Famous Unselfish Poems by Famous Poets

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

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Martin

by Joyce Kilmer
 When I am tired of earnest men,
Intense and keen and sharp and clever,
Pursuing fame with brush or pen
Or counting metal disks forever,
Then from the halls of Shadowland
Beyond the trackless purple sea
Old Martin's ghost comes back to stand
Beside my desk and talk to me.
Still on his delicate pale face
A quizzical thin smile is showing,
His cheeks are wrinkled like fine lace,
His...Read more of this...

To An Old Mate

by Henry Lawson
 Old Mate! In the gusty old weather, 
When our hopes and our troubles were new, 
In the years spent in wearing out leather, 
I found you unselfish and true -- 
I have gathered these verses together 
For the sake of our friendship and you. 

You may think for awhile, and with reason, 
Though still with a kindly regret, 
That...Read more of this...

Jeanne dArc

by Henry Van Dyke
 The land was broken in despair,
The princes quarrelled in the dark,
When clear and tranquil, through the troubled air
Of selfish minds and wills that did not dare,
Your star arose, Jeanne d'Arc.

O virgin breast with lilies white,
O sun-burned hand that bore the lance,
You taught the prayer that helps men to unite,
You brought the courage equal to the fight,
You gave a heart...Read more of this...

Ghana Calls

by W. E. B. Du Bois
I was a little boy, at home with strangers.   
I liked my playmates, and knew well,   
Whence all their parents came; 
From England, Scotland, royal France   
From Germany and oft by chance 
The humble Emerald Isle. 

But my brown skin and close-curled hair 
Was alien, and how it grew, none knew; 
Few tried to...Read more of this...

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