it through” by Bob Marley
What is life but a series of meaningless events-
Since all we do is to make our space with pain and tears?
I must be dreaming or hallucinating today-
Since all I see is my own image in the mirror.
I can’t escape from this madness forever-
If this be insanity then I’m most sane
“So this is it? This is all there is?
I never imagined how hard it would be.” – Anonymous
“Ulysses” by Alfred Tennyson “I Sing The Body Electric” by Walt Whitman “Ode To Melancholy” by John Keats “Tired And Alone At Last” by Mary Elizabeth Frye
“I am not a drop in the ocean I am the ocean in a drop.” – Rumi
Poems and poems – the sound of the soul of man.
The most important thing in life is not to be happy, but to live.
I want to sing all my songs and die with a smile on my lips.
I don’t want to live for long, just live enough so that I don’t forget what it means to be alive.
Beautiful Poems About Life
The beauty in life is endless. From the beauty in a flower, to the beauty of a newly blossomed love, to the beauty of a sunset. There is no end to what we can express and experience through our hearts and eyes. Life is beautiful and it’s something that we should all celebrate.
“You are beautiful like a sunset”- Unknown
A sun set is such an ephemeral thing. The colors change with every minute – sometimes there’s only purple and lavender, while at other times yellow mixes in with oranges and pinks.
And then, suddenly, it’s gone – the sun sets and darkness falls on the world. But before people forget about its existence, it strikes out one last time by highlighting its beauty one last time for anyone who has
“My Childhood Home” by Linda Pastan:
“When I was growing up there seemed to be/No one else who cared who I was/And so my childhood home was me/A place I loved but seldom left…” Unwritten” by Natasha.
“I’m still writing you letters which you’ll never read/I’m
Who knows what life is,
Only the heart that feels?
The one who lives and suffers,
And never more shall see.
My Childhood Home” by Linda Pastan:
“When I was growing up there seemed to be/No one else who cared who I was/And so my childhood home was me/A place I loved but seldom left…”
“Unwritten” by Natasha Friend:
“I’m still writing you letters which you’ll never read/I’m
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer; And things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words
A Dream Deferred
Does not always mean
A dream Denied,
Does not always mean The end; it often means A new beginning or And so on
I am a poem about life.
I am a poem about love.
I am a poem about memories of you,
As I am a poem about me.
– by Khadija Dawud
“Yourself you shall love but yourself only. Above all shall you respect yourself as the most delicate of creatures, your body as the richest of treasures, your mind as the most sacred of sanctuaries. You may love another but only if they can never become more than a friend or lover in your heart; for even in friendship or love there is too much pain when one feels in them what they cannot return in kind in their thoughts and deeds.” Kahlil Gibran
“A poem is a moment and a thought and a mood and an atmosphere captured by words.” William Slater Brown
Famous Poems About Life
I remember, I remember, the house where I was born. The ragged beggar woman who stood at the gate with her hands outstretched and her voice high and shrill: “It’s a cold January morning and we’re glad to see you.”
The wet nightgown clinging to my body and the darkness so complete under the bedclothes with just a thin light from outside coming in. “We’re glad to see you.” The damp breakfast things on the kitchen table–a bowl of cornflakes, a jar of grapefruit sections in syrup, a pot of tea already made–and my father getting up quickly with his face unsh Wilfred Owen
Life is more of a marathon than a sprint. People often underestimate the importance of reflecting on the past and celebrating what they have today. The following poems are some that express these sentiments.
Horace, an ancient Roman poet, displayed the importance of living in the present with his amazing poetic work “Odes”. In this poem, Horace praises the present moment and tells people to live life to its fullest while they can because it’s impossible to know when your time will come. On the other hand, Baudelaire described life as an endless pursuit for perfection in his piece “A Carcass”. This poem is about how humans can’t find satisfaction in anything they pursue in their lives because all their pursuits are flawed. Auden’s poem
There’s no way for me to go by without being stopped, questioned why I’m carrying these bags
I’m scared I’m going to get shot or pulled over for something
I can’t afford to fix or get out of jail wit’
Window by Henry Drummond
Auntie has climbed the hillside, where she stands against the sky;
Her eyes grow dimmer as her hair grows grayer;
She stops and waves her handkerchief, but I cannot see.
She points above the woods, where far-away clouds lie;
I know what she would tell me if I could hear:
The soul of youth should fly like a bird on high,
But Auntie bids me stay and plant my joys here
Recently, I was searching for the meaning of life
In a bookstore, I found a book about it
It was really expensive, so I took it.
I searched through the pages and found out about this poem
And these words were written at the end: “You will never find me”
“The Picture of Little J.A. Riding on a Goat’s Back, In One of His Mother’s Poses, With a Black Cloth Tied Round His Head to Keep Off the Sun, and James Tending the Flock Behind Him” by William Butler Yeats
-“Tired of All These Thistles and These Flowers Too? Then Tell Me, Where Do You Dream Your Happiness Lies? In What Field Must
Poems About Life And Death
I am your opus,
I am your valuable,
The pure gold baby
That melts to a shriek.
I turn and burn.
Do not think I underestimate your great concern.
Ash, ash—
You poke and stir.
Flesh, bone, there is nothing there——
A cake of soap,
A wedding ring,
A gold filling.
Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.
Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
“The Big Loser,” Max Ritvo
Ritvo is now famous not only for his poetry but for his sweetness in the face of death.
This poem is one of many bittersweet lenses on the life he was getting ready to leave.
That night the child dreams
he’s inside the box.
It’s burning hot, the heat coming
from bugs and worms
raping and devouring one another.
He starts the hard work
of the imagination,
learning to minister to the new dream.
Perhaps all that’s needed is a little rain —
for everyone to drink and have a bath.
Outside: a car humming,
somewhere, his mother’s singing.
“If I should die,” Emily Dickinson
If I should die,
And you should live,
And time should gurgle on,
And morn should beam,
And noon should burn,
As it has usual done;
If birds should build as early,
And bees as bustling go,—
One might depart at option
From enterprise below!
’T is sweet to know that stocks will stand
When we with daisies lie,
That commerce will continue,
And trades as briskly fly.
It makes the parting tranquil
And keeps the soul serene,
That gentlemen so sprightly
Conduct the pleasing scene!
“The Mower,” Philip Larkin
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
“My God, It’s Full of Stars,” Tracy K. Smith
Maybe the dead know, their eyes widening at last,
Seeing the high beams of a million galaxies flick on
At twilight. Hearing the engines flare, the horns
Not letting up, the frenzy of being. I want to be
One notch below bedlam, like a radio without a dial.
Wide open, so everything floods in at once.
And sealed tight, so nothing escapes. Not even time,
Which should curl in on itself and loop around like smoke.
So that I might be sitting now beside my father
As he raises a lit match to the bowl of his pipe
For the first time in the winter of 1959.
“What the Living Do,” Marie Howe
I’ve been thinking: This is what the living do. And yesterday, hurrying along those
wobbly bricks in the Cambridge sidewalk, spilling my coffee down my wrist and sleeve,
I thought it again, and again later, when buying a hairbrush: This is it.
Parking. Slamming the car door shut in the cold. What you called that yearning.
What you finally gave up. We want the spring to come and the winter to pass. We want
whoever to call or not call, a letter, a kiss—we want more and more and then more of it.
But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass,
say, the window of the corner video store, and I’m gripped by a cherishing so deep
for my own blowing hair, chapped face, and unbuttoned coat that I’m speechless:
I am living. I remember you.
“Charity,” Kevin Young
One man saying sorry, older lady
in the back saying how funny
you were, how you joked
with her weekly. Sorry —
& a fellow black man hands
your clothes back for free,
don’t worry. I’ve learned death
has few kindnesses left.
Such is charity — so rare
& so rarely free —
that on the way back
to your emptying house
I weep. Then drive
everything, swaying,
straight to Goodwill —
open late — to live on
another body
& day.
“Tiara,” Mark Doty
Peter died in a paper tiara
cut from a book of princess paper dolls;
he loved royalty, sashes
and jewels. I don’t know,
he said, when he woke in the hospice,
I was watching the Bette Davis film festival
on Channel 57 and then—
At the wake, the tension broke
when someone guessed
the casket closed because
he was in there in a big wig
and heels, and someone said,
You know he’s always late,
he probably isn’t here yet—
he’s still fixing his makeup.
“In the Country of Resurrection,” Ada Limón
Similar to the Larkin in spirit; but honestly, the last two lines just slay me.
Last night we killed a possum,
out of mercy, in the middle of the road.
It was dying, its face was bloody,
the back legs were shattered. The mistake
I made was getting out of the car
(you told me not to), but I wanted to be
sure, needed to know for sure, that it could
not be saved. (Someone else had hit it.)
The sound it was making. The sound
folded me back into the airless car.
Do it, do it fast, I lowered my head
until the thud was done. You killed it quiet.
We drove home under the sickle moon,
laundry gone cold and dry on the line.
But that was last night. This morning
the sun is coming alive in the kitchen.
You’ve gone to get us gas station coffee
and there is so much life all over the place.
“Death,” Joe Brainard
Death has a very black reputation but, actually, to die is a
perfectly normal thing to do.
And it’s so wholesome: being a very important part of
nature’s big picture. Trees die, don’t they? And flowers?
I think it’s always nice to know that you are not alone. Even
in death.
Let’s think about ants for a minute. Millions of ants die
every day, and do we care? No. And I’m sure that ants feel the
same way about us.
Poems About Life: Life is full of surprises. It’s a never-ending journey that sometimes offers up beautiful and profound moments, and other times is just downright confusing. These poems explore the many facets of life, both good and bad.
Poems About Life
Life is a beautiful experience.
It’s a journey that we all must go on, and the battle we fight in this life is to make it worth something.
Some people choose to live for themselves and their own happiness, while others choose to live for the good of others.
We can’t always know what will happen in this life, but we can be sure that if we try our best, it will work out in the end.
There is a place where the sun always shines,
Where the rain never falls and the sky is always blue.
I know I can’t stay there forever, but for now it’s enough.
To know that I’m not alone in my sorrow.
This poem is about how the speaker wants time to stop and go back. The speaker doesn’t want to get any older and live in the past.
The poem is written in free verse, which means there are no set patterns of rhythm or rhyming words. This makes it more difficult to read than a regular poem because it lacks a clear pattern.
To know that I’m not alone in my sorrow.
A Prayer for Survival of an Abusive Relationship is a poem that was written by the author, Sandra L. Stovall, to give hope to those who are still in abusive relationships.
This poem is about the cycle of an abusive relationship and how it affects the victim’s self-esteem. It also gives advice on how to get out of an abusive relationship.
Short Poems About Life
Life is Strange is a video game that can be played on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It was developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix.
The game revolves around Max Caulfield, a high-school student who discovers she has the ability to rewind time and thus tries to prevent the death of her best friend Chloe Price.
The player controls Max in most parts of the game, while some parts require only quick time events to advance the story.
The player has an opportunity to explore different areas of Arcadia Bay at their leisure, talk with non-player characters (NPCs), examine objects in order to find clues, answer text messages from other characters, help out NPCs with their problems or just take selfies with them.
Laughter is a great way to improve your health and well-being. Laughter is the best medicine.
Laughter is a powerful tool for creativity and stress relief, but it also has many other benefits for our mental and physical health.
It’s been proven that laughter can strengthen our immune system, reduce anxiety, decrease pain, clear the mind from negative thoughts, and even lower cholesterol levels.
In this article we’ll explore some of the most surprising ways laughter can improve your life.
Inspirational Poems About Life
Everyone has a tough time in life and everyone needs a little encouragement. This section is dedicated to the best inspirational and motivational poems that will help you get through the toughest times.
This section contains the most popular poems that are encouraging, uplifting, and inspiring.
Life is not about getting. It is about giving.
Life is not about being selfish. It is about loving unconditionally.
Life is not about having more rights than others. It is about taking care of others’ needs before one’s own needs.
“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” – Maya Angelou
You will not
The following is a poem by Maya Angelou:
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Forgetting what doesn’t matter”
“What does it mean when people say life is short?”
“The Moment when everything changes.”
An example of these types of poems would be “Inner Peace”.
A Poem for New Graduates
It’s not your time to worry how you’ll pay the bills;
Just keep your head up in all kinds of weather;
Still find time to say “I love you” out loud.
Remember that joy is always just around the bend.
Deep Poems About Life
Down in the Deep of the Deep
Lives a creature with tentacles
It lives in blue and green
With its 3 eyes on each side.
It crawls over lava
And it slides over sand,
It’s surrounded by bubbles
And it can’t speak human tongue.
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
The sky is a vast land that seems to stretch on forever.
It’s freckled with trees and blue oceans that wash the shores.
When the sun rises, its morning rays shimmer over the hills, dappling through leaves in a dance of light.
And when it sets, the evening sky reflects back at us in shades of gold and red and violet, like an old fighter’s jacket strewn over a battlefield.
Beautiful Poems About Life
I want to be free from these chains.
So I can dance with the wind and
feel the heat of the sun
bathe my face in joy
freedom like no other
to let my wings spread and soar high
I want to be free from these chains.
I am a thing of beauty, a child of life from which I emerge from to see the wonders of this world.
My world is warm with smiles and laughing eyes, peace and contentment fill my days.
But there is so much more out there for me to give- so much love I have left to share, so many kindnesses still unknown.
But for now, while my heart beats in these walls, while my feet walk this earth- I will live my best life
” This quote by Pindar is one of the most famous quotes about life. It beautifully captures how life and love are intrinsically connected to each other. Whether you like it or not, life is full of highs and lows. You can live a happy life with no worries or you can live sad, worrying life full of responsibilities. It’s up to you to choose what kind of life you want to lead.”
Life can be a challenge at times. But, with the right perspective, it’s a gift. Here are some poems that celebrate life and all of its beauty.
To live is so startling it leaves one breathless – Emily Dickinson
That you should live as long as you want, and want as long as you live – W. Hodding Carter
The sun sets not because each day is done but for another day’s work to begin” by Langston Hughes
– “…we can see it through and know we’ll make it through” by Bob Marley
What is life but a series of meaningless events-
Since all we do is to make our space with pain and tears?
I must be dreaming or hallucinating today-
Since all I see is my own image in the mirror.
I can’t escape from this madness forever-
If this be insanity then I’m most sane
“So this is it? This is all there is?
I never imagined how hard it would be.” – Anonymous
“Ulysses” by Alfred Tennyson “I Sing The Body Electric” by Walt Whitman “Ode To Melancholy” by John Keats “Tired And Alone At Last” by Mary Elizabeth Frye
“I am not a drop in the ocean I am the ocean in a drop.” – Rumi
Poems and poems – the sound of the soul of man.
The most important thing in life is not to be happy, but to live.
I want to sing all my songs and die with a smile on my lips.
I don’t want to live for long, just live enough so that I don’t forget what it means to be alive.
Beautiful Poems About Life
The beauty in life is endless. From the beauty in a flower, to the beauty of a newly blossomed love, to the beauty of a sunset. There is no end to what we can express and experience through our hearts and eyes. Life is beautiful and it’s something that we should all celebrate.
“You are beautiful like a sunset”- Unknown
A sun set is such an ephemeral thing. The colors change with every minute – sometimes there’s only purple and lavender, while at other times yellow mixes in with oranges and pinks.
And then, suddenly, it’s gone – the sun sets and darkness falls on the world. But before people forget about its existence, it strikes out one last time by highlighting its beauty one last time for anyone who has
“My Childhood Home” by Linda Pastan:
“When I was growing up there seemed to be/No one else who cared who I was/And so my childhood home was me/A place I loved but seldom left…” Unwritten” by Natasha.
“I’m still writing you letters which you’ll never read/I’m
Who knows what life is,
Only the heart that feels?
The one who lives and suffers,
And never more shall see.
My Childhood Home” by Linda Pastan:
“When I was growing up there seemed to be/No one else who cared who I was/And so my childhood home was me/A place I loved but seldom left…”
“Unwritten” by Natasha Friend:
“I’m still writing you letters which you’ll never read/I’m
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer; And things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words
A Dream Deferred
Does not always mean
A dream Denied,
Does not always mean The end; it often means A new beginning or And so on
I am a poem about life.
I am a poem about love.
I am a poem about memories of you,
As I am a poem about me.
– by Khadija Dawud
“Yourself you shall love but yourself only. Above all shall you respect yourself as the most delicate of creatures, your body as the richest of treasures, your mind as the most sacred of sanctuaries. You may love another but only if they can never become more than a friend or lover in your heart; for even in friendship or love there is too much pain when one feels in them what they cannot return in kind in their thoughts and deeds.” Kahlil Gibran
“A poem is a moment and a thought and a mood and an atmosphere captured by words.” William Slater Brown
Famous Poems About Life
I remember, I remember, the house where I was born. The ragged beggar woman who stood at the gate with her hands outstretched and her voice high and shrill: “It’s a cold January morning and we’re glad to see you.”
The wet nightgown clinging to my body and the darkness so complete under the bedclothes with just a thin light from outside coming in. “We’re glad to see you.” The damp breakfast things on the kitchen table–a bowl of cornflakes, a jar of grapefruit sections in syrup, a pot of tea already made–and my father getting up quickly with his face unsh Wilfred Owen
Life is more of a marathon than a sprint. People often underestimate the importance of reflecting on the past and celebrating what they have today. The following poems are some that express these sentiments.
Horace, an ancient Roman poet, displayed the importance of living in the present with his amazing poetic work “Odes”. In this poem, Horace praises the present moment and tells people to live life to its fullest while they can because it’s impossible to know when your time will come. On the other hand, Baudelaire described life as an endless pursuit for perfection in his piece “A Carcass”. This poem is about how humans can’t find satisfaction in anything they pursue in their lives because all their pursuits are flawed. Auden’s poem
There’s no way for me to go by without being stopped, questioned why I’m carrying these bags
I’m scared I’m going to get shot or pulled over for something
I can’t afford to fix or get out of jail wit’
Window by Henry Drummond
Auntie has climbed the hillside, where she stands against the sky;
Her eyes grow dimmer as her hair grows grayer;
She stops and waves her handkerchief, but I cannot see.
She points above the woods, where far-away clouds lie;
I know what she would tell me if I could hear:
The soul of youth should fly like a bird on high,
But Auntie bids me stay and plant my joys here
Recently, I was searching for the meaning of life
In a bookstore, I found a book about it
It was really expensive, so I took it.
I searched through the pages and found out about this poem
And these words were written at the end: “You will never find me”
“The Picture of Little J.A. Riding on a Goat’s Back, In One of His Mother’s Poses, With a Black Cloth Tied Round His Head to Keep Off the Sun, and James Tending the Flock Behind Him” by William Butler Yeats
-“Tired of All These Thistles and These Flowers Too? Then Tell Me, Where Do You Dream Your Happiness Lies? In What Field Must
Poems About Life And Death
I am your opus,
I am your valuable,
The pure gold baby
That melts to a shriek.
I turn and burn.
Do not think I underestimate your great concern.
Ash, ash—
You poke and stir.
Flesh, bone, there is nothing there——
A cake of soap,
A wedding ring,
A gold filling.
Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.
Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
“The Big Loser,” Max Ritvo
Ritvo is now famous not only for his poetry but for his sweetness in the face of death.
This poem is one of many bittersweet lenses on the life he was getting ready to leave.
That night the child dreams
he’s inside the box.
It’s burning hot, the heat coming
from bugs and worms
raping and devouring one another.
He starts the hard work
of the imagination,
learning to minister to the new dream.
Perhaps all that’s needed is a little rain —
for everyone to drink and have a bath.
Outside: a car humming,
somewhere, his mother’s singing.
“If I should die,” Emily Dickinson
If I should die,
And you should live,
And time should gurgle on,
And morn should beam,
And noon should burn,
As it has usual done;
If birds should build as early,
And bees as bustling go,—
One might depart at option
From enterprise below!
’T is sweet to know that stocks will stand
When we with daisies lie,
That commerce will continue,
And trades as briskly fly.
It makes the parting tranquil
And keeps the soul serene,
That gentlemen so sprightly
Conduct the pleasing scene!
Poems About Life Struggles
“The Mower,” Philip Larkin
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
“My God, It’s Full of Stars,” Tracy K. Smith
Maybe the dead know, their eyes widening at last,
Seeing the high beams of a million galaxies flick on
At twilight. Hearing the engines flare, the horns
Not letting up, the frenzy of being. I want to be
One notch below bedlam, like a radio without a dial.
Wide open, so everything floods in at once.
And sealed tight, so nothing escapes. Not even time,
Which should curl in on itself and loop around like smoke.
So that I might be sitting now beside my father
As he raises a lit match to the bowl of his pipe
For the first time in the winter of 1959.
“What the Living Do,” Marie Howe
I’ve been thinking: This is what the living do. And yesterday, hurrying along those
wobbly bricks in the Cambridge sidewalk, spilling my coffee down my wrist and sleeve,
I thought it again, and again later, when buying a hairbrush: This is it.
Parking. Slamming the car door shut in the cold. What you called that yearning.
What you finally gave up. We want the spring to come and the winter to pass. We want
whoever to call or not call, a letter, a kiss—we want more and more and then more of it.
But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass,
say, the window of the corner video store, and I’m gripped by a cherishing so deep
for my own blowing hair, chapped face, and unbuttoned coat that I’m speechless:
I am living. I remember you.
“Charity,” Kevin Young
One man saying sorry, older lady
in the back saying how funny
you were, how you joked
with her weekly. Sorry —
& a fellow black man hands
your clothes back for free,
don’t worry. I’ve learned death
has few kindnesses left.
Such is charity — so rare
& so rarely free —
that on the way back
to your emptying house
I weep. Then drive
everything, swaying,
straight to Goodwill —
open late — to live on
another body
& day.
“Tiara,” Mark Doty
Peter died in a paper tiara
cut from a book of princess paper dolls;
he loved royalty, sashes
and jewels. I don’t know,
he said, when he woke in the hospice,
I was watching the Bette Davis film festival
on Channel 57 and then—
At the wake, the tension broke
when someone guessed
the casket closed because
he was in there in a big wig
and heels, and someone said,
You know he’s always late,
he probably isn’t here yet—
he’s still fixing his makeup.
“In the Country of Resurrection,” Ada Limón
Similar to the Larkin in spirit; but honestly, the last two lines just slay me.
Last night we killed a possum,
out of mercy, in the middle of the road.
It was dying, its face was bloody,
the back legs were shattered. The mistake
I made was getting out of the car
(you told me not to), but I wanted to be
sure, needed to know for sure, that it could
not be saved. (Someone else had hit it.)
The sound it was making. The sound
folded me back into the airless car.
Do it, do it fast, I lowered my head
until the thud was done. You killed it quiet.
We drove home under the sickle moon,
laundry gone cold and dry on the line.
But that was last night. This morning
the sun is coming alive in the kitchen.
You’ve gone to get us gas station coffee
and there is so much life all over the place.
“Death,” Joe Brainard
Death has a very black reputation but, actually, to die is a
perfectly normal thing to do.
And it’s so wholesome: being a very important part of
nature’s big picture. Trees die, don’t they? And flowers?
I think it’s always nice to know that you are not alone. Even
in death.
Let’s think about ants for a minute. Millions of ants die
every day, and do we care? No. And I’m sure that ants feel the
same way about us.
Poems About Life And Love
It just says “You’re mine” – The Beatles
Love may be a mystery but it’s there all the time in our daily lives. Sometimes it might not be easy to find but when we
Life is a gift, as is love.
That’s what this poem is about.
So share it with your family and friends.
Julie Hebert, © 2011
Life can be busy,
And somewhat uneasy,
But there are things that can make it great.
Having love in your life,
Just a brother even a wife,
Can make all the difference to fate.
Love can lend you a hand,
When you need to withstand,
Some of the harder things in life.
But love can also soften,
Every so often,
When you’re dealing with life’s bigger strife.
We know love can sometimes be,
Hard to obtain thee,
But not all love needs romance to be any.
The love of a father,
A mother, a daughter,
Is a love that would satisfy many.
So allow love in your lifetime,
And give it more than a dime,
For love is worth much more to one man.
At first, you might not see it,
But it really much needed,
As life without love is never the plan.
Helen Steiner Rice
Love is like magic and it always will be.
For love still remains life’s sweet mystery!
Love works in ways that are wondrous and strange
and there’s nothing in life that love cannot change!
Lord I’m So Lonely
Greta Zwaan, © 2006
Lord, I’m so lonely, it’s so quiet here;
my family’s all gone and no one lives near.
My life’s not at all what I had expected;
I feel so left out, I feel so rejected.
When I was younger I had such great dreams;
I had things all planned, my head full of schemes.
But I was so busy with so much to do;
I paid no attention to thoughts about You.
“When I am older,” I always would say,
Best Poems About Life
“I’ll think of religion, I even might pray.”
But now my attention is geared for success;
I’m up for promotion, I’m under great stress.
I want this position, I want to achieve;
when I’m not so busy I’ll try to believe.
But time passed by quickly, the days disappeared,
and all my achievements were never revered.
I’ve never reached the praise that I sought,
it seems that my efforts were all for naught.
I gave all I had to a self-centered life,
and all it returned was hardship and strife.
Now that I’ve come to the point where
I see all of these dreams did nothing for me;
I fear that my time, which was not well spent,
has taken its toll, it’s too late to repent.
Now, all alone, not a friend or a kin
remembers my name because of my sin.
My sin? Self absorbent, neglecting their need,
no time for involvement because of my greed.
And Lord, How I hurt! To the depths of my heart.
I’d give all I own to make a new start!
I’d make time for friends, spend time in prayer,
asking forgiveness, seeking Your care.
Can You forgive me? A life filled with pride?
Can You still use me when You’ve been denied?
Will You allow me, what’s left of my days,
to belong to Your family, to sing of Your praise?
And God, in Your mercy, could You send me a friend?
So this lonely feeling might come to an end?
I’m not deserving, I depend on Your grace;
I thank You for caring and hearing my case.
Thanks for forgiveness, for patience with me,
for Your tender goodness, for setting me free.
Unknown
Somebody’s heart is gay,
And somebody’s heart is sad;
For lights shine out across the way,
And a door with crape is clad.
Sadness and gladness alike
Are dwelling side by side.
Perhaps the death of an early one,
And the crowning of a bride.
Bright eyes are filled with mirth,
Pale faces bend in prayer,
And hearts beside the household hearth
Are crushed by stout despair;
Ah, sorrow and hope and joy
Are parted by thinnest walls;
But on the hearts of the thoughtless ones
No shadow of sorrow falls!
No thoughts of the funeral train
Come to the festive throng;
No hopes that the past will come again
To the anguished hearts belong;
The future’s a sunny sea
To the lovers of joy and mirth;
But the past alone to those who weep
For the sundered ties of earth.
Somebody’s heart is gay,
And somebody’s heart is sad;
For the lights are bright across the way,
And a door with crape is clad.
Sadness and gladness alike
Confront us on every side;
A wealth of smiles and a flood of tears,
With hope and sorrow allied!