Best Short Poems

Best Short Poems and Short Poetry. Read the best short poems on the web. These are the top short poems on PoetrySoup. Links to famous short poems as well. See the short poem categories listed below.

Pink and perfect mystery 
to which I ply my finger, 
she ripens so exquisitely
the longer that I linger

and fluff the modest blossom
with my gentle loving hand,
teasing, ever pleasing
so that now I understand

how beautiful the flower
that yields without duress,
blooming now so fully
in the warmth of my caress....

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© Keith Bickerstaffe  

In Strangler's Wood - Tanka Version

At a dead man’s throat

lies the rain drenched woolen scarf

that stifled his screams.

Cold Winds howl through decayed trees -

witnesses in the shadows....

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© Andrea Dietrich  

Haiku - Celestial Seduction

lights weave through snowflakes 
teasing and twirling about 
distant stars dancing

a brilliant display
wearing only hand-me-downs
the moon steals the show

~FJ Thomas
01/01/2020...

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© FJ Thomas  

The Poetess

She feels the wind of summer’s soft caress

and listens to the magic in its sound.

How perceptive is the poetess

who senses nature’s beauty all around.

She finds a place to write in tranquil hours.

Then from her thoughts bloom words like pretty flowers.


Written June 18, 2018
Submitted June 17, 2022 
for Line Gauthier's Bite Size Poem No.47 Poetry Contest...

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© Andrea Dietrich  

Snowflake

A fragile winter butterfly
Flutters from the sky
So soft and yet her heart
Is cold and made of ice
But if I warm it
She will melt and die

                      ~~~

Author:  Elaine George...

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© Elaine George   

Autumn's Season

Autumn brushes her hair slowly
Letting the glorious colors
flow gently to the earth below.
Showing off vibrant colors 
 in contrast to summer's green dress.
 Out doing the starkness,
of winter's white coat.
Autumn compares the mutable
shades of spring to her fall
Giving a sigh ,end of another season.
She packs her brush 
as frost touches her tips.
...

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© Phyllis Babcock  

In This Place

I am the weed
Nestled
In a crack in the pavement
Dismantling concrete
Crumbling foundations
In this man made world
Rooted in the earth
Despite the city
I am the seed




11/05/18

Composed for Line Gauthier's
Zen Poetry Contest...

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© Maureen McGreavy Pigeon Tart  

Love Is Free

a puppet dances

   to its own merry tune

    no strings attached

----------------------------
[Inspired by Jan Allison’s 
      poem “Love is Bind”]...

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© Paul Callus  

- Haiku X 62 - Deep Wounded -

deep wounds that leave scars
    one moment much more must flow -
    shadows from the soul

    her tears in silence
    the strong arms that held her up -
    in the thoughts and deeds

    please do not grieve more
    and afterwards remember -
    pearls of morning’s dew





    05.08.2015 A-L Andresen :)
    Copyright © All Rights Reserved...

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© Anne-Lise Andresen  

her words,

 now naked.

Finally 

letting them       e
                     e       v
                      v     o
                          l 

and run into
                 silent seams...

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© Kabuteng P.Ink K.  

If stars were Gold

In
your 
absence
I float in
psychedelic ink
to design a labyrinth with 
rainbow roses drenched in turquoise tears and metaphors.
But, if stars were gold, and I am love, you'll be the poetic garden that feeds my soul.
Maybe, someday, I'll be more than just a faltering feather~will you then, remind me, how to sing again, steal the light behind the jade moon?...

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© Ink Empress  

A Tempest of Tears

surrendering
reflective puddles
of rained regrets and sins

I offer my humility
the only gift I can give.


Susan Ashley 
September 2, 2018


~ First Place ~
Premiere Contest: Pithy Pants 
Sponsor: Maureen McGreavy...

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© Susan Ashley  

Secret of the Mortician

The Secret of the Mortician

Dead, but I got eyes
Prepares my body at the morgue
Opens the chest
Drains the blood from its nudity
Admires my body before it decays

After The process of embalming
His hands run all over
I'm still dead
He's satisfied

The next day 
Writes an outstanding obituary 
I sit on display

~SKAT~...

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© Skat A   

Sand Castle De Mal

~Sand Castle De Mal~

Beauty sails along the shores of life
Out there broken dreams form above sand dunes
Silent, God listens to the triumph of his creation



3-14-2015
3 line verse...

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© Skat A   

Heavenly Herald

dainty daffodil
your golden trumpet fanfares
the dawning of spring

...

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© Jan Allison  

Shadow of Death

My shadow flirts with the sun
As I caress the darkness
We are one and separate
As my shadow smiles
Anxiety suffocates me
The shadow will soon fade
I shall die
One happy, one not...

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© Arthur Vaso  

Magical Moonlight

I
love
walking
at midnight
as moonlight shadows
dance on the inky blue ocean
and watch as they sparkle and shimmer like tiny stars,
pirouetting gracefully like prima ballerinas with the ocean as their stage 

9/3/19
Writing Challenge 1, September 2019 - Eight Line Form
Sponsor, Dear Heart - Wiishkobi Ode
Checked with PS Syllable counter 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21...

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© Jan Allison  

A Balloon

a balloon
canary yellow
the sun on her leash



AP: 1st place, Honorable Mention 2020, Honorable Mention 2020

Submitted on June 26, 2020 for contest STRAND COMPLETELY NEW POETRY (1) sponsored by BRIAN STRAND  -  HONORABLE MENTION

POTD  -  June 26, 2020...

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© Line Gauthier  

Chaplinesque

I am a silent movie,
a corny melodrama
played in black and white
with an observable flicker.
A little tramp
accompanied by ragtime piano.

You are pure A-list 
Technicolor, 
Dolby digital
THX, IMAX laser, 
Oscar winner
3D blockbuster.

And yet you love
me.


Written 26 Apr 2020...

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© John Watt  

Lilac Longing

When rooted promises shift through dusts of seasonal change,
from a kyanite blue breeze to whirling wisps of lilac longing.
Memories live on, as nothing of value is ever lost. ...

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© Ink Empress  

A Ripple In Time

A new borns cry
Tearful last good bye

Swaying waves of golden prairie grass
Shifting desert dunes - an hour glass

An acorn dropping among forest leaves
To mighty oak - a lifetime of dreams

The changing moon - to full again
Each morn' the sun - new skies begin

Eagles soar high - our hearts go there
These ripples in time - we all share

©Donna Jones...

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© Donna Jones  

Winter

thick blanket of snow
snuggling the flowerbeds 
with a winter wrap

...

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© Jan Allison  

Scintillating Snowflakes

Wintry white wisps wondrously whirl
Soft sparkling snowflakes silently swirl
Coolly carpeting countrysides carefully
Dazzling diamonds dancing delightfully 


Submitted Contest forms A contest
Sponsored by Broken Wings
28th December 2014...

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© Jan Allison  

Morning Or Mourning

Such precious gemstones
Morning dew shines like diamonds
God’s tears from heaven

Written on 18th February 2 days before my father died


Posted 22nd February 2015...

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© Jan Allison  

Other Side of the Wall

Silence?
or
is that a cry
I hear

Screams?
or 
is that
memories
hiding?

Wall
yes I listen
to a wall
days
weeks
forever

A white wall
stares back at me
curiosity mounts
I feel the wall
whiteness
blinds me

My heart stops
a rhythm
still
dances

ah
a smile crashes 
into me
two
yes two hearts
one
wall ...

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© Arthur Vaso