"A Golden Day" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

 

A Golden Day

I found you and I lost you, 
 All on a gleaming day. 
The day was filled with sunshine,
 And the land was full of May. 

A golden bird was singing
 Its melody divine, 
I found you and I loved you, 
 And all the world was mine. 

I found you and I lost you, 
All on a golden day, 
But when I dream of you, dear, 
It is always brimming May.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/ur6uNdpU2No

Who wrote the poem "A Golden Day"?

Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906)

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Born to parents who were freed slaves from Kentucky, Dunbar began writing stories and poems from 6 and published his first poem at 16. He was the only African-American student at Central High School in Dayton, Ohio. But he was well accepted among students and was elected as president of the school’s literary society, and became the editor of the school newspaper. Dunbar later became one of the first African-American writers to gain an international literary fame. He died from tuberculosis in Dayton, Ohio at 33.

"A Golden Day" Explanation

In the poem, the speaker calmly talks about his or her past love and good memories. The poem is quite short and simple, and yet it still brings about such powerful, universal feelings as loneliness and yearning.

"Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep" by Mary Elizabeth Frye

 

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of Quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

Enjoy the poem with music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/xXRsasnScnw

Who wrote the poem "Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep"?

Mary Elizabeth Frye (November 13, 1905 – September 15, 2004)

Mary Elizabeth Frye was an American poet and florist who became famous almost exclusively for a single poem: “Do not stand at my grave and weep.” She was born in Dayton, Ohio, and lost her parents at 3. With no formal education, she was an avid reader and had a remarkable memory. In 1927, she married Claud Frye, a clothing business owner, and became a housewife and florist. In 1932, she wrote the poem “Do not stand at my grave and weep” to console her houseguest, a young Jewish woman, Margaret Schwarzkopf, for her loss of her mother. She died in 2004 at the age of 98.

"Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep" explanation

Margaret Schwarzkopf, who was staying with Frye in 1932, couldn’t visit her dying mother in Germany because of the rabid anti-Semitism. At the news of her mother’s death, Schwarzkopf told Frye that she had never had the chance to “stand by my mother’s grave and shed a tear.” Frye wrote this poem on a brown paper shopping bag to console Schwarzkopf, who greatly valued it and said that she would keep it forever. Because people liked the poem, Frye circulated it privately. She never published or copyrighted the poem. She said “I thought it belonged to the world; it didn’t belong to me. I still feel that way … it was written out of love, for comfort.” For so long, the author of this mysterious poem had been disputed until Frye’s authorship was finally confirmed in 1998 by Abigail Van Buren, the newspaper columnist better known as “Dear Abby.” The poem has been read at funerals and other memorial services including those for the Challenger space shuttle and the 9-11 terror attack.

"Across the Border" by Sophie Jewett

 

Across the Border

I have read somewhere that the birds of fairyland

are white as snow.—W. B. Yeats

 

Where all the trees bear golden flowers,

And all the birds are white;

Where fairy folk in dancing hours

Burn stars for candlelight;

 

Where every wind and leaf can talk,

But no man understand

Save one whose child-feet chanced to walk

Green paths of fairyland;

 

I followed two swift silver wings;

I stalked a roving song;

I startled shining, silent things;

I wandered all day long.

 

But when it seemed the shadowy hours

Whispered of soft-foot night,

I crept home to sweet common flowers,

Brown birds, and candlelight.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/ci0G_6gTDhU

Who wrote the poem "Across the border"?

Sophie Jewett (June 3, 1861 – October 11, 1909)

Sophie Jewett, also known as the pseudonym Ellen Burroughs, was an American poet, translator, and professor at Wellesley College. The poet’s early life was marked by loss and displacement. When she was 7, she was called from sleep to observe her mother’s passing. Two years later, her father, a country doctor, died. Jewett and her 3 siblings were raised by their uncle and their grandmother, both of whom died during her adolescence. Jewett initially published poetry under the pseudonym Ellen Burroughs which was borrowed from her mother’s name, Ellen Ransom Burroughs Jewett. An American poet Richard Watson Gilder called her a true poet with a golden gift.

"Across the Border" Explanation

In the poem, the poet introduces two worlds, separated at the border. An epigraph, a quote from W.B. Yeats, opens the poem, serving as the key to one of the two worlds. She then describes this imaginary fairyland. This “fairyland,” where all the magical things can be real, symbolizes an ideal life or a lifelong goal for every person. The poem ends with the speaker going back to her reality and home. It symbolizes the disappointment after realizing a chasm between hope and reality. But the speaker learns to appreciate for her mundane reality (“I crept home to sweet common flowers”) despite not being able to find “fairyland.” The poem talks about a gap between fantasy and reality and inspires us to overcome the disappointment and still be optimistic about the future.

"Thinking" by Walter D. Wintle

 

Thinking

If you think you are beaten, you are;

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win, but you think you can't,

It is almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost;

For out in this world we find

Success begins with a person's will

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are;

You've got to think high to rise.

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man;

But sooner or later the person who wins

Is the one who thinks he can!

Enjoy "Thinking" with inspirational music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/qFkLlSkSNhA

Who wrote the poem "Thinking"?

Walter D. Wintle (late 19C-early 20C)

Almost nothing is known about Walter D. Wintle’s life other than he was a poet who lived in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Even his name may be a pseudonym. He is best known for writing the famous poem “Thinking.”

"Thinking" explanation

Different versions of the poem had been published in the 20th century under different titles and with different wordings. The version presented here is the 1905 version published in “Unity” College Magazine, which is believed to be the original. The poem inspires you to trust yourself and make bold attempts to accomplish something great in your life.

"I Carry Your Heart With Me" by E. E. Cummings

 

I Carry Your Heart With Me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

 

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

 

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Enjoy "I Carry Your Heart With Me" with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/wVk-9jPXV8k

Who wrote the poem "I Carry Your Heart With Me"?

Edward Estlin Cummings 

(October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962)

E. E. Cummings was an American poet, painter, essayist, and playwright. He is regarded as one of the most important American poets of the 20^th century with his modernist free-form poetry. His works include 2,900 poems, two novels, four plays, and several essays. He wanted to be a poet from childhood and wrote poems daily from age 8 to 22. His poems have idiosyncratic syntax and use lower-case spellings for poetic expressions.

"I Carry Your Heart With Me" explanation

In the poem, the speaker is directly telling his beloved how much he loves her. This relatively short love poem has resonated with so many readers, using such poetic devices as imagery and repetition. The poem also shows the poet’s unusual uses of capitalization and punctuation.

"If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking" by Emily Dickinson

 

If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

Enjoy "If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking" with inspirational music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/MeXeTYkkkeE

Who wrote the poem "If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking"?

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 ~ May 15, 1886)

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was not widely known during her life, but now she is respected as one of the greatest American poets. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and lived there all her life in isolation. She wouldn't invite any guests nor get out of her bedroom, and maintained social intercourses only by letters in her later years. Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems, but published only 10 poems and one letter during her lifetime.

"If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking" explanation

The main theme of the poem is selfless love. The speaker expresses her willingness to help those in trouble. Her selfless love in turn makes her life meaningful. The poet spent most of her life attending to her ill mother, secluded from the world. Reflecting the poet’s own life, the poem succinctly but effectively shows her kindness and compassion.

"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley

 

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

 

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

 

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

 

Enjoy "Invictus" with inspirational music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/YmXpTx0R3iU

Who wrote the poem "Invictus"?

William Ernest Henley (August 23, 1849 - July 11, 1903)

William Ernest Henley was an English poet, writer, critic, and editor in late Victorian era. From 12, Henley suffered from tuberculosis and lost his left leg below the knee as a result at 16. In his early life, he periodically suffered from extreme pain due to the draining of his tuberculosis abscesses. After such painful treatments, the young Henley hopped around the room laughing loudly as if the pain couldn't reach him. His strong physique and contrasting mental and creative capacities inspired his close friend, Robert Louis Stevenson, to create the famous character, Long John Silver, in "Treasure Island (1883)."

"Invictus" explanation

In his early 20's, after being diagnosed that a second amputation of his remaining right leg was the only way to save his life, Henley spent three years in hospital to fight the diagnosis, eventually saving his right leg. While recovering in the hospital, he wrote this poem. "Invictus" is a latin word which means "unconquered," "invincible," or "undefeated." The poem remains a cultural touchstone as a model of Victorian stoicism of self-discipline and fortitude in adversity, which became a British character trait.