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Young Writers Society


Short Poems



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Mon Dec 07, 2020 10:19 am
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Rook says...



Here's a little background:
My professor gave us a document of 50 short poems to read. He said collecting those poems was a project that he was working on for a long time, and he was hoping to get to 100 someday.
Next time in class, he asked us our thoughts and I sassily said that some of the poems weren't very short in my opinion. He said something along the lines of, "Well originally I wanted them to be under 14 lines, but that was too hard, so I extended it to 14, and then a few of them are past even that. But I'd like to see you do better."

And so of course I kind of rose to the challenge to see if I could find 50 good poems under 14 lines in a single night. And I flippin did. (I did end up reusing 6 of the poems he found just because they were so good, which is why this is a collection of only 94 short poems, but if I'd wanted to be totally unique I could have.)

Anyway, he was very pleased with what I had done, and I just thought I'd share this collection here, because I think it's a really informative and educational source!

94 short poems.pdf
(256.15 KiB) Downloaded 83 times


Hope you guys enjoy! Feel free to discuss your favorites and why, or share your own favorite short poems!

Also, shout out to the poem of the week thread! I took quite a few of the poems I added from there!
Instead, he said, Brother! I know your hunger.
To this, the Wolf answered, Lo!

-Elena Passarello, Animals Strike Curious Poses
  





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Mon Dec 07, 2020 11:17 am
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IcyFlame says...



I'm not usually one for poetry so I really love that these are all so short as it allows me to consume in bitesized chunks!

Thanks for sharing @fortis <3

My favourite short poem is Emily Dickenson:
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
  





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Thu Dec 10, 2020 2:54 am
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Hijinks says...



Oh my goodness you made a poem anthology, that's beyond cool!!

I haven't had a chance to read all 94 poems, but I read around 20 of the thirty pages, and wow that's a lot of awesome poetry in one place. Out of all the ones I read, though, these four poems especially stood out to me ~

On the Day That He Goes, I Will, by Meg Day
Spoiler! :
Image

Well first, the fact that she wrote a poem that can be read in so many different ways is incredibly clever and impressive. For example you could read,
Your belongings--
stowed in secret-- will lurch
behind my breastbone

or you could read:
my heart,
stowed in secret-- will lurch
pitching, heaving, tumbling,
behind my breastbone

(there are at least two other ways you could read it, as well, but I'm too lazy to type it all out whoops)
What I find even more impressive, though, is that she didn't sacrifice flow or imagery to be able to structure it like that. Her descriptions are unique and her language is so vivid - I especially love her use of verbs and adjectives: "stowed", "pitching, heaving, tumbling", "stagger", "stunned", "roiling", etc. And some alliteration, too: "stowed in secret" + "behind my breastbone".
More visually speaking, the shape of the poem mimics the lurching that is described, and helps to evoke ideas such as "bingo hopper" and "6.9 tremor".
Anyway, all that to say - I think this poem is not only really really clever, there are also so many small detail-treasures that you can find every time you read it again.


The Cow, by Ogden Nash
Spoiler! :
Image

I mean, what do I really need to say about this poem. It's short, sweet, and appeals to my random sense of humour. (Also the combination of rhyming + iambic pentameter makes it flow off the tongue really nicely, so there's that.)


The Universe: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, by Tracy K. Smith
Spoiler! :
Image

Well first of all, this poem is based around music imagery and metaphors, hence I am morally obliged to love it because music.
Not only that, but the metaphors she uses work so well to convey her message about the Earth, the universe, and overall just existence. I especially love the line
A few bars of sax the stratosphere will singe-out soon enough

It's so satisfying to say aloud, and the imagery is on point.
Marbled with static like gristly meat

^Another thing about this poem is that the imagery isn't all through rosy-coloured-glasses - gristly meat certainly isn't an appealing image, but neither is the subject of the poem. She isn't afraid of using imagery that might make the reader cringe (not in a "that's cringy" way but in a "that makes me a bit uncomfortable" way), and I really respect that - and I think it makes the poem way more effective than if everything was picturesque and "poetic".


The Way We Go, by Katharine Towers
Spoiler! :
Image

What I like about this poem is how simple it is. No strict meter, no rigid structure, no punctuation, no capitalization, no complicated imagery. (<- speaking of punctuation, her choice to end the poem with no period creates a sense of open-ended-ness and unfinishedness that suits the poem perfectly.) It's just one simple and cleanly executed comparison between your life and a house. I also find it refreshing that this poem isn't inherently positive or negative - it's matter of fact, describing something rather than obviously praising or criticizing it.
I think the poem also captures the uncertainty and impulsivity of being young really well, especially in phrases like "trying out each empty room" and "we're gone, leaving the doors open / all the lights burning".


A few of my favourite short poems ~
Spoiler! :
These were all poems my mom had me memorize in elementary school, so while they're perhaps a little "young", they're all very close to my heart and very nostalgic. <3

I have only just a minute, by Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
I have only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t refuse it.
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.
But it’s up to me
to use it.

I must suffer if I lose it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute,
but eternity is in it.


A Wise Old Owl (potentially by Edward Hersey Richards?)
A wise old owl lived in an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard:
Why can't we all be like that bird?


Do it
Whene'er a task is set for you,
Don't idly sit and view it
Nor be content to wish it done;
Begin at once and do it.
^Hehe if only procrastination wasn't so much easier
When you're faced with something you don't understand, I think the most natural thing but also least interesting thing you can be is afraid.

-- Hank Green

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(previously whatchamacallit and Seirre)
  








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