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.

After Apple-Picking

by Robert Frost

Publication year 1914

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Science / Nature, Modernism, American Literature

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Again Later

by Martha Collins

Publication year 2020

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, American Literature

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A Glimpse

by Walt Whitman

Publication year 1860

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Free verse

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A Great Need

by Hafez

Publication year 1300

Genre Poem, Fiction

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

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships, Middle Eastern Literature

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Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave

by Thomas Hardy

Publication year 1913

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Natural World: Place, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Humor, Grief / Death, British Literature, Victorian Period

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A Jelly-Fish

by Marianne Moore

Publication year 1909

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Animals

Tags Lyric Poem

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Alastor; or, The Spirit of Solitude

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Publication year 1816

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Lyric Poem, Philosophy, Mythology, Romanticism / Romantic Period, British Literature, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

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A Little Girl Tugs at the Tablecloth

by Wisława Szymborska

Publication year 2002

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Lyric Poem

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All That I Owe the Fellows of the Grave

by Dylan Thomas

Publication year 1933

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Modernism

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A Man Said to the Universe

by Stephen Crane

Publication year 1899

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Lyric Poem, Existentialism, Realism

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America

by Claude McKay

Publication year 1921

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Nation, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Lyric Poem, Harlem Renaissance, Race / Racism

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America

by Walt Whitman

Publication year 1888

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Nation, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Equality, Natural World: Place, Society: Community

Tags Free verse

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América

by Richard Blanco

Publication year 1998

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Nation, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Society: Immigration

Tags Immigration / Refugee

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American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin [“Probably twilight ...”]

by Terrance Hayes

Publication year 2017

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Life/Time: The Future, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Lyric Poem, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Black Lives Matter, African American Literature

... Read American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin [“Probably twilight ...”] Summary

America the Beautiful

by Katharine Lee Bates

Publication year 1893

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Nation

Tags Lyric Poem, Inspirational, American Literature

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A Miracle for Breakfast

by Elizabeth Bishop

Publication year 1972

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude

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An Agony. As Now.

by Amiri Baraka

Publication year 1964

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger

Tags Black Arts Movement, Race / Racism

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An American Sunrise

by Joy Harjo

Publication year 2017

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Mental Health, Society: Politics & Government, Identity: Indigenous

Tags Lyric Poem, History: U.S., American Literature, Food, Race / Racism, History: World

Joy Harjo is a seminal voice in the US poetry canon, and she has long been an advocate for Native American women in the literary world. Her work has merited tremendous acclaim, such as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, the Josephine Miles Poetry Award, the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets, the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the American... Read An American Sunrise Summary

An Ancient Gesture

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Publication year 1949

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Marriage

Tags Lyric Poem, Free verse, Relationships

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