The following poems explore the themes of reading, writing, and poetry and are appropriate for young people. 

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Is This the Lark!” by Joseph Auslander
Is this the lark…

Passerby, These Are Words” by Yves Bonnefoy
Passerby, these are words. But instead of reading…

"There is no frigate like a book (1263)" by Emily Dickinson
There is no Frigate like a Book...

The Republic of Poetry” by Martín Espada
In the republic of poetry…

The Secret” by Denise Levertov
Two girls discover…

Ars Poetica” by Archibald MacLeish
A poem should be palpable and mute…
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Poetry” by Marianne Moore
I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important…
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Because You Asked About the Line Between Prose and Poetry” by Howard Nemerov
Sparrows were feeding in a freezing drizzle…
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Valentine for Ernest Mann” by Naomi Shihab Nye
You can’t order a poem like you order a taco…
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Chance” by Molly Peacock
may favor obscure brainy aptitudes in you…

Books” by Gerald Stern
How you loved to read in the snow and when your…

The Land of Story-books” by Robert Louis Stevenson
At evening when the lamp is lit…

Always on the Train” by Ruth Stone
Writing poems about writing poems…
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Eating Poetry” by Mark Strand
Ink runs from the corners of my mouth…

Shut Not Your Doors to Me Proud Libraries” by Walt Whitman
Shut not your doors to me, proud libraries…


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