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.

Not Waving but Drowning

by Stevie Smith

Publication year 1957

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Society: Community, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy

Tags Free verse, Lyric Poem, Mental Illness, Grief / Death, Classic Fiction

... Read Not Waving but Drowning Summary

O Captain! My Captain!

by Walt Whitman

Publication year 1865

Genre Poem, Fiction

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

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, Transcendentalism, History: U.S., American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

... Read O Captain! My Captain! Summary

October

by Robert Frost

Publication year 1913

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: Aging

Tags Lyric Poem, Science / Nature, Grief / Death, American Literature

... Read October Summary

Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

by William Wordsworth

Publication year 1807

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Aging, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Natural World: Environment

Tags Romanticism / Romantic Period, Education, Education, British Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

... Read Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood Summary

Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College

by Thomas Gray

Publication year 1768

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Future

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, British Literature

... Read Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College Summary

Ode on Melancholy

by John Keats

Publication year 1819

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Place, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Values/Ideas: Beauty

Tags Lyric Poem, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Grief / Death, Education, Education, British Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

... Read Ode on Melancholy Summary

Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market

by Pablo Neruda

Publication year 1957

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Lyric Poem, Animals, Science / Nature, Grief / Death, Latin American Literature, Food

... Read Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market Summary

Ode to Dirt

by Sharon Olds

Publication year 2016

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Lyric Poem

... Read Ode to Dirt Summary

Ode to Teachers

by Pat Mora

Publication year 2010

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past

Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Education

... Read Ode to Teachers Summary

Of the Threads that Connect the Stars

by Martín Espada

Publication year 2016

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Natural World: Space & The Universe

... Read Of the Threads that Connect the Stars Summary

Old Love

by Pat Mora

Publication year 2010

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Aging

Tags Grief / Death

... Read Old Love Summary

Old Pond

by Basho

Publication year 1686

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia

Tags Asian Literature, Lyric Poem, Japanese Literature, Animals

Many scholars agree that “Old Pond” (1686) by Matsuo Bashō is one of the most—if not the most—famous haiku of all time. The term “haiku” translates as “play verse,” and though “Old Pond” appears whimsical and simple—a frog jumping into water and the subsequent splash—Bashō utilizes various literary devices such as key words and onomatopoeia to ensure this three-line poem is both didactic and enjoyable. “Old Pond” is instructional, especially for its use of common... Read Old Pond Summary

On Anger

by Rage Hezekiah

Publication year 2019

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race

Tags Lyric Poem, Race / Racism, African American Literature

... Read On Anger Summary

On Being Brought from Africa to America

by Phillis Wheatley

Publication year 1773

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race

Tags Lyric Poem, Race / Racism, African American Literature

... Read On Being Brought from Africa to America Summary

Once by the Pacific

by Robert Frost

Publication year 1928

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Natural World: Place

Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Science / Nature

... Read Once by the Pacific Summary

One Art

by Elizabeth Bishop

Publication year 1976

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: The Past, Identity: Language

Tags Lyric Poem, American Literature, Arts / Culture, LGBTQ, Classic Fiction, Biography

Throughout her life, Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) suffered many losses. Her father died before her first birthday and her mother entered a mental institution when Bishop was only five, leaving her to the guardianship of maternal and paternal grandparents. Later, Bishop’s lover committed suicide in Brazil, prompting Bishop’s return to the US. “One Art” (1976) alludes to several of these prominent losses, though the poem objectively approaches loss. “One Art” defines loss as a special form... Read One Art Summary

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer

by John Keats

Publication year 1816

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Joy

Tags Classic Fiction, Lyric Poem, History: World, British Literature

“On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” is a sonnet by the English poet John Keats. It was first published in The Examiner on Dec. 1, 1816, and describes Keats’s awed reaction to Elizabethan playwright George Chapman’s startling translations of Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey. Keats’s lyric poem is informed by the Romanticism movement, of which he became a chief practitioner in its late form, despite his brief life.The poem is the most famous of... Read On First Looking into Chapman's Homer Summary