Theme · 409 poems

Short Poems

Complete poems under a dozen lines: haiku, miniatures, and small machines of meaning you can memorize before the kettle boils.

A short poem is not a fragment; it is a poem with no room for passengers. Haiku, epigrams, couplets, brief free verse, and small lyric poems all work by compression: one image, one turn, one clean closing note. That makes them useful in the places readers actually need poetry — a card, a classroom recitation, a toast, a note copied by hand.

The best way to choose one is to read it aloud twice. If the poem can be held in the voice without explaining itself, it is short in the right way. For memorizing, start with poems under eight lines and listen for a strong rhythm or repeated sound; memory follows music before it follows meaning.

LengthForm

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

Walt Whitman · 1865

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

7 lines · free verse

Pied Beauty

Gerard Manley Hopkins · 1877

Glory be to God for dappled things— For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

11 lines · lyric

"Hope" is the thing with feathers

Emily Dickinson · 1891

"Hope" is the thing with feathers —That perches in the soul —And sings the tune without the words —

12 lines · lyric

Success is counted sweetest

Emily Dickinson · 1864

Success is counted sweetestBy those who ne'er succeed.To comprehend a nectar

12 lines · lyric

Trees

Joyce Kilmer · 1913

I THINK that I shall never seeA poem lovely as a tree.A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

12 lines · lyric

A Red, Red Rose

Robert Burns · 1794

O my Luve is like a red, red roseThat's newly sprung in June;O my Luve is like the melody

16 lines · ballad

On Advice

The QuillOak Editors

"Advice" is the formal requestto bless what we've already guessed.

2 lines · epigram

Thou and I (opening couplet)

Rumi (Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī)

Happy the moment when we are seated in the Palace, thou and I,With two forms and with two figures but with one soul, thou and I.

2 lines · ghazal

Defrauded I a Butterfly

Emily Dickinson

Defrauded I a Butterfly —The lawful Heir — for Thee —

2 lines · lyric

Fame's Boys and Girls, who never die

Emily Dickinson

Fame's Boys and Girls, who never dieAnd are too seldom born —

2 lines · lyric

Winter under cultivation

Emily Dickinson

Winter under cultivationIs as arable as Spring.

2 lines · lyric

Loss from the Least

Robert Herrick

Great men by small means oft are overthrown;He's lord of thy life, who contemns his own.

2 lines · lyric

Peace Not Permanent

Robert Herrick

Great cities seldom rest; if there be noneT' invade from far, they'll find worse foes at home.

2 lines · lyric

Soft Music

Robert Herrick

The mellow touch of music most doth woundThe soul, when it doth rather sigh, than sound.

2 lines · lyric

The Definition of Beauty

Robert Herrick

Beauty no other thing is, than a beamFlash'd out between the middle and extreme.

2 lines · lyric

Time was upon

Robert Herrick

Wrinkles no more are, or no less,Than beauty turn'd to sourness.

2 lines · lyric

Upon a Painted Gentlewoman

Robert Herrick

Men say you're fair; and fair ye are, 'tis true;But, hark! we praise the painter now, not you.

2 lines · lyric

Happy Thought

Robert Louis Stevenson

The world is so full of a number of things,I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.

2 lines · lyric

Beautiful Women

Walt Whitman

WOMEN sit, or move to and fro—some old, some young;The young are beautiful—but the old are more beautiful than the young.

2 lines · lyric

Mother and Babe

Walt Whitman

I SEE the sleeping babe, nestling the breast of its mother;The sleeping mother and babe—hush’d, I study them long and long.

2 lines · lyric

Delight in Disorder

Robert Herrick · 1648

Delight in Disorder. Alfred Pollard, ed. 1898. The Hesperides & Noble Numbers.Delight in Disorder. Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.

2 lines · lyric

The Old Pond (haiku)

Matsuo Bashō · 1686

an old pond, still —a frog leaps into water:the sound of the splash

3 lines · haiku

Summer Grasses (haiku)

Matsuo Bashō · 1689

summer grasses grow —all that remains of the dreamsof proud warriors

3 lines · haiku

Autumn Evening (haiku)

Matsuo Bashō · 1680

on a bare branch sitsa crow, settled in for night —autumn evening falls

3 lines · haiku

First Warm Rain

The QuillOak Editors

first warm rain of spring —the umbrellas stay foldedeveryone looks up

3 lines · haiku

Crocus in the Frost

The QuillOak Editors

crocus in the frosttoo early, and unbothered —teach me that, small one

3 lines · haiku

August Afternoon

The QuillOak Editors

august afternoon —the garden hose, the shriekingjoy of being eight

3 lines · haiku

Cicadas at Dusk

The QuillOak Editors

cicadas at duskturning the whole heat to song —even the heat sings

3 lines · haiku

One Red Maple Leaf

The QuillOak Editors

one red maple leafrides the river out of town —travel light, it says

3 lines · haiku

Snow on the Mailbox

The QuillOak Editors

snow on the mailbox —all the news the morning bringsis white, and silent

3 lines · haiku

The Meeting

The QuillOak Editors

the meeting could havebeen an email — forty smilesthinking the same thing

3 lines · senryu

One Percent

The QuillOak Editors

phone at one percent —suddenly I rememberthe names of the clouds

3 lines · senryu

M-O-M (an Acrostic)

The QuillOak Editors

More than the cards could ever quite say,Over the years, in your quiet way,Mom — you're the heart of us, every day.

3 lines · acrostic

Self-Checkout

The QuillOak Editors

self-checkout machine —unexpected item, yes,my whole entire life

3 lines · senryu

A Flower will not trouble her, it has so small a Foot

Emily Dickinson

A Flower will not trouble her, it has so small a Foot,And yet if you compare the Lasts,Hers is the smallest Boot —

3 lines · lyric

Of Life to own

Emily Dickinson

Of Life to own —From Life to draw —But never tough the reservoir —

3 lines · lyric

To see the Summer Sky

Emily Dickinson

To see the Summer SkyIs Poetry, though never in a Book it lie —True Poems flee —

3 lines · lyric

Roses Are Red (And Violets Aren't Blue)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, violets are — no.Violets are violet. I checked. It's so.This poem's been fibbing since 1784,

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (Pizza Edition)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, marinara is too;I ordered a large just to split it with you.Some people want sonnets, the moon, or the weather —

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (The Wifi Is Down)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, the wifi is dead,the router's unplugged at the foot of the bed.No streaming, no scrolling, no feed to refresh —

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (Yes, It's Another One of These)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, this format is tired,I had until midnight; a poem was required.But cliché or not, every word here is true:

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (For Her, Who Hates Mornings)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, the kettle is on,you're grumpy and gorgeous each day before dawn;and I'd give up sunrises, gladly, forever,

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (But They Fade in a Day)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, but they fade in a day;the chocolates get eaten, the cards thrown away.So here is the one gift that time won't undo:

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (For the One Who Steals the Blankets)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, my feet are like ice,you've stolen the duvet — not once, dear, but twice;yet I'd shiver forever, frostbitten and blue,

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (For the Man Who Fixes Things)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red. The stair doesn't squeak,the door doesn't stick — you fixed both this week.Some men declare love with a speech or a song;

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (His Hand Finds Mine)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, your hand finds my handin crowds, in the car, without thought, without plan;and that, more than roses, is how I stay sure:

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (You're Hopeless at Dancing)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, you're hopeless at dancing,but somehow you're great at this whole romancing:you remember my coffee, my mother, my dreams —

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (The Dog Ate My First Draft)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, violets are blue,my hamster can't read, so this poem's for you.I wrote it in marker, I spelled it all right,

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (Broccoli's Green)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, broccoli's green,and I have a question (don't shout, don't be mean):if flowers are plants, and my veggies are too,

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (I Would Still Pick You)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, as they were at the start,when I practiced your name and rehearsed every part;the petals have changed, but the question stays true:

4 lines · roses are red

Roses Are Red (A Toast to My Worst Best Friend)

The QuillOak Editors

Roses are red, your advice is the worst,you laugh at my downfalls (and always laugh first);but when it all crumbled, you showed up by nine

4 lines · roses are red

Home Is a Person

The QuillOak Editors

They say that home's an address,a roof, a key, a floor —so why does any room feel home

4 lines · quatrain

A Birthday Blessing

The QuillOak Editors

May your coffee stay hot, may your phone hold its charge,may small luck find you daily and big luck loom large;may the year rolling toward you arrive like a friend —

4 lines · quatrain

One More Year of We

The QuillOak Editors

One more year of "where's my keys?",of "taste this," and "come see" —one more year I'd trade for nothing:

4 lines · quatrain

L-O-V-E (an Acrostic)

The QuillOak Editors

Listening, even to the boring parts,Overlooking the socks on the floor,Voting for you, every day, in everything,

4 lines · acrostic

H-O-P-E (an Acrostic)

The QuillOak Editors

Hold on — not to how it was,Only to what it still could be;Plant something small in the wreckage,

4 lines · acrostic

On Tomorrow

The QuillOak Editors

There's nothing I can't conquer,no summit I can't claim,no task I cannot master —

4 lines · epigram

A Death blow is a Life blow to Some

Emily Dickinson

A Death blow is a Life blow to SomeWho till they died, did not alive become —Who had they lived, had died but when

4 lines · lyric

Beauty crowds me till I die

Emily Dickinson

Beauty crowds me till I dieBeauty mercy have on meBut if I expire today

4 lines · lyric

Birthday of but a single pang

Emily Dickinson

Birthday of but a single pangThat there are less to come —Afflictive is the Adjective

4 lines · lyric

Common questions

What counts as a short poem?

A short poem is usually under a page, and on QuillOak this collection favors complete poems under a dozen lines. Haiku, couplets, epigrams, and brief free-verse lyrics all fit.

What is the easiest short poem to memorize?

Pick a poem with a clear rhythm and one strong image. Haiku and short rhyming poems are easiest because the sound pattern helps carry the words.

Are short poems good for cards?

Yes. A short poem works best in a card when you add one sentence of your own underneath, so the borrowed lines feel personal rather than pasted in.