Short Poems

Our Short Poems Collection highlights the power of poetry through titles that make an impact in few words. These bite-sized selections offer a convenient starting place for readers new to analyzing poetry or anyone who appreciates short-form verse and its ability to move and inspire.

How to Triumph Like a Girl

by Ada Limón

Publication year 2013

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Animals

Tags Gender / Feminism

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Hurt Locker

by Brian Turner

Publication year 2005

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags War On Terrorism / Iraq War

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Iambicum Trimetrum

by Edmund Spenser

Publication year 1580

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Lyric Poem, Renaissance, Elizabethan Era

Along with his contemporary Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser is one of the most important literary figures from the English Renaissance (c. 1550-1660), also known as the Early Modern Period. Spenser’s work was greatly influenced by his studies of Classical and Italian Renaissance poets, including Virgil, Ludovico Ariosto, and Torquato Tasso. His faith and study of Christianity also informed his work. With Sidney, who was also an influence, and his friend Gabriel Harvey, Spenser belonged to... Read Iambicum Trimetrum Summary

I Am Offering This Poem

by Jimmy Santiago Baca

Publication year 1990

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

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I Am the People, the Mob

by Carl Sandburg

Publication year 1916

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Nation, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Modernism, Class

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I Ask My Mother to Sing

by Li-Young Lee

Publication year 1986

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, Immigration / Refugee, Mythology

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I Can Wade Grief

by Emily Dickinson

Publication year 1891

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief

Tags Mental Illness, American Literature

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Identity

by Julio Noboa

Publication year 1977

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, Philosophy, Science / Nature, Latin American Literature, Animals

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If—

by Rudyard Kipling

Publication year 1910

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags Inspirational, Lyric Poem, Relationships

... Read If— Summary

I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind

by Emily Dickinson

Publication year 1890

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health

Tags Lyric Poem, Depression / Suicide

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I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain

by Emily Dickinson

Publication year 1896

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Self Discovery, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Transcendentalism, American Literature, Classic Fiction

... Read I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain Summary

If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking

by Emily Dickinson

Publication year 1929

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, Love / Sexuality, Grief / Death

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If I should die

by Emily Dickinson

Publication year 1891

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Society: Economics, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, Business / Economics

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If I Told Him, A Completed Portrait of Picasso

by Gertrude Stein

Publication year 1924

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude

Tags Free verse, Modernism, Arts / Culture

... Read If I Told Him, A Completed Portrait of Picasso Summary

If We Must Die

by Claude McKay

Publication year 1919

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Grief / Death, Race / Racism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, African American Literature, Harlem Renaissance, Education, Education, Classic Fiction

... Read If We Must Die Summary