Poems About Life

There are many varieties of inspirational poems about life, including love, struggles and even death. This type of writing generally deals with many aspects of living from happiness to sorrow and hopes & dreams, it can often be inspirational or reflective.

Here is an example of an original life poem that deals with some of these themes, along with a summary of a couple of my favorite lines of poetry on the subject.

My love of poetry started when I was fairly young, after coming across an old "Book of English Verse"; although I had a good appreciation before then, I was impressed by the depth & superiority of the verses written by the great poets of long ago, most of which I had never heard of before, and some of which I had been vaguely familiar with.

Some poetic pieces I returned to again and again, fascinated by the rhythmic fluidity of the lines that seemed to dance to a tune all their own. These pieces painted pictures that were full of emotion and so vivid that it sometimes felt like I had been unknowingly living in a world where I was almost blind and was now seeing for the very first time.

As I grew older and was formerly taught about the different types of poetry and how to interpret the symbolism and read between the lines, I grew to cherish these poetic forms even more.

I soon realized that the types of poetry that captivated me the most were both long & short dealing with various aspects of our existence including struggles and experiences of different kinds and death.

One of my favorite short inspirational poems about life and death is an old piece titled "Voyages" written by Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young as published in "This Mind" in 1922.

It is an interesting short life poem that speaks of the meeting of two souls as they both cross paths about to enter and exit the world.

In the poem, the baby boy is about to leave heaven and enter the world, he hesitates and considers not to be born because the old doctor he meets, who is leaving earth and entering heaven, has an appearance that startles him; he appears to be sad looking, weary, and worn. The doctor kindly cheers the little infant onward letting him know that although living on earth is hard, it is filled with both good & bad experiences, and a wonderful adventure awaits.

While seeking his uncertain dream

The weary traveler rides,

With every step he dares to take

What once was living dies,

The distant fields they seem so green

When on the other side,

Or are they only distant hopes

Watered by foolish pride.

Now struggling somehow moving on

To an illusive prize,

The nearby streams cannot outrun

The rivers of his eyes,

A blade of grass then stretched forth

And at the traveler spied,

Then hoards the glittering diamond in

His bosom open wide.

Then fainting finally in despair

The weary traveler lies,

On nearby limb birds pause to sing

And greet a new sunrise,

While all beneath the greenest growth

Find life where once they died,

The grass no more is only green

Upon the other side.

©Jem Joseph 2013

(An original piece) Some of the main themes that this piece of poetry deals with are hopes, dreams and aspirations, plus the struggles of living and death, plus the indifference of nature.

Photo credits: All images displayed on this page about life poems are in the public domain.

The "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a lengthy but intriguing tale of the misadventures of an old sailor while at sea. It is divided into seven parts and is 625 lines long.

I was impressed that a story that could easily been shook off as the ramblings of a madman were presented in such a pleasing poetic form. Like the listener in the tale that couldn't tear himself away from the narrative even to attend a family wedding, I too was transfixed and was not only eager to find out what happened next but found myself reading it again and again, most often out loud since poetry that good begged for a listening ear to do it justice.

It was like watching a favorite movie that you couldn't get tired of. As a result I knew much of it by heart.

This title can be downloaded here for free.

These beautifully rendered words of wisdom by Paulo Coelho in the video above are interesting and profound observations about living & provide some great food for thought.

In the poetry books on this page you will find a variety of poetic forms that deal with the many aspects of living. The topics of love, mortality and death are also included.

What's the name of your favorite piece of poetry that deals with being alive & what do you like about it?

Poems that focus on life often deal with certain aspects of life such as love, sadness, death and other popular defining moments within life.

What aspect of life do you appreciate most in poems?

Like many of the other ebooks and poetry books on this page, in this title "to stir your heart" you will find many inspirational poetry about life, love and human experience.

It's available for download to your Kindle or Kindle enabled device.