American Poetry
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Michael Marks' A Soldier's Christmas
Michael Marks' "A Soldier's Christmas" echoes the form of the famous Christmas poem, "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," by Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
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Al Gore's Untitled Poem
Gore joked to his publisher that W. B. Yeats had penned the poem in Gore's latest book; sadly, the publisher seemed to fall for it, before Gore admitted to scribbling it.
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Serepta and Amanda
Serepta Mason and Amanda Barker represent two Spoon River characters with very specific complaints against individuals who affected their lives in deleterious ways.
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Badger Clark's A Cowboy's Prayer
Clark's poem features four riming octets that deliver a ballad of nostalgia while celebrating and offering his gratitude to God for his way of life.
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Masters' Cassius Hueffer
"Cassius Hueffer" from Master's Spoon River Anthology is an American sonnet, which reverses the Petrarchan octave and sestet to emphasize the pessimism of the speaker.
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Hughes' Madam's Calling Cards
Alberta K. Johnson is a character in Langston Hughes' twelve-poem set called "Madam to You." In this poem, she has herself some name cards printed.
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Masters' Robert Fulton Tanner
Robert Fulton Tanner reveals much about his character by comparing himself metaphorically to a rat in a trap
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Barker's Thanksgiving Argument
Pop McIntyre and Smoky Hughes don't see eye to eye when it comes to giving thanks; Smoky presses his individualism a little further than Pop can abide.
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Brooks' Gay Chaps at the Bar
Brooks' "Gay Chaps at the Bar" is an American sonnet, featuring the Petrarchan style octave consisting of two quatrains and sestet consisting of two tercets.
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Ollie and Fletcher McGee
The third and fourth poems of Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology are companion pieces, spoken by a wife and a husband, commenting on the quality of their marriage.
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Rich's Diving into the Wreck
The ten versagraphs of Adrienne Rich's "Diving into the Wreck" dramatize a reader's metaphorical journey to explore the nature of a non-existent catastrophe.
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Masters' Hod Putt
The ne'er-do-well "Hod Putt" finds solace in the notion that finally in death he has achieved a measure of equality with a man who was actually successful in life.
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Kooser's Tattoo
Former U. S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser offers one of his fascinating observations, as he allows his speaker to speculate on the character of an aging, tattooed biker-type.
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Masters' The Hill
"The Hill" is the first poem in Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, a series dramatizing the lives of deceased residents of the fictional town of Spoon River.
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Dickinson's Two Butterflies went out at Noon
Emily Dickinson's gift of imagining supernaturally is on display in this fanciful piece that dramatizes the mystical flight of two butterflies.
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Bryant's The Gladness of Nature
One of the most cheerful poems ever written, "The Gladness of Nature," paints smiles on the faces of fruit and flowers and allows the sunshine to chase away all gloom.
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Frost's Acquainted with the Night
The speaker in Robert Frost's American sonnet reveals his rebellious nature, proclaiming his individual prerogative to venture into the city at night.
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Richard Wilbur's Mind
Richard Wilbur's poem, "Mind," consists of three riming quatrains that compare the human mind to a bat flying through darkness in a cavern.
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Oliver's Reckless Poem
Mary Oliver's "Reckless Poem" features the theme of self-awareness, dramatizing the act of intuitive knowledge superseding supposedly empirical evidence.
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Hayden's American Journal
Robert Hayden's speaker from another planet is an alien being who has come to Earth, particularly to the United States of America, to study the inhabitants.
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Angelou's Touched by an Angel
Angelou's "Touched by an Angel" lacks the poetic qualities that transform a philosophical statement into a poem.
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Kinnell's Blackberry Eating
The speaker in Galway Kinnell's "Blackberry Eating" compares the experience of eating blackberries to that of pronouncing his favorite words.
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Kay Ryan's Home to Roost
Current U.S. poet laureate, Kay Ryan, writes clever, little ditties that offer a distinctive reading experience.
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Neruda's Sonnet 73
Heavy with sexually charged innuendo, Neruda's sonnet dramatizes the process of lust transforming into genuine love.
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Brooks' the vacant lot
Brooks' versanelle offers a minimalist character sketch of three people whom the speaker disdains, and the vacant lot symbolizes her glee at being "all done" with them.
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