Famous Motto Poems by Famous Poets
These are examples of famous Motto poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous motto poems. These examples illustrate what a famous motto poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).
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...THE SIMPLE Bard, unbroke by rules of art,
He pours the wild effusions of the heart;
And if inspir’d ’tis Nature’s pow’rs inspire;
Her’s all the melting thrill, and her’s the kindling fire....Read more of this...
by
Burns, Robert
...proudly the victor comes
With fluttering flags and prancing nags
And echoing roll of drums.
Still truth proclaims this motto,
In letters of living light, -
No Question is ever settled,
Until it is settled right.
Though the heel of the strong oppressor
May grind the weak to dust,
And the voices of fame with one acclaim
May call him great and just,
Let those who applaud take warning,
And keep this motto in sight, -
No question is ever settled
Until it is settled right.
Let t...Read more of this...
by
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler
...with sepia prints
Of Boer War soldiers and pyramids
Of cannon balls stacked by their gun:
“Make war, not love”, the motto said,
Hanging over the double bed
And I was bred to defeat
As every growling dog knows
But no child in the streets
Ever fought another,
We were all everyone’s
Sister or brother,
Whenever anyone fell
There was always someone
Near to kiss you better.
And when I was younger
Auntie Nellie took me
Once a week to Leeds
For sweets in the Count...Read more of this...
by
Tebb, Barry
...se the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto -- "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave....Read more of this...
by
Key, Francis Scott
...soft brown
with an eagle embroidered on the sleeve,
its body made of careful gray stitches,
its eye a knot of gold. The motto
underneath had almost worn away. For days,
watching from our caves, we saw
the huge white shape of silk shifting
in the weeds, like a pale moon
when the wind filled it, stranded,
searching in the aimless way
of unmoored things
for whatever human ballast gave
direction to their endless drift....Read more of this...
by
Wilner, Eleanor
...loosened pane
And to shake the wainscot where the field-mouse trots
And to shake the tattered arras woven with a silent motto.
In my beginning is my end. Now the light falls
Across the open field, leaving the deep lane
Shuttered with branches, dark in the afternoon,
Where you lean against a bank while a van passes,
And the deep lane insists on the direction
Into the village, in the electric heat
Hypnotised. In a warm haze the sultry light
Is absorbed, not refracted, by grey...Read more of this...
by
Eliot, T S (Thomas Stearns)
...many believed him
They flocked to his flag like one man,
For in them days the folk would do owt for a change,
And their motto was, " San fairy ann."
It were quite a success this rebellion
Till t'were routed by Henry at Stoke,
And Lambert were taken and made to confess
That his parents was working class folk.
The public forgave this deception,
The thing that made them proper mad
Was a twopenny increase on every one's rates
To pay for the fun they had had.
And so when Pete...Read more of this...
by
Edgar, Marriott
...r sea, which shakes
Those images that on its breast reposed;
A fold upon a wind-swayed flag, that breaks
The motto it disclosed.
O doubt! O doubt! I know my destiny;
I feel thee fluttering bird-like in my breast;
I cannot loose, but I will sing to thee,
And flatter thee to rest.
There is no certainty, "my bosom's guest,"
No proving for the things whereof ye wot;
For, like the dead to sight unmanifest,
They are, and they are not.
But surely ...Read more of this...
by
Ingelow, Jean
...o each other.
They don't dispose me, either one of them,
To spare them any trouble. Double trouble's
Always the witch's motto anyway.
I'll double theirs for both of them-you watch me.
They'll find they've got the whole thing to do over,
That is, if facts is what they want to go by.
They set a lot (now don't they?) by a record
Of Arthur Amy's having once been up
For Hog Reeve in March Meeting here in Warren.
I could have told them any time this twelvemonth
The Arthur Amy I w...Read more of this...
by
Frost, Robert
...vostro, se ben vi ricorda,
ne porta ancor pelato il mento e 'l gozzo».
Poi si rivolse per la strada lorda,
e non f? motto a noi, ma f? sembiante
d'omo cui altra cura stringa e morda
che quella di colui che li ? davante;
e noi movemmo i piedi inver' la terra,
sicuri appresso le parole sante.
Dentro li 'ntrammo sanz'alcuna guerra;
e io, ch'avea di riguardar disio
la condizion che tal fortezza serra,
com'io fui dentro, l'occhio intorno invio;
e veggio ad ogne man...Read more of this...
by
Alighieri, Dante
...I 've a humble little motto
That is homely, though it 's true,—
Keep a-pluggin' away.
It's a thing when I 've an object
That I always try to do,—
Keep a-pluggin' away.
When you 've rising storms to quell,
When opposing waters swell,
It will never fail to tell,—
Keep a-pluggin' away.
If the hills are high before
And the paths are hard to climb,
Keep a-pluggin' away.
A...Read more of this...
by
Laurence Dunbar, Paul
...
skyline rose that neoned
billboard for cigarettes
which hostages
my attention, always,
as it is meant to do,
its motto ruby
in the dark morning:
ALIVE WITH PLEASURE....Read more of this...
by
Doty, Mark
...n hope of the world, unbaffled
Springs from its sleep, and up goes the spire
While ``God and the People'' plain for its motto,
Thence the new tricolour flaps at the sky?
At least to foresee that glory of Giotto
And Florence together, the first am I!
* 1 A sculptor, died 1278.
* 2 Died 1455. Designed the bronze gates of the Baptistry at Florence.
* 3 A painter, died 1498.
* 4 The son of Fr Lippo Lippi. Wronged, because some of his
* pictures have been attributed to others.
*...Read more of this...
by
Browning, Robert
...I have another mouth to fill.’
The rich man’s son grew strong and fair,
And proud with the pride of a millionaire.
His motto in life was, ‘Live while you may, ’
And he crowded years in a single day.
He bought position and name and place,
And he bought him a wife with a handsome face.
He journeyed over the whole wide world,
But discontent his heart lay curled
Like a serpent hidden in leaves and moss,
And life seemed hollow and gold was dross.
He scoffed at woman, and doubt...Read more of this...
by
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler
...esso m'appario
un non sapeva che bianco, e di sotto
a poco a poco un altro a lui uscio.
Lo mio maestro ancor non facea motto,
mentre che i primi bianchi apparver ali;
allor che ben conobbe il galeotto,
gridò: «Fa, fa che le ginocchia cali.
Ecco l'angel di Dio: piega le mani;
omai vedrai di sì fatti officiali.
Vedi che sdegna li argomenti umani,
sì che remo non vuol, né altro velo
che l'ali sue, tra liti sì lontani.
Vedi come l'ha dritte verso 'l cielo,
trattando l'aere co...Read more of this...
by
Alighieri, Dante
...n Highlanders felt woebegone
For the loss of their brave captain, who was foremost in the field,
Death or glory was his motto, rather than yield.
There have been 4,000 prisoners taken, including Mahmud himself,
Who is very fond of dancing girls, likewise drink and pelf;
Besides 3,000 of his followers have been found dead,
And the living are scattered o'er the desert with their hearts full of dread.
Long life and prosperity to the British army,
May they always be able to c...Read more of this...
by
McGonagall, William Topaz
...THEL'S MOTTO
1 Does the Eagle know what is in the pit?
2 Or wilt thou go ask the Mole?
3 Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod?
4 Or Love in a golden bowl?
I
1.1 The daughters of the Seraphim led round their sunny flocks,
1.2 All but the youngest: she in paleness sought the secret air,
1.3 To fade away like morning beauty from her mortal day:
1.4 Down by the ri...Read more of this...
by
Blake, William
...ny.
Said the Shade: `At finer feelings let your lip in scorn be curled,
`Self and Pelf', my friend, has ever been the motto for the world.'
And he said: `If you'd be happy, you must clip your fancy's wings,
Stretch your conscience at the edges to the size of earthly things;
Never fight another's battle, for a friend can never know
When he'll gladly fly for succour to the bosom of the foe.
At the power of truth and friendship let your lip in scorn be curled --
`Self a...Read more of this...
by
Baudelaire, Charles
...Nothing: that original townland
Still tongue-tied in the straw tied by your hand.
The end of art is peace
Could be the motto of this frail device
That I have pinned up on our deal dresser--
Like a drawn snare
Slipped lately by the spirit of the corn
Yet burnished by its passage, and still warm....Read more of this...
by
Heaney, Seamus
...rounded on all sides by masses of cavalry;
Still that gallant band resolved to fight for their Queen and country,
Their motto being death before dishonour, rather than flee.
At last the gallant British soldiers made a grand stand,
While most of the officers were killed fighting hand to hand,
And at length the Sepoys fled from the enclosure, panic-stricken and irate,
Alas! leaving behind their European comrades to their fate.
The Berkshires were now reduced to little more ...Read more of this...
by
McGonagall, William Topaz
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