Poem Explorer

Curated reading path

Short public-domain poems

A short poem can turn on a single image, argument, sound, or surprise. Its small scale makes repetition, line breaks, and word choice unusually visible.

Every poem here is fourteen lines or fewer. The selection includes brief lyrics and epigrams as well as compact poems whose intensity exceeds their length.

1305 matching poems93 poets160 selected starting points

Poems in this path

  1. A Calendar of Sonnets: JuneHelen Hunt Jackson · 14 lines
  2. A Calendar of Sonnets: MayHelen Hunt Jackson · 14 lines
  3. A cloud of flowersMatsuo Basho · 3 lines
  4. A FarewellCharles Kingsley · 10 lines
  5. A Letter to Lady Margaret Cavendish Holles-Harley, when a ChildMatthew Prior · 13 lines
  6. A MemoryWilliam Allingham · 7 lines
  7. Amoretti III: The Sovereign BeautyEdmund Spenser · 14 lines
  8. Amoretti LXXIV: Most Happy LettersEdmund Spenser · 14 lines
  9. An ancient pondMatsuo Basho · 3 lines
  10. An Angel in the HouseJames Henry Leigh Hunt · 14 lines
  11. Another Acrostic (in the style of Father William)Lewis Carroll · 13 lines
  12. AutumnWalter Savage Landor · 8 lines
  13. AutumnWilliam Morris · 4 lines
  14. Autumnal SonnetWilliam Allingham · 14 lines
  15. Bright Star, Would I Were Steadfast As Thou ArtJohn Keats · 14 lines
  16. But Men Loved Darkness rather than LightRichard Crashaw · 4 lines
  17. Child of a DayWalter Savage Landor · 8 lines
  18. Christmas HolidaysThomas Hood · 14 lines
  19. Come Home!Mary Elizabeth Coleridge · 12 lines
  20. DeathJames Henry Leigh Hunt · 13 lines
  21. DeathThomas Hood · 14 lines
  22. Divine Epigrams: To our Lord, upon the Water Made WineRichard Crashaw · 4 lines
  23. EasterEdmund Spenser · 14 lines
  24. Easter DayOscar Wilde · 14 lines
  25. Farewell Love and All Thy Laws ForeverSir Thomas Wyatt · 14 lines
  26. Farewell to the CourtSir Walter Raleigh · 14 lines
  27. FreedomHelen Hunt Jackson · 14 lines
  28. Gitanjali 02: When thou commandest me to sing it seems thatRabindranath Tagore · 11 lines
  29. Gitanjali 03: I know not how thou singest, my master! I everRabindranath Tagore · 9 lines
  30. Gitanjali 04: Life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my bRabindranath Tagore · 10 lines
  31. Gitanjali 05: I ask for a moment’s indulgence to sit by thyRabindranath Tagore · 9 lines
  32. Gitanjali 06: Pluck this little flower and take it, delay noRabindranath Tagore · 7 lines
  33. Gitanjali 07: My song has put off her adornments. She has noRabindranath Tagore · 6 lines
  34. Gitanjali 08: The child who is decked with prince’s robes anRabindranath Tagore · 8 lines
  35. Gitanjali 09: O Fool, try to carry thyself upon thy own shouRabindranath Tagore · 7 lines
  36. GlassAnne Kingsmill Finch · 14 lines
  37. Goodtime JesusEdward Taylor · 6 lines
  38. Happy the Lab'rerJane Austen · 12 lines
  39. Happy the ManJohn Dryden · 8 lines
  40. Herodias Daughter presenting to her Mother St. John's Head in a Charger, also Painted by her selfAnne Killigrew · 12 lines
  41. Holy Sonnet X: Death Be Not ProudJohn Donne · 14 lines
  42. Hope is the thing with feathersEmily Dickinson · 12 lines
  43. How Soon Hath TimeJohn Milton · 14 lines
  44. I Find No PeaceSir Thomas Wyatt · 14 lines
  45. I'm nobody! Who are you?Emily Dickinson · 8 lines
  46. In a Spring GroveWilliam Allingham · 14 lines
  47. Influence of Time on GriefWilliam Lisle Bowles · 14 lines
  48. Late AutumnWilliam Allingham · 14 lines
  49. LifeSir Walter Raleigh · 10 lines
  50. Life and ArtEmma Lazarus · 14 lines
  51. Little Girls Must Not FretJane Taylor · 12 lines
  52. Marriage BellsEmma Lazarus · 14 lines
  53. Meeting at NightRobert Browning · 12 lines
  54. On a Forenoon of SpringWilliam Allingham · 14 lines
  55. On a withered branchMatsuo Basho · 3 lines
  56. On First Looking into Chapman's HomerJohn Keats · 14 lines
  57. On His Deceased WifeJohn Milton · 14 lines
  58. On the Miracle of the Multiplied LoavesRichard Crashaw · 4 lines
  59. OzymandiasPercy Bysshe Shelley · 14 lines
  60. Part in Peace: Is Day Before Us?Sarah Flower Adams · 12 lines
  61. Patience Taught by NatureElizabeth Barrett Browning · 14 lines
  62. PiececitosGabriela Mistral · 12 lines
  63. Pied BeautyGerard Manley Hopkins · 11 lines
  64. PrayerGeorge Herbert · 14 lines
  65. PrayerHenry David Thoreau · 14 lines
  66. RegretAlexander Pushkin · 13 lines
  67. RememberChristina Rossetti · 14 lines
  68. Rose AylmerWalter Savage Landor · 8 lines
  69. RosesGeorge Eliot · 7 lines
  70. Rumi 01: “The song of the spheres in their revolutionsJalal al-Din Rumi · 8 lines
  71. Rumi 02: “Men incur the reproach of wine and drugsJalal al-Din Rumi · 4 lines
  72. Rumi 03: “Angel and brute man’s wondrous leaven compose;Jalal al-Din Rumi · 3 lines
  73. Rumi 04: “Do you know a name without a thing answering toJalal al-Din Rumi · 10 lines
  74. Rumi 05: “The man of God is made wise by the Truth,Jalal al-Din Rumi · 4 lines
  75. Rumi 06: “I have put duality away, I have seen that the tJalal al-Din Rumi · 5 lines
  76. Rumi 07: “Not-being and defect, wherever seen,Jalal al-Din Rumi · 6 lines
  77. Rumi 08: “Fools buy false coins because they are like theJalal al-Din Rumi · 13 lines
  78. So We'll Go No More a-RovingGeorge Gordon, Lord Byron · 12 lines
  79. Song from ArcadiaSir Philip Sidney · 14 lines
  80. Song of Fairies Robbing an OrchardJames Henry Leigh Hunt · 12 lines
  81. Song on May MorningJohn Milton · 10 lines
  82. Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true mindsWilliam Shakespeare · 14 lines
  83. Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sunWilliam Shakespeare · 14 lines
  84. Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?William Shakespeare · 14 lines
  85. Sonnet 29: When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyesWilliam Shakespeare · 14 lines
  86. Sonnet 30 (Fire and Ice)Edmund Spenser · 14 lines
  87. Sonnet 54Edmund Spenser · 14 lines
  88. Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me beholdWilliam Shakespeare · 14 lines
  89. Sonnet 75Edmund Spenser · 14 lines
  90. Sonnet III: With how sad stepsSir Philip Sidney · 14 lines
  91. Sonnet VII: When NatureSir Philip Sidney · 14 lines
  92. Sonnet XLIII: The Unhappy ExileCharlotte Smith · 14 lines
  93. Sonnet XLIV: Press'd by the MoonCharlotte Smith · 14 lines
  94. Sonnet XVI: In Nature AptSir Philip Sidney · 14 lines
  95. Sonnet XVII: His Mother Dear CupidSir Philip Sidney · 14 lines
  96. Sonnet XXXIII: I WakeRobinson · 14 lines
  97. Souls and Rain-DropsSidney Lanier · 8 lines
  98. Speak of the North! A Lonely MoorCharlotte Bronte · 12 lines
  99. SpringGerard Manley Hopkins · 14 lines
  100. SpringWilliam Morris · 4 lines
  101. St. John Baptist Painted by her self in the Wilderness, with Angels appearing to him, and with a Lamb by himAnne Killigrew · 8 lines
  102. SuccessEmma Lazarus · 14 lines
  103. Such, Such Is DeathCharles Sorley · 14 lines
  104. SummerWilliam Morris · 4 lines
  105. Summer DawnWilliam Morris · 14 lines
  106. SympathyEmma Lazarus · 14 lines
  107. The Baby's DanceAnn Taylor · 8 lines
  108. The Chimney SweeperWilliam Blake · 12 lines
  109. The cry of the cicadaMatsuo Basho · 3 lines
  110. The Evening StarWalter Savage Landor · 8 lines
  111. The Hope of My HeartJohn McCrae · 13 lines
  112. The RoseWilliam Browne · 14 lines
  113. The Sick RoseWilliam Blake · 8 lines
  114. The Soldier's WifeRobert Southey · 12 lines
  115. The Young SoldierWilfred Owen · 12 lines
  116. There Was an Old Man in a TreeEdward Lear · 5 lines
  117. Time of RosesThomas Hood · 12 lines
  118. To --Percy Bysshe Shelley · 12 lines
  119. To Her Father with Some VersesAnne Bradstreet · 14 lines
  120. To Lucasta, Going to the WarsRichard Lovelace · 12 lines
  121. To MemoryMary Elizabeth Coleridge · 12 lines
  122. To My Dear and Loving HusbandAnne Bradstreet · 12 lines
  123. To My Wife - With a Copy of My PoemsOscar Wilde · 12 lines
  124. To the Sad MoonSir Philip Sidney · 14 lines
  125. To----Edgar Allan Poe · 12 lines
  126. Unstable DreamSir Thomas Wyatt · 14 lines
  127. We Never Said FarewellMary Elizabeth Coleridge · 8 lines
  128. When Lovely Woman Stoops to FollyOliver Goldsmith · 8 lines
  129. While Summer Suns O'er the Gay Prospect Play'dThomas Warton · 14 lines
  130. WinterRobert Southey · 14 lines
  131. Winter HeavensGeorge Meredith · 14 lines
  132. Winter SongWilfred Owen · 10 lines
  133. Written near a Port on a Dark EveningCharlotte Smith · 14 lines
  134. 상사몽Hwang Jini · 4 lines
  135. 'T is little I could care for pearlsEmily Dickinson · 8 lines
  136. 'T is sunrise, little maid, hast thouEmily Dickinson · 14 lines
  137. 'T is whiter than an Indian pipeEmily Dickinson · 12 lines
  138. 'T WAS later when the summer wentEmily Dickinson · 8 lines
  139. 'T was such a little, little boatEmily Dickinson · 8 lines
  140. 'Tis moonlight, summer moonlightEmily Bronte · 12 lines
  141. "It was wrong to do this," said the angelStephen Crane · 10 lines
  142. A Calendar of Sonnets: AprilHelen Hunt Jackson · 14 lines
  143. A Calendar of Sonnets: JulyHelen Hunt Jackson · 13 lines
  144. A Calendar of Sonnets: MarchHelen Hunt Jackson · 14 lines
  145. A Calendar of Sonnets: NovemberHelen Hunt Jackson · 14 lines
  146. A CatEdward Thomas · 12 lines
  147. A charm invests a faceEmily Dickinson · 8 lines
  148. A death-blow is a life-blow to someEmily Dickinson · 4 lines
  149. A deed knocks first at thoughtEmily Dickinson · 8 lines
  150. A dew sufficed itselfEmily Dickinson · 12 lines
  151. A DirgePercy Bysshe Shelley · 8 lines
  152. A Divine ImageWilliam Blake · 8 lines
  153. A door just opened on a streetEmily Dickinson · 8 lines
  154. A DreamEdward Thomas · 14 lines
  155. A face devoid of love or graceEmily Dickinson · 6 lines
  156. A Flower-Piece by FantinAlgernon Charles Swinburne · 11 lines
  157. A FragmentGeorge Gordon, Lord Byron · 12 lines
  158. A Fragment: To MusicPercy Bysshe Shelley · 5 lines
  159. A Hate-SongPercy Bysshe Shelley · 4 lines
  160. A LamentPercy Bysshe Shelley · 10 lines