In their own words
Poems to read
Short poems, famous poems, poems about death, love, nature and hope. Every one is in the public domain and printed the way its author wrote it, free to read here with no signup. Pick one and stay a while.
Short poems
Twelve lines or fewer, each one whole, nothing cut.
- Safe in their Alabaster ChambersEmily Dickinson
- I'm Nobody! Who are you?Emily Dickinson
- The Soul selects her own SocietyEmily Dickinson
- This is my letter to the WorldEmily Dickinson
- "Hope" is the thing with feathersEmily Dickinson
- Success is counted sweetestEmily Dickinson
- The Brain – is wider than the SkyEmily Dickinson
- There is no Frigate like a BookEmily Dickinson
- Infant JoyWilliam Blake"I have no name;
- The Sick RoseWilliam BlakeO rose, thou art sick!
- The Clod and the PebbleWilliam Blake"Love seeketh not itself to please,
- The Chimney SweeperWilliam BlakeA little black thing in the snow,
Famous poems
The ones people come looking for.
- Because I could not stop for DeathEmily Dickinson
- "Hope" is the thing with feathersEmily Dickinson
- I'm Nobody! Who are you?Emily Dickinson
- I heard a Fly buzz – when I diedEmily Dickinson
- Wild nights – Wild nights!Emily Dickinson
- The TygerWilliam BlakeTyger, tyger, burning bright
- The LambWilliam BlakeLittle Lamb, who made thee
- LondonWilliam BlakeI wandered through each chartered street,
- A Poison TreeWilliam BlakeI was angry with my friend:
- The Sick RoseWilliam BlakeO rose, thou art sick!
- Sonnet 18William ShakespeareShall I compare thee to a summer's day?
- Sonnet 29William ShakespeareWhen in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
- Sonnet 116William ShakespeareLet me not to the marriage of true minds
- Sonnet 130William ShakespeareMy mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
Poems about death
What the end looks like from close up, and what might be on the other side.
- Because I could not stop for DeathEmily Dickinson
- I heard a Fly buzz – when I diedEmily Dickinson
- Safe in their Alabaster ChambersEmily Dickinson
- I felt a Funeral, in my BrainEmily Dickinson
- Sonnet 73William ShakespeareThat time of year thou mayst in me behold
- Sonnet 30William ShakespeareWhen to the sessions of sweet silent thought
- Sonnet 60William ShakespeareLike as the waves make towards the pebbled shore
- Sonnet 65William ShakespeareSince brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea
Poems about love
Love promised, love argued with, love looked at without flattery.
- Sonnet 18William ShakespeareShall I compare thee to a summer's day?
- Sonnet 116William ShakespeareLet me not to the marriage of true minds
- Sonnet 130William ShakespeareMy mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
- Sonnet 29William ShakespeareWhen in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
- Wild nights – Wild nights!Emily Dickinson
- The Clod and the PebbleWilliam Blake"Love seeketh not itself to please,
- The Garden of LoveWilliam BlakeI laid me down upon a bank,
- The Sick RoseWilliam BlakeO rose, thou art sick!
Poems about nature
A snake in the grass, a bird on the path, a tiger burning in the dark.
- The TygerWilliam BlakeTyger, tyger, burning bright
- The LambWilliam BlakeLittle Lamb, who made thee
- A narrow Fellow in the GrassEmily Dickinson
- A Bird, came down the WalkEmily Dickinson
- IntroductionWilliam BlakePiping down the valleys wild,
Poems about hope and the inner life
Hope that keeps singing in bad weather, and the private life it belongs to.
- "Hope" is the thing with feathersEmily Dickinson
- Success is counted sweetestEmily Dickinson
- I'm Nobody! Who are you?Emily Dickinson
- The Soul selects her own SocietyEmily Dickinson
- This is my letter to the WorldEmily Dickinson
- My Life had stood – a Loaded GunEmily Dickinson
- The Brain – is wider than the SkyEmily Dickinson
- There is no Frigate like a BookEmily Dickinson
- There's a certain Slant of lightEmily Dickinson
- Infant JoyWilliam Blake"I have no name;
- The Divine ImageWilliam BlakeTo Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
- The Chimney SweeperWilliam BlakeWhen my mother died I was very young,