Famous Door Poems by Famous Poets

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

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O God! open to me the door of Thy benefits. Make

by Omar Khayyam
O God! open to me the door of Thy benefits. Make
me come to my fortune finally, that I may not be beholden
to Thy creatures. Oh! render me drunk with
wine, to the point where, freed from all knowledge,
the torments of my head may disappear....Read more of this...

While The Bannock Bakes

by Robert William Service
 Light up your pipe again, old chum, and sit awhile with me;
I've got to watch the bannock bake -- how restful is the air!
You'd little think that we were somewhere north of Sixty-three,
Though where I don't exactly know, and don't precisely care.
The man-size mountains palisade us round on every side;
The river is a-flop with fish, and ripples silver-clear;
The midnight...Read more of this...

Last night, as I reeled from the tavern door,

by Omar Khayyam
Last night, as I reeled from the tavern door,
I saw a sage, who a great wine-jug bore;
I said, «O Shaikh, have you no shame?» Said he,
«Allah hath boundless mercy in his store.»...Read more of this...

At the door

by Eugene Field
 I thought myself indeed secure,
So fast the door, so firm the lock;
But, lo! he toddling comes to lure
My parent ear with timorous knock.

My heart were stone could it withstand
The sweetness of my baby's plea,--
That timorous, baby knocking and
"Please let me in,--it's only me."

I threw aside the unfinished book,
Regardless of its tempting charms,
And opening wide the door, I took
My laughing...Read more of this...

A Door just opened on a street --

by Emily Dickinson
 A Door just opened on a street --
I -- lost -- was passing by --
An instant's Width of Warmth disclosed --
And Wealth -- and Company.

The Door as instant shut -- And I --
I -- lost -- was passing by --
Lost doubly -- but by contrast -- most --
Informing -- misery --...Read more of this...

Open the door, for it is only Thou who canst open it;

by Omar Khayyam
Open the door, for it is only Thou who canst open it;
show me the way, for it is only Thou who canst show a
way of safety. I will give my hand to none of those who
wish to lead me, for all are perishable, and only Thou
eternal....Read more of this...

The Door in the Dark

by Robert Frost
 In going from room to room in the dark,
I reached out blindly to save my face,
But neglected, however lightly, to lace
My fingers and close my arms in an arc.
A slim door got in past my guard,
And hit me a blow in the head so hard
I had my native simile jarred.
So people and things don't pair any more
With what they...Read more of this...

I have shut upon myself the door of avarice, and am

by Omar Khayyam
I have shut upon myself the door of avarice, and am
thus free from obligation to those who are men and those
who do not merit the name. Since there exists but one
friend [God] toward whom I can extend my hand, I am
what I am, and that concerns only Him and me.
347...Read more of this...

Could I -- then -- shut the door

by Emily Dickinson
 Could I -- then -- shut the door --
Lest my beseeching face -- at last --
Rejected -- be -- of Her?...Read more of this...

It is not necessary to knock at every door unless there

by Omar Khayyam
It is not necessary to knock at every door unless there
be a reason for it. It is better to accommodate oneself
to the good and the bad here below, for hereafter we
can only enjoy the number of moves which destiny presents
upon the chessboard of this terrestrial ball....Read more of this...

At The Door

by David Wagoner
 All actors look for them-the defining moments
When what a character does is what he is.
The script may say, He goes to the door
And exits or She goes out the door stage left.

But you see your fingers touching the doorknob,
Closing around it, turning it
As if by themselves. The latch slides
Out of the strike-plate, the door swings on its hinges,
And you're...Read more of this...

Examination at the Womb-Door

by Ted Hughes
 Who owns those scrawny little feet? Death.
Who owns this bristly scorched-looking face? Death.
Who owns these still-working lungs? Death.
Who owns this utility coat of muscles? Death.
Who owns these unspeakable guts? Death.
Who owns these questionable brains? Death.
All this messy blood? Death.
These minimum-efficiency eyes? Death.
This wicked little tongue? Death.
This occasional wakefulness? Death.

Given, stolen, or held pending trial?
Held.

Who owns the whole rainy, stony...Read more of this...

Hinged To Forgetfulness Like A Door

by Richard Brautigan
 Hinged to forgetfulness 
like a door, 
she slowly closed out of 
sight, 
and she was the woman I loved, 
but too many times she slept like 
a mechanical deer in my caresses, 
and I ached in the metal silence 
of her dreams....Read more of this...

The Lockless Door

by Robert Frost
 It went many years,
But at last came a knock,
And I though of the door
With no lock to lock.

I blew out the light,
I tip-toed the floor,
And raised both hands
In prayer to the door.

But the knock came again.
My window was wide;
I climbed on the sill
And descended outside.

Back over the sill
I bade a 'Come in'
To whatever the knock
At the door may have...Read more of this...

A Knock On The Door

by James Tate
 They ask me if I've ever thought about the end of
the world, and I say, "Come in, come in, let me
give you some lunch, for God's sake." After a few
bites it's the afterlife they want to talk about.
"Ouch," I say, "did you see that grape leaf
skeletonizer?" Then they're talking about
redemption and the chosen few sitting right by
His side. "Doing...Read more of this...

A Door

by W S Merwin
This is a place where a door might be
here where I am standing
In the light outside all the walls

there would be a shadow here
all day long
and a door into it
where now there is me

and somebody would come and knock
on this air
long after I have gone
and there in front of me a life
would open...Read more of this...

Doom is the House without the Door

by Emily Dickinson
 Doom is the House without the Door --
'Tis entered from the Sun --
And then the Ladder's thrown away,
Because Escape -- is done --

'Tis varied by the Dream
Of what they do outside --
Where Squirrels play -- and Berries die --
And Hemlocks -- bow -- to God --...Read more of this...

The Beggar at the Door for Fame

by Emily Dickinson
 The Beggar at the Door for Fame
Were easily supplied
But Bread is that Diviner thing
Disclosed to be denied...Read more of this...

399. Song—Open the door to me oh

by Robert Burns
 OH, open the door, some pity to shew,
 Oh, open the door to me, oh,
Tho’ thou hast been false, I’ll ever prove true,
 Oh, open the door to me, oh.


Cauld is the blast upon my pale cheek,
 But caulder thy love for me, oh:
The frost that freezes the life at my heart,
 Is nought to my pains frae thee,...Read more of this...

A Knock On The Door

by Edward Taylor
 They ask me if I've ever thought about the end of
the world, and I say, "Come in, come in, let me
give you some lunch, for God's sake." After a few
bites it's the afterlife they want to talk about.
"Ouch," I say, "did you see that grape leaf
skeletonizer?" Then they're talking about
redemption and the chosen few sitting right by
His side. "Doing...Read more of this...

Lewin and Gynneth

by Mary Darby Robinson
 "WHEN will my troubled soul have rest?"
The beauteous LEWIN cried;
As thro' the murky shade of night
With frantic step she hied. 

"When shall those eyes my GYNNETH'S face,
My GYNNETH'S form survey ?
When shall those longing eyes again
Behold the dawn of day ?" 

Cold are the dews that wet my cheek,
The night-mist damps the ground;
Appalling echoes strike mine ear,
And spectres gleam...Read more of this...

Again -- his voice is at the door --

by Emily Dickinson
 Again -- his voice is at the door --
I feel the old Degree --
I hear him ask the servant
For such an one -- as me --

I take a flower -- as I go --
My face to justify --
He never saw me -- in this life --
I might surprise his eye!

I cross the Hall with mingled steps --
I -- silent...Read more of this...

Of the Heart that goes in and closes the Door

by Emily Dickinson
 Of the Heart that goes in, and closes the Door
Shall the Playfellow Heart complain
Though the Ring is unwhole, and the Company broke
Can never be fitted again?...Read more of this...

I close the door of hope in my own face,

by Omar Khayyam
I close the door of hope in my own face,
Nor sue for favours from good men, or base;
I have but ONE to lend a helping hand,
He knows, as well as I, my sorry case....Read more of this...

Open the door! O entrance who procurest,

by Omar Khayyam
Open the door! O entrance who procurest,
And guide the way, O Thou of guides the surest!
Directors born of men shall not direct me,
Their counsel comes to naught, but Thou endurest!...Read more of this...

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