(Ten of) My Favorite Poems (and an Excerpt from Each)

It's National Poetry Month here in the US, and do we ever need a month of poetry! I am sharing a few of my favorite poems today.

I keep a commonplace book. It's nothing fancy. Here I record my favorite poems and quotes and inspiration and it's where I draw little pictures and more. All the photos here are from my commonplace book. 

10.  "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens

"Among twenty snowy mountains,   

The only moving thing

Was the eye of the blackbird.... " 

9. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

“Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow...." 

 

8. "Let Evening Come" by Jane Kenyon

"...Let the cricket take up chafing

as a woman takes up her needles 

and her yarn. Let evening come...."

 

7. "Yes Yes Yes" by Kaylin Haught

“I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic

and she said yes

I asked her if it was okay to be short

and she said it sure is..."

 

6. "The Visible and the In---" by Marge Piercy

"Some people move through your life

like the perfume of peonies, heavy

and sensual and lingering...."

 

5. "[ancient pond]" by Basho

"ancient pond

frog jumps in

sound of the water"

4. "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams

"so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow..."

3. "Sunlight on the Garden" by Louis MacNeice

"The sunlight on the garden

Hardens and grows cold,

We cannot cage the minute

Within its nets of gold,

When all is told

We cannot beg for pardon...."

 

 

2. "Thanks" by W. S. Merwin

"Listen

with the night falling we are saying thank you

we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings

we are running out of glass rooms

with our mouths full of food to look at the sky

and say thank you

we are standing by the water thanking it

standing by the windows looking out

in our directions..."

 

1. "The Orange" by Wendy Cope

"At lunchtime I bought a huge orange

The size of it made us all laugh.

I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—

They got quarters and I had a half...."

For more of my favorite poems, take a look at my collection of favorites Oh-So-Splendid Poems. 

Do you have a favorite poem? Would any of mine be on your list? Please share some of your favorites in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.