Welcome home, fellow poetry lover! Are you searching for your daily shot of emotions? Look no further! We’ve scoured the depths of literary history to bring you the cream of the crop — the best lines from the most famous poems. From Shakespeare’s sonnets to Maya Angelou’s musings, these poetry lines will have you reaching for a notebook (or a tweet) to share your newfound wisdom with the world.
As a kid, I remember feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of poetry. I struggled to understand the hidden meanings and symbols, especially with some style choices in romantic poems, and often felt discouraged by my inability to fully grasp the beauty of verse. But now, as an adult who has lived through lessons and journeys, it’s not as hard to find meaning in poems. In fact, it’s easier to appreciate the nuances and subtleties of a poem once you have some life experience under your belt.
So take the time to appreciate the craft and skill that went into these poems, with their perfect blend of carefully chosen words and intense emotion. Notice the rhythm and rhyme, the imagery and metaphor, and the feelings they evoke. Each line is a window into the mind and heart of the poet and a reflection of the society and culture in which they lived. Some may resonate with you on a personal level, while others could challenge your beliefs or make you see the world in a new way. That’s the beauty of poetry — it can move, change, and connect us to something greater than ourselves.
Whether you’re a seasoned poetry aficionado or a newcomer to the world of verse, we hope you’ll find something that speaks to you and that you’ll come back to read the best poetry lines again and again for inspiration and solace. Happy reading!
#41
"Bread and Music" — Conrad Aiken
"Music I heard with you was more than music, And bread I broke with you was more than bread; Now that I am without you, all is desolate; All that was once so beautiful is dead"
unknown
Report9points
#42
"Poem to an Unnameable Man" — Dorothea Lasky
"And I will not cry also, although you will expect me to. I was wiser too than you had expected for I knew all along you were mine"
unknown
Report9points
#43
"Poem for My Love" — June Jordan
"I am amazed by peace. It is this possibility of you asleep and breathing in the quiet air."
unknown
Report9points
#44
"Love's Philosophy" — Percy Bysshe Shelley
"And the sunlight clasps the earth, And the moonbeams kiss the sea – What are all these kissings worth if thou kiss not me?"
unknown
Report9points
#45
"Stank" — Fatimah Asghar
"Each morning I stitch a scowl
over my smile. Let my eyes sass
every person standing between me
& the bus stop."
over my smile. Let my eyes sass
every person standing between me
& the bus stop."
unknown
Report9points
#46
"Moments" — Mary Oliver
"There are moments that cry out to be fulfilled.
Like, telling someone you love them.
Or giving your money away, all of it."
Like, telling someone you love them.
Or giving your money away, all of it."
unknown
Report9points
#47
"Wild Geese" — Mary Oliver
"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves."
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves."
unknown
Report9points
#48
"Tactics and Strategy" — Mario Benedetti
"My strategy is that some day, I don't know how, nor with what pretext, That finally you need me."
unknown
Report9points
#49
"Almost" — Lang Leav
"But we were a maybe
and never a must
when it should have been us."
and never a must
when it should have been us."
unknown
Report9points
#50
"The Waking" — Theodore Roethke
"I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go."
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go."
unknown
Report9points
#51
"Song Of Myself" — Walt Whitman
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”
unknown
Report9points
#52
"Variations On The Word Love" — Margaret Atwood
“It’s a single
vowel in this metallic
silence, a mouth that says
O again and again in wonder
and pain, a breath, a finger
grip on a cliffside. You can
hold on or let go.”
vowel in this metallic
silence, a mouth that says
O again and again in wonder
and pain, a breath, a finger
grip on a cliffside. You can
hold on or let go.”
unknown
Report9points
#53
"Romeo and Juliet" — William Shakespeare
"O Romeo, Romeo; wherefore art thou Romeo"
unknown
Report9points
#54
"Every Day You Play" — Pablo Neruda
"I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees."
unknown
Report8points
#55
"I Am Not Yours" — Sara Teasdale
"Oh plunge me deep in love — put out my senses, leave me deaf and blind, swept by the tempest of your love, a taper in a rushing wind."
unknown
Report8points
#56
"Somewhere I have never traveled, gladly beyond" — E. E. Cummings
"You open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skilfully,mysteriously) her first rose"
unknown
Report8points
#57
"The Great Fires" — Jack Gilbert
"Love allows us to walk in the sweet music of our particular heart."
unknown
Report8points
#58
"Sonnets From the Portuguese 43" — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death."
unknown
Report8points
#59
"The Bait" — John Donne
"Come live with me, and be my love, and we will some new pleasures prove."
unknown
Report8points
#60
"Saying Your Names" — Richard Siken
"I do believe his mouth is heaven, his kisses falling over me like stars."
unknown
Report8points


