The following poems—perfect for the last day of school—are about graduating, growing up, and moving forward and are appropriate for young people.
"For the Graduation: Bolinas, 1973" by Robert Creeley
The honor of being human will stay constant...
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…
“It Couldn’t Be Done” by Edgar Guest
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done…
“from Pieces of Kate” by Eamon Grennan
Her Junior High School graduation...
“Remember” by Joy Harjo
Remember the sky that you were born under…
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“Invictus” by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me…
“The Graduate Leaving College” by George Moses Horton
What summons do I hear?
“Dreams” by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams…
“If—” by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you…
“Instructions on Not Giving Up” by Ada Limón
More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out...
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“Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye
The river is famous to the fish...
“Song of the Open Road, I” by Walt Whitman
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road...