“

Now reading

Expectation - is Contentment-

EXPECTATION is contentment;
Gain, satiety.
But satiety, conviction
Of necessity.
Of an austere trait in pleasure.
Good, without alarm,
Is a too serene possession—
Danger deepens suns.

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

Endlessness enfleshed in emerald & frost & shades I couldn’t …

Joshua Bennett

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you …

John Donne

There are no hills that lead the spirit up …

Richard Eberhart

Because I had no thought of dearth …

Edward Weismiller

My friend was in a coma, so I dove …

Robert Pinsky

Scintillas of the anatomical …

Rick Barot

There has been shadow, …

Siddie Joe Johnson

I heard Death singing. …

Louise Adele Carter

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