"As I Grew Older" by Langston Hughes

 

As I Grew Older

It was a long time ago.

I have almost forgotten my dream.

But it was there then,

In front of me,

Bright like a sun—

My dream.

And then the wall rose,

Rose slowly,

Slowly,

Between me and my dream.

Rose until it touched the sky—

The wall.

Shadow.

I am black.

I lie down in the shadow.

No longer the light of my dream before me,

Above me.

Only the thick wall.

Only the shadow.

My hands!

My dark hands!

Break through the wall!

Find my dream!

Help me to shatter this darkness,

To smash this night,

To break this shadow

Into a thousand lights of sun,

Into a thousand whirling dreams

Of sun!

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/Zw1inijA7K4

Who wrote the poem "As I Grew Older"?

Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967)

 

Langston Hughes was an African-American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist who pioneered the literary art form called “jazz poetry.” He is also known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Self-admittedly influenced by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman, Hughes is known for insightful portrayals of black life and culture of his time.

"As I Grew Older" explanation

In the poem, the speaker depicts hardships and obstacles he had to face as an African American. However he refuses to stop there and goes on to urge his “dark hands” to break through the wall and find his dream again. The speaker represents and empowers all African Americans whose dreams had to be relinquished because of the racial discrimination and persecution in the early 20^th century America.

 

"The Rainy Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

 

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

And the days are dark and dreary.

 

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇 

https://youtu.be/pr8Qrg5UImw

Who wrote the poem "The Rainy Day"?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882)

 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator. He was one of the most famous American poets of the 19th century, both domestically and internationally, and was one of the few American writers honored in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine (then still part of Massachusetts). He studied at Bowdoin College and became a professor there and later at Harvard University. His poems were known for their musicality, often including stories of mythology and legend.

"The Rainy Day" explanation

In our life, we all face dark and dreary times. The speaker in the poem reminds us that no matter dark and difficult it may seem, it will pass too, and there are always better days to come.

"Desert Places" by Robert Frost

 

Desert Places

Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast

In a field I looked into going past,

And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,

But a few weeds and stubble showing last.

 

The woods around it have it--it is theirs.

All animals are smothered in their lairs.

I am too absent-spirited to count;

The loneliness includes me unawares.

 

And lonely as it is that loneliness

Will be more lonely ere it will be less--

A blanker whiteness of benighted snow

With no expression, nothing to express.

 

They cannot scare me with their empty spaces

Between stars--on stars where no human race is.

I have it in me so much nearer home

To scare myself with my own desert places.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/YYuaxY8w2_E

Who wrote the poem "Desert Places'?

Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)

Robert Frost was an American poet who was born in San Francisco, California. Frost’s life was marked by grief and loss. When he was 11, his father died of tuberculosis, leaving just eight dollars. Frost’s mother died of cancer when he was 26. Mental illness ran in his family. He and his mother suffered from depression, and his sister and his daughter were committed to mental hospitals. Using realistic depictions of rural life, his poems often examined complex social and philosophical themes. Frost’s first book was published at the age of 40, but he ended up winning four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry and becoming the most famous poet of his time.

"Desert Places" explanation

In the poem, the speaker (poet himself) uses the fall of the snow and the night as a metaphor to express his own feeling of loneliness and depression. All the empty spaces around him cannot “scare” him because he has much emptier places within himself.

"One Hundred Love Sonnets: xvii" by Pablo Neruda

 

One Hundred Love Sonnets

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,

or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:

I love you as one loves certain obscure things,

secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

 

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries

the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself,

and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose

from the earth lives dimly in my body.

 

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,

I love you directly without problems or pride:

I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love,

except in this form in which I am not nor are you,

so close that your hand upon my chest is mine,

so close that your eyes close with my dreams.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music

Poem video👇

https://youtu.be/jZXnDFou2OI

Who wrote the poem "One Hundred Love Sonnets: xvii"

Pablo Neruda (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973)

Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet and politician who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He wrote in various styles, including surrealist poems and passionate love poems. After Neruda experienced Spanish Civil War as a diplomat in Spain, he became a devoted Communist for the rest of his life. Neruda is often called one of the greatest poets of the 20^th century.

"One Hundred Love Sonnets: xvii" explanation

Cien sonetos de amor (“100 Love Sonnets”) is a collection of sonnets written by Neruda, originally published in Argentina in 1959. These beautiful love poems were dedicated to his third and last wife, Matilde Urrutia.

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

 

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

 

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

 

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/hbixlKQM3iU

Who wrote the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"?

Dylan Thomas (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953)

Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer. Although he became popular as a poet during his lifetime, he found it difficult to make a living as a writer and had to engage in reading tours and radio broadcasts. He was also known for his roistering lifestyle and drinking habit. His premature death at the age of 39 was due to a collapse after a long drinking bout during his fourth America tour. He is considered as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century.

 

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" explanation

The main theme of the poem is that we should resist death with all our strength until the last moment. Some have speculated that the poem was written for his sick father, who passed away the year after the poem was first published. Sadly, within 2 years of the poem’s publication, the poet himself, his father, his unborn son would pass away as if the poem foreshadowed it.

"Today" by Thomas Carlyle

 

Today

So here hath been dawning

Another blue Day:

Think wilt thou let it

Slip useless away.

 

Out of Eternity

This new Day is born;

Into Eternity,

At night, will return.

 

Behold it aforetime

No eye ever did:

So soon it forever

From all eyes is hid.

 

Here hath been dawning

Another blue Day:

Think wilt thou let it

Slip useless away.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/J5I_PuK7yk0

Who wrote the poem "Today"?

Thomas Carlyle (December 4, 1795 – February 5, 1881)

Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish historian, essayist, philosopher, mathematician, and teacher. He is known for his argument that “the history of the world is but the biography of great men.” He was a very controversial and enigmatic character, and his reputation ranges widely from cranky, argumentative, and radical to moral, sage, and conservative. His works often attempted to invigorate the human soul and elevate the spirit.

 

"Today" explanation

In the poem, the speaker notes that each and every day is new and significant and urges the reader to not waste it.

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost

 

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem video👇

https://youtu.be/U1RLwDYQj_c

Who wrote the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay"?

Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)

Robert Frost was an American poet who was born in San Francisco, California. Frost’s life was marked by grief and loss. When he was 11, his father died of tuberculosis, leaving just eight dollars. Frost’s mother died of cancer when he was 26. Mental illness ran in his family. He and his mother suffered from depression, and his sister and his daughter were committed to mental hospitals. Using realistic depictions of rural life, his poems often examined complex social and philosophical themes. Frost’s first book was published at the age of 40, but he ended up winning four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry and becoming the most famous poet of his time.

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" explanation

 

In the poem, the speaker talks about the beauty of nature, the inevitability of change or decay, and its transience. In the cycle of nature, the seasons change, and the flowers and leaves wither. All beautiful things in nature will eventually fade away. Likewise, all beautiful and valuable things in life last for so long and will soon disappear. Therefore, we should fully recognize and appreciate the beauty and preciousness of things, people, and moments around us while they are still with us.

"To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet

 

To My Dear and Loving Husband

If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me, ye women, if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,

Or all the riches that the East doth hold.

My love is such that rivers cannot quench,

Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.

Thy love is such I can no way repay.

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in love let’s so persever[e]

That when we live no more, we may live ever.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/FBWvV4NZGtc

Who wrote the poem "To My Dear and Loving Husband"

Anne Bradstreet (March 20, 1612 – September 16, 1672)

Anne Bradstreet was the first female poet in British North American colonies who had her works published. Born to a wealthy Puritan family in Northampton, England, she was well educated in history, literature, and several foreign languages from the early childhood. She was married to Simon Bradstreet at the age of 16, and the couple and her parents moved to America with the Puritan emigrants in 1630 and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her husband and her father played an important role in the establishment of Harvard. As a mother of 8 children and the wife and daughter of public officials, she wrote poetry while attending her other duties. The themes of her works include love, nature, Puritan faith, and community. She was also a feminist and free thinker. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 60.

 

"To My Dear and Loving Husband" explanation

 

In the poem, the speaker (the poet herself) expresses her deep and genuine love and gratitude for her husband. She declares no other materialistic things or relationships can be compared to their relationship and their feelings for each other. Based upon her Puritan belief, she expects their love to live forever in the heaven after death. This romantic love poem gives the reader an inspiration as to true conjugal love in this day and age where so many marriages fail.

"Winter Trees" by William Carlos Williams

 

Winter Trees

All the complicated details

of the attiring and

the disattiring are completed!

A liquid moon

moves gently among

the long branches.

Thus having prepared their buds

against a sure winter

the wise trees

stand sleeping in the cold.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/KBeFZtPfPPk

Who wrote the poem "Winter Trees"?

William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963)

William Carlos Williams was an American poet, writer, and physician. As a family doctor and leading poet of Imagist movement, he practiced medicine by day and wrote at night. He was known for his experimental and innovative poetic style while maintaining a remarkably conventional life.

 

"Winter Trees" explanation

In the poem, the speaker watches trees gain and lose their leaves as the season approaches winter and personifies them as if they are human beings getting in and out of clothes. A somewhat surreal, yet friendly and warm atmosphere shows the poet’s affinity with nature.

"Patience Taught by Nature" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

Patience Taught by Nature

“O Dreary life!” we cry, “O dreary life!”

And still the generations of the birds

Sing through our sighing, and the flocks and herds

Serenely live while we are keeping strife

With Heaven’s true purpose in us, as a knife

Against which we may struggle. Ocean girds

Unslackened the dry land: savannah-swards

Unweary sweep: hills watch, unworn; and rife

Meek leaves drop yearly from the forest-trees,

To show, above, the unwasted stars that pass

In their old glory. O thou God of old!

Grant me some smaller grace than comes to these;—

But so much patience, as a blade of grass

Grows by contented through the heat and cold.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/r5b-xzdOnRU

Who wrote the poem "Patience Taught by Nature"?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (March 6, 1806 — June 29, 1861)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an English poet of the Victorian era, famous in England and the U.S. during her lifetime. She was the eldest of 12 children and wrote poetry from 11. She was an avid reader and writer, and Shakespeare was her favorite. From 15, she suffered from frail health due to intense head and spinal pain and lung problems throughout her life. After her 1844 volume "Poems" had a great success, Robert Browning, an English poet and playwright, was inspired to write to her, praising her work. The two met in 1845, fell in love, and soon got married. Their special bond had an important influence on their respective subsequent writings. Her work also had a great influence on famous contemporary writers such as the American poets Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson.

"Patience Taught by Nature" explanation

The poem begins with the speaker’s lament for sufferings of our life. She then proceeds to observe various animals “serenely live” and watch natural phenomena go on continuously, uninterrupted and uninfluenced by human sufferings. She pleads with Godfor the patience of nature, to be contented by such mundane things as “heat and cold.”

"He Wishes for The Cloths of Heaven" by William Butler Yeats

 

He Wishes for The Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/ZuiYL5QRf4I

Who wrote the poem "He Wishes for The Cloths of Heaven"?

William Butler Yeats (June 13, 1865 – January 28, 1939)

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, playwright, prose writer, and is widely considered as one of the greatest poets of the 20^th century. He was born to the Protestant, Anglo-Irish community that considered themselves English people born in Ireland and had largely controlled the economic, political, and social life of Ireland. However, Yeats strongly affirmed his Irish nationality and found inspiration in Irish legends and the occult in his early career. Later his poetry became more physical and realistic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. 

"He Wishes for The Cloths of Heaven" explanation

In the poem, the speaker expresses his love for his beloved, saying that he would give all the luxuries in the world (symbolized by heavenly cloths of different lights) if he could. But, being poor, he could only offer his dreams. He pleads his beloved to “tread softly” on his dreams, which is delicate and vulnerable. This short and beautiful poem is generally thought to be written for Maud Gonne, the subject of the poet’s lifelong unrequited love.