The Daily Poem

Mary Jo Salter's "Advent"

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Jo Salter is the author of eight books of poetry including The Surveyors (2017) and, most recently Zoom Rooms: Poems (2022). She is also a lyrici...

Czeslaw Milosz' "Blacksmith Shop"

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Czesław Miłosz (30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry i...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith"

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"The spirit of the smithy is so close to the spirit of song that it has mixed in a million poems, and every blacksmith is a harmonious blacksmith. Eve...

Robert Burns' "To a Mouse"

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Robert or "Rabbie" Burns (born 25 January 1759, died 21 July 1796) hailed from Alloway, Scotland. Like his father, Burns was a tenant farmer. However,...

Rainer Maria Rilke's "Archaic Torso of Apollo"

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“Rilke’s most immediate and obvious influence has been upon diction and imagery. [He expressed ideas with] physical rather than intellectual symbo...

James Whitcomb Riley's "When the Frost is on the Punkin"

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

James Whitcomb Riley (born October 7, 1849; died July 22, 1916) was author of numerous beloved poetry volumes, and widely known for books such as The...

Mary Oliver's "The Mangroves"

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s poem, Mary Oliver helps us develop affinity for the unfamiliar. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subs...

A. E. Stallings' "Denouement"

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A. E. Stallings is a poet and translator mining the classical world and traditional poetic techniques to craft works that evoke startling insights abo...

William Blake's "Jerusalem"

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Poet, Painter, Prophet–Blake “neither wrote nor drew for the many, hardly for work’y-day men at all, rather for children and angels; himself  ‘...

Richard Howard's "Oystering"

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Howard (born Oct 13, 1929, died march 31, 2022) was credited with introducing modern French fiction—particularly examples of the Nouveau Rom...

William Matthews' "On a Diet"

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

William Procter Matthews III (November 11, 1942 – November 12, 1997) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He earned a BA from Yale and MFA from the Univers...

Ben Jonson's "Inviting a Friend to Supper"

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Happy Thanksgiving from The Daily Poem! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers...

Two Poems About Butter

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today we pay tribute, with poems by Andrea Cohen and Elizabeth Alexander, to the indispensable golden wonder. This is a public episode. If you'd like ...

W. S. Gilbert's "National Anthem"

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collabo...

Allen Tate's "Edges"

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979) was a poet, critic, biographer, and novelist. Born and raised in Kentucky, he earned hi...

Ted Kooser's "Selecting a Reader"

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s poem Ted Kooser describes his ideal reader. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access ...

Walt Whitman to His Reader

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s poems, Walt Whitman welcomes the reader. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to ...

Marianne Moore's "Poetry"

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s poem, Marianne Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972) gets candid about poetry itself.One of American literature’s foremost poe...

Billy Collins' "Dear Reader"

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is Billy Collins’ take on the time-honored poetic trope: the address to the reader. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discus...

Robert Louis Stevenson's "To Any Reader"

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel ...

John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The English writer and Anglican cleric John Donne is considered now to be the preeminent metaphysical poet of his time. He was born in 1572 to Roman C...

Barbara Ras' "Margin of Error"

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Barbara Ras was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and has lived in Costa Rica, Colombia, California, and Texas. She is the author of The Last Skin ...

Malcolm Guite's "Michaelmas"

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ayodeji Malcolm Guite (/ɡaɪt/; born 12 November 1957) is an English poet, singer-songwriter, Anglican priest, and academic. Born in Nigeria to Briti...

Ogden Nash's Verses for The Carnival of the Animals

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

During his lifetime, Ogden Nash (born August 19, 1902; died May 19, 1971) was the most widely known, appreciated, and imitated American creator of lig...

Two for Guy Fawkes Day

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Remember, Remember – November 5 was Guy Fawkes Day, an occasion full of complicated remembrances. We mark the day with a traditional English lyric a...

Robert B. Shaw's "Chronometrics"

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We will turn the clocks back this weekend–in fact, many clocks will turn themselves back–and there is no better occasion to meditate with Robert B...

Wallace Stevens' "Of the surface of things"

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Stevens moved to Connecticut in 1916, having found employment at the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co., where he became vice president in 1934. He h...

Billy Collins' "On Turning Ten"

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Billy Collins spent his tenure as U.S. Poet Laureate launching the Poetry 180 initiative to increase American high school students’ exposure to poet...

Robert B. Shaw's "Jack O'Lantern"

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Poet and critic Robert B. Shaw earned a BA from Harvard University, where he studied with Robert Lowell, and a PhD from Yale University. Influenced by...

E.E. Cummings' "i thank You God for most this amazing day"

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Edward Estlin (E.E.) Cummings was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended the Cambridge Latin High School, where he studied Latin and Greek. Cum...

Dylan Thomas' "And Death Shall Have No Dominion"

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Dylan Marlais Thomas, born October 27, 1914 in the Welsh seaport of Swansea, Wales. Thomas attended the Swansea Grammar School, w...

Christine Perrin's "Reading Telemachus"

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Christine Perrin is the director of writing at Messiah College and has taught literature and creative writing at Johns Hopkins University, with Gordo...

The Saint Crispin's Day Speech

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today being St. Crispin’s Day, it seems only right to share, once again, one of the most famous speeches in English literature—Henry V’s “Cris...

Carl Sandburg's "Mummy"

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967), an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Puli...

"The Death of Nelson"

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by an anonymous poet but it artfully commemorates the life and death of a great historical figure. This is a public episode. If you...

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (/ˈkoʊlərɪdʒ/ KOH-lə-rij;[1] 21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834), an English poet, literary critic, ...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Tide Rises, Tide Falls"

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems "Paul Revere...

Dana Gioia's "Metamorphosis"

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Michael Dana Gioia (/ˈdʒɔɪ.ə/; born December 24, 1950), an American poet, literary critic, literary translator, and essayist...

Two by Oscar Wilde

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poems are by Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde[a] (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900), an Irish poet and playwright. After writing i...

Gerard Manley Hopkins' "Binsey Poplars"

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889), an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him amon...

Theodore Roethke's "Root Cellar"

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Theodore Huebner Roethke (/ˈrɛtki/ RET-kee;[1] May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963), an American poet. He is regarded as one of th...

J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Tale of Tinuviel"

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE FRSL (/ˈruːl ˈtɒlkiːn/, ROOL TOL-keen;[a] 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973), an English wri...

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963), an American poet. His work was initially published in England before i...

Rudyard Kipling's "If"

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is dedicated to my son, Coulter, who turns twelve today. Joseph Rudyard Kipling (/ˈrʌdjərd/ RUD-yərd; 30 December 1865 – 18 Janua...

Jane Kenyon's "The Blue Bowl"

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jane Kenyon (May 23, 1947 – April 22, 1995) was an American poet and translator. Her work is often characterized as simple, spare, and emotionally r...

T.S. Eliot's "Rhapsody on a Windy Night"

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Thomas Stearns Eliot OM (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965), a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and edi...

Thomas Gray's "Ode to the Death of a Favorite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes"

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771), an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar, and fellow at Pembroke Colleg...

Pablo Neruda's "A Dog Has Died"

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Pablo Neruda (/nəˈruːdə/;[1] Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpaβlo neˈɾuða] ⓘ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto;...

Blaise Cendrars "Menus"

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961),[1] better known as Blaise Cendrars, a Swiss-born novelist and poe...

Roald Dahl's "The Centipede's Song"

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Roald Dahl[a] (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990), a British popular author of children's literatureand short stories, a po...

T.S. Eliot's "The Naming of Cats"

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Thomas Stearns Eliot OM (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965), a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and edi...

Mary Oliver's "Beside the Waterfall"

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019) , an American poet who won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Pr...

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 44"

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861), an English poet of the Victorian era, popular i...

Wendell Berry's "September 2"

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934), an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and fa...

Seamus Heaney's "Scaffolding"

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Seamus Justin Heaney MRIA (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013), an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nob...

Rita Dove's "Ars Poetica"

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952), an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultan...

Zbigniew Herbert's "From Mythology"

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Zbigniew Herbert (IPA: [ˈzbiɡɲɛf ˈxɛrbɛrt] (listen); 29 October 1924 – 28 July 1998), a Polish poet, essayist, drama w...

Billy Collins' "Introduction to Poetry"

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by William James Collins, aka Billy Collins, (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United...

Edgar Allan Poe's "Sonnet to Science"

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Edgar Allan Poe (né Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849), an American writer, poet, author, editor, and literary cri...

Emily Dickinson's "As Imperceptibly as Grief"

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886), an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since be...

Philip Larkin's "Mother, Summer, I"

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Philip Arthur Larkin CH CBE FRSL (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985), an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of...

Thomas Lux's "Cow Chases Boys"

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Thomas Lux (December 10, 1946 – February 5, 2017), an American poet who held the Margaret T. and Henry C. Bourne, Jr. Chair in ...

Seamus Heaney's "Blackberry Picking"

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Seamus Justin Heaney MRIA (/ˈʃeɪməs ˈhiːni/; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013), an Irish poet, playwright and translator. ...

John Ashbery's "Crossroads in the Past"

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by John Lawrence Ashbery[1] (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) , an American poet and art critic.[2] Ashbery is considered the mo...

Matthea Harvey's "In Defense of Our Overgrown Garden"

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Matthea Harvey, the author of five books of poetry—If the Tabloids are True What Are You?, Of Lamb (an illustrated erasure with...

Ted Kooser's "In the Basement of the Goodwill Store"

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Theodore J. Kooser (born 25 April 1939)[1], an American poet. He won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2005. He served as Poet Laur...

Lord Dunsany's "A Dirge of Victory"

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany FRSL (/dʌnˈseɪni/; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dun...

Denise Levertov's "Witness"

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Priscilla Denise Levertov (24 October 1923 – 20 December 1997), a British-born naturalised American poet.[3] She was a recipien...

Robert Morgan's "Bellrope"

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Robert Morgan (born 1944), an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He studied at North Carolina State University as a...

Mary Oliver's "Storage"

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019), an American poet who won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Pri...

Pablo Neruda's "Ode to the Onion"

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Pablo Neruda (/nəˈruːdə/;[1] Spanish: [ˈpaβlo neˈɾuða] (listen))(born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July...

Thomas Merton's "An Elegy for Ernest Hemingway"

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Thomas Merton OCSO (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968), an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social ...

Donald Hall's "Oxcart Man"

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Donald Andrew Hall Jr.[1] (September 20, 1928 – June 23, 2018), an American poet, writer, editor and literary critic. He was th...

Walt Whitman's "Election Day, November, 1884

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Walter Whitman Jr. (/ˈhwɪtmən/; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892), an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considere...

Emma Lazarus' "The New Colossus"

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887), an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist...

Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing"

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Walter Whitman Jr. (/ˈhwɪtmən/; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892), an American poet, essayist, and journalist. He is considere...

Thomas Lux' "Refrigerator, 1957"

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is Thomas Lux (December 10, 1946 – February 5, 2017), an American poet who held the Margaret T. and Henry C. Bourne, Jr. Chair in Poe...

Emily Dickinson's "A Little Dog That Wags Its Tail"

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886), an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since be...

Frank O'Hara's "Cambridge"

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966), an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Mus...

A. E. Stallings' "Like"

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Alicia Elsbeth Stallings (born July 2, 1968), an American poet, translator, and essayist.Stallings has published five books of or...

Muso Soseki "Magnificent Peak"

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Musō Soseki (夢窓 疎石, 1275 – October 20, 1351), a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligraphist, poet and ga...

Scott Cairns' "Possible Answers to Prayer"

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Scott Cairns. Cairns is the author of ten collections of poetry, one collection of translations of Christian mystics, one spiritu...

Kathleen Norris' "Little Girls in Church"

18 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Kathleen Norris (born July 27, 1947), an American poet and essayist. She is the author Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, The Cloist...

Theodore Roethke's "Moss-gathering"

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Theodore Huebner Roethke (/ˈrɛtki/ RET-kee;[1] May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963), an American poet. He is regarded as one of the...

Robert Herrick's "To Daffodils"

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Robert Herrick (baptised 24 August 1591 – buried 15 October 1674)[1], a 17th-century English lyric poet and Anglican cleric. H...

W. B. Yeats' "Adam's Curse"

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by William Butler Yeats[a] (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939), an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and politician. One of the foremost...

W. H. Auden's "Their Lonely Betters"

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today poem is by Wystan Hugh Auden (/ˈwɪstən ˈhjuː ˈɔːdən/; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973[1]), a British-American poet. Auden's poe...

Robert Louis Stevenson's "Bed in Summer"

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894), a Scottish novelist, essayist...

2 Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000), an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with ...

Robert Hass' "The Failure of Buffalo to Levitate"

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Robert L. Hass (born March 1, 1941) is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United Statesfrom 1995 to 1997.[1] He won the 2007 National...

Christian Wiman's "All My Friends Are Finding New Beliefs"

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Christian Wiman, an American poet and editor born in 1966 and raised in the small west Texas town of Snyder.[1] He graduated from...

John Masefield's "Sea Fever"

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by John Edward Masefield OM (/ˈmeɪsˌfiːld, ˈmeɪz-/; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967), an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureat...

Jim Daniels' "American Cheese"

30 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by James Raymond Daniels (born 1956 in Detroit, Michigan), an American poet and writer. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, the wr...

3 Poems for Memorial Day

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today is Memorial Day so in this episode we present three notable poems from among the many memorable poems of the World War I era. Memory eternal to ...

Ursula K. LeGuin's "Leaves"

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (née Kroeber; /ˈkroʊbər lə ˈɡwɪn/ KROH-bər lə GWIN;[1] October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018), a...

John Betjeman's "A Subaltern's Love Song"

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today poem is from Sir John Betjeman CBE (/ˈbɛtʃəmən/; 28 August 1906 – 19 May 1984), an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet La...

Paul Laurence Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask"

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem is by Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906), an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th an...

Jane Kenyon's "Dutch Interiors"

23 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s poem comes from American poet Jane Kenyon, who would have been seventy-five today had she not died in 1995 at the age of forty-seven. Her wo...

Seamus Heaney's "May"

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What better way to bring back The Daily Poem than with a poem by one of my favorite poets, Seamus Heaney. Heaney was an Irish poet, playwright and tra...

The Daily Poem Is Back!

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After a too-long hiatus, The Daily Poem is coming back with new episodes every week day, starting Monday, May 22. As a small taste, click play to hear...