Famous Determine Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Determine poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous determine poems. These examples illustrate what a famous determine poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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Tom Mays Death

by Andrew Marvell
 As one put drunk into the Packet-boat,
Tom May was hurry'd hence and did not know't.
But was amaz'd on the Elysian side,
And with an Eye uncertain, gazing wide,
Could not determine in what place he was,
For whence in Stevens ally Trees or Grass.
Nor where the Popes head, nor the Mitre lay,
Signs by which still he found and lost his way.
At last...Read more of this...

Wishes To His (Supposed) Mistress

by Richard Crashaw
 Whoe'er she be,
That not impossible she
That shall command my heart and me;

Where'er she lie,
Locked up from mortal eye
In shady leaves of destiny:

Till that ripe birth
Of studied fate stand forth,
And teach her fair steps to our earth;

Till that divine
Idea take a shrine
Of crystal flesh, through which to shine:

Meet you her, my wishes,
Bespeak her to my blisses,
And be ye called my...Read more of this...

I Know My Soul

by Claude McKay
 I plucked my soul out of its secret place, 
And held it to the mirror of my eye, 
To see it like a star against the sky, 
A twitching body quivering in space, 
A spark of passion shining on my face. 
And I explored it to determine why 
This awful key to my infinity 
Conspires to rob me of...Read more of this...

Our Mat

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 It came from the prison this morning, 
Close-twisted, neat-lettered, and flat; 
It lies the hall doorway adorning, 
A very good style of a mat. 

Prison-made! how the spirit is moven 
As we think of its story of dread -- 
What wiles of the wicked are woven 
And spun in its intricate thread! 

The letters are new, neat and nobby,...Read more of this...

Go slow my soul to feed thyself

by Emily Dickinson
 Go slow, my soul, to feed thyself
Upon his rare approach --
Go rapid, lest Competing Death
Prevail upon the Coach --
Go timid, should his final eye
Determine thee amiss --
Go boldly -- for thou paid'st his price
Redemption -- for a Kiss --...Read more of this...

25. My Father was a Farmer: A Ballad

by Robert Burns
 MY father was a farmer upon the Carrick border, O,
And carefully he bred me in decency and order, O;
He bade me act a manly part, though I had ne’er a farthing, O;
For without an honest manly heart, no man was worth regarding, O.


Then out into the world my course I did determine, O;
Tho’ to be rich was not my...Read more of this...

The Gardener XLVI: You Left Me

by Rabindranath Tagore
 You left me and went on your way.
I thought I should mourn for you
and set your solitary image in my
heart wrought in a golden song.
But ah, my evil fortune, time is 
short.
Youth wanes year after year; the
spring days are fugitive; the frail
flowers die for nothing, and the wise
man warns me that life is but a
dewdrop on the lotus leaf.
Should...Read more of this...

Song of Love XXIV

by Kahlil Gibran
 I am the lover's eyes, and the spirit's 
Wine, and the heart's nourishment. 
I am a rose. My heart opens at dawn and 
The virgin kisses me and places me 
Upon her breast. 


I am the house of true fortune, and the 
Origin of pleasure, and the beginning 
Of peace and tranquility. I am the gentle 
Smile upon his...Read more of this...

Democracy

by Leonard Cohen
 It's coming through a hole in the air,
 from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
 It's coming from the feel
 that it ain't exactly real,
 or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
 From the wars against disorder,
 from the sirens night and day,
 from the fires of the homeless,
 from the ashes of the gay:
 Democracy is coming to...Read more of this...

Book Passion

by Belinda Subraman
 I dreamed I was eating
a book.
It was made from 8” by 12” slabs
one inch deep.
It tasted like cheese
but cut like watercress.
as I chewed I understood.

As I looked around
others were reading
the same title
but in the regular way
I couldn’t determine
which was best,
eyes only
or digesting it my way.

Others began to notice me
and stare.
Made me feel *****.

I was in a restaurant though,
a fitting...Read more of this...

110. Epistle to a Young Friend

by Robert Burns
 May—, 1786.I LANG hae thought, my youthfu’ friend,
 A something to have sent you,
Tho’ it should serve nae ither end
 Than just a kind memento:
But how the subject-theme may gang,
 Let time and chance determine;
Perhaps it may turn out a sang:
 Perhaps turn out a sermon.


Ye’ll try the world soon, my lad;
 And, Andrew dear, believe me,
Ye’ll find mankind...Read more of this...

Mary Ellen

by Robert William Service
 It's mighty quiet in the house
 Since Mary Ellen quit me cold;
I've swept the hearth and fed the mouse
 That's getting fat and overbold.
I've bought a pig's foot for the pot
 And soon I'll set the fire alight;
Then I may eat or I may not,
 Depends upon my appetite.

Since Mary Ellen left me lone
 I haven't earned a bloody...Read more of this...

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