Explore all poems

Booker T. and W.E.B.

by Dudley Randall

“It seems to me,” said Booker T.,
“It shows a mighty lot of cheek
To study chemistry and Greek
When Mister Charlie needs a hand
To hoe the cotton on his land,
And when Miss Ann looks for a cook,
Why stick your nose inside a...

The Winds of Fate

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow.
'Tis the set of the sails,
And Not the gales,
That tell us the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate;
As we voyage along...

Cold

by Bencity

Day by day
Smiles grow wearisome
And the spark within
Fades and fades
Slowly I start to see the cold
And feel the dark!

Happy The Lab'rer

by Jane Austen

Happy the lab'rer in his Sunday clothes!
In light-drab coat, smart waistcoat, well-darn'd hose,
And hat upon his head, to church he goes;
As oft, with conscious pride, he downward throws
A glance upon the ample cabbage...

Thoughts

by Bencity

Knocking at my mind’s door,
Slyly you ask to come in,
Often, we sleep all night
Often, we tangle 'til dawn
Sometimes I think you make me whole
Sometimes I think you kill me
Even when I wish you away
I can’t help but...

One Art

by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of...

I Picked Up A Star

by Bencity

On my travels up above,
I picked up a star,
Wrestled it from its place,
And dragged it down below.
It's one thing to watch stars above,
It's another to hold them in hand.
For they burn like Sulphur;
And are big like...

Dog

by Valerie Worth

Under a maple tree
the dog lies down,
Lolls his limp
Tongue, yawns,
Rests his long chin
Carefully between
Front paws;
Looks up, alert;
Chops, with heavy
Jaws, at a slow fly,
Blinks, rolls
On his...

Home at Last

by Pete

To my sanctuary I return—
A tranquil night.
I wash the city away
From the ebony of my skin
Under a soothing stream,
Warm as the sun
That I long to see
On such a lonesome night.

The Red Wheelbarrow

by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

Your Name

by Bencity

Standing at a cliff’s edge
Far into the sea I see
The ancient breeze drawing close
Rippling the bare sea
Gently it stings my eyes
Swooshes over me with grace
With the sound of a howling wolf-
And the scent of salt and...

In Love We Fell

by Pete

Our love took us
To high and heavenly places,
And oh, my dear!
How hard we fell.