“

Now reading

sea

walking up John Street

thinking of you

I saw a slash of sea

between houses

and felt — as always,

no matter mood,

its or mine —

as though

it was the source

of language

and language

the source of itself

41,493

poems

4,155

poets

207

poetic terms

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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

THREE POEMS …

Louis Untermeyer

Protected from the winds …

Paul Eaton Reeve

When the gold light rinsed out of the trees, …

George Bradley

The day, with all its pain ahead, is yours. …

Derek Walcott

The orchid exhibit …

Diane Ackerman

Treinta segundos. El puro mediodía. Una mariposa monarca se posa en su hombro. Lleva una arrugada camiseta celeste de manga corta. Está al sol en el pequeño jardín, después de haber rastrillado las hojas secas que forman una giba bronce. En torno, un aire de anillos tibios y los vecinos pasean. No sabe por qué, con razones de sobra para estar preocupada, se siente a cubierto. …

Luis Muñoz

The brief amnesia of a kissing girl …

Louis Johnson

See here an easy feast that knows no wound, …

Richard Crashaw

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