“

Now reading

Poem

A clementine
Of inclement climate
Grows tart.

A crocus
Too stoic to open,
Won’t.

Like an oyster
That cloisters a spoil of pearls,
Untouched—

The heart that’s had
Enough
Stays shut.

41,493

poems

4,155

poets

207

poetic terms

Browse the collection

Explore the archive →
01

By feeling

Grief, desire, revolt, wonder. Start where the poem meets your life.

Emotions →
02

By form

Follow the sonnet, ghazal, villanelle, ode, and every shape in between.

The glossary →
03

By constellation

Move between a poet, their influences, peers, translations, and afterlives.

Poets →

Selected

Poems worth returning to

A red coat shining rich, a graceful, golden horn, …

William Robert Moses

O wind of music and unearthly sound, …

Raymond Holden

One night, not long after the disaster, …

Abigail Deutsch

(A Tale of California's North Coast) …

Elma Dean

Our family tree is in the sear …

Joseph Cephas Holly

Lately, I've enlisted an app on my phone to keep track …

Katie Willingham

the weightlessness of things …

David Bromwich

Your smiling, or the hope, the thought of it, …

Richard Wilbur

The glossary

The language about poetry

From aubade to zuihitsu, 207 definitions of the forms, figures, and schools that shape the line.

Explore the glossary→
Accentual verseAccentual-syllabic verseAcmeismAlcaicAlexandrineAmbiguity