11 Poems Everyone Should Know Chosen

Here’s my list of 11 essential poems everyone should know—these are talisman poems, crucial revelations in my journey of exploration in the world of poetry.

“Patterns” by Amy Lowell (1916)

“I walk down the garden paths,
And all the daffodils
Are blowing, and the bright blue squills.
I walk down the patterned garden-paths
In my stiff, brocaded gown....”

“r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r” by E.E. Cummings (1935)

I cannot quote a single line from this poem—it’s a whole, a piece of typographical art. Just notice that the title is an anagram of “grasshopper,” and then see the poem itself.

“Wild Nights — Wild Nights!” (#249) by Emily Dickinson

“Wild Nights — Wild Nights!
Were I with thee
Wild Nights should be
Our luxury!”

“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell (1681)

“Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love’s day...”

“The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter” by Ezra Pound (1915)

“While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead
I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse,
You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums...”