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A Sonnet of the Moon by Charles Best
I think this is my favorite sonnet of the few that I've read. The
language is so clear and the images so vivid. It stirs my heart like
few other poems do.
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Sunlight on the Garden by Louis MacNeice
This has some of the most unique use of sounds I've read.
This poem is best enjoyed read aloud.
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I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth
I love to garden, and daffodils are some of my favorite flowers.
I can clearly picture the granduer of the scene Wordsworth is remembering.
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I Know an Aged Man Constrained to Dwell by William Wordsworth
A sad story, but beautiful.
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Paul Revere's Ride
by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow
What american can help but enjoy this poem? It is easy to see why it was
so popular when it was first published. The rhythm even feels like a
galloping horse. This was the first poem of significant length I memorized
and recited for a large audience. It was especially fun to see the young
kids enjoying it.
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The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
This is another excellent poem for memorization. Once you have
the basic story-line down the stanzas almost recite themselves.
The rhythm and rhyme are so precise.
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The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service
I understand that Robert Service didn't really think of himself as a poet.
He called himself a "verse-man". Whatever he is called he has the most
amazing ability to make perfectly rhymed phrases seem just as normal as
a conversation. This is another poem that is easy to memorize once you
have the story down.
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The Angler by Thomas Buchanan Reed
My grandfather was quite a fisherman. I never really grew to love
the sport as he did, but this poem helps me appreciate the aspects of it
he enjoyed. I also appreciate the skill of the writer. The
word pictures Reed uses are so vivid.
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To My Dear and Loving Husband
by Anne Bradstreet
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How do I love thee?
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Both of these poems are just plain great. They talk about
the subject that is the pinacle of humanity, they describe the best
aspects of that subject, and they express it in a most excellent fashion.