Famous Omission Poems by Famous Poets

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

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Free Verse

...In spite 
Of the might 
And the right 
Of classic tradition, 
In writing 
And reciting 
Straight ahead, 
Without let or omission, 
Just any little rhyme
In any little time 
That runs in my head; 
Because, I’ve said, 
My rhymes no longer shall stand arrayed
Like Prussian soldiers on parade
That march, 
Stiff as starch, 
Foot to foot, 
Boot to boot, 
Blade to blade,
Button to button, 
Cheeks and chops and chins like mutton.
No! No! 
My rhymes must go 
Turn ’ee, twist ’ee,
Twink...Read more of this...
by Graves, Robert


Have you no shame for all the sins you do,

...Have you no shame for all the sins you do,
Sins of omission and commission too?
Suppose you gain the world, you can but leave it,
You cannot carry it away with you!...Read more of this...
by Khayyam, Omar

Morning Worship

...d cliffs; rock, dirt, dust, ice;
And warnings of flood.

How shall I name them?
And in what order?
Each would be first.
Omission is murder.

Maidens, I mean, and apples; needles; leaves;
Worms, and planers, and clover; whirlwinds; dew;
Bulls; geese --

Stop. Lie still.
You will never be done.
Leave them all there.
Old lover. Live on....Read more of this...
by Van Doren, Mark

Oxford Anthology Of Twentieth Century Poetry'

...TION

(to miss that lot I’d swim an ocean)

NO PATERSON, NO BURNSIDE,

NO SWEENEY or O’BRIEN

(triumphs of criticism by omission),

BUT WHY DID PRYNNE REFUSE TO BE IN?

-wilful obscurity, hidden grandiosity-

-what is this Prynne idolatry?

All those New Gen poets

Thwacked by omission

NOT EVEN PAULIN IS IN

NO DUNMORE OR DURCAN

O’DONOGHUE or BHATT

-you can hardly do better than that!

It really made my day

Pity it was too late for you

To review in ERATICA TWO



Note: Q...Read more of this...
by Tebb, Barry

Portrait of the Artist as a Prematurely Old Man

...re doing when you are doing something you ortant,
And the other kind of sin is just the opposite and is called a sin of omission
 and is equally bad in the eyes of all right-thinking people, from
 Billy Sunday to Buddha,
And it consists of not having done something you shuddha.
I might as well give you my opinion of these two kinds of sin as long as,
 in a way, against each other we are pitting them,
And that is, don't bother your head about the sins of commission because
 ho...Read more of this...
by Nash, Ogden


Samson Agonistes

...But throw'st them lower then thou didst exalt them high,
Unseemly falls in human eie, 
Too grievous for the trespass or omission,
Oft leav'st them to the hostile sword
Of Heathen and prophane, thir carkasses
To dogs and fowls a prey, or else captiv'd:
Or to the unjust tribunals, under change of times,
And condemnation of the ingrateful multitude.
If these they scape, perhaps in poverty
With sickness and disease thou bow'st them down,
Painful diseases and deform'd, 
In crude o...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

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