The Diary Of A Nobody

Charles Bukowski - Bluebird   Written: Bluebird was written in the 1990s, published as part of Bukowski’s 1992 poetry collection The Last Night of the Earth Poems. This was one of the last collections Bukowski released before his death in 1994. The poem reflects a more contemplative side of Bukowski’s work as he faced the later years of his life, exploring themes of mortality, introspection, and t...

Derek Walcott - Love After Love Theme: The theme of "Love After Love" by Derek Walcott is self-rediscovery and self-love after a period of loss or heartbreak. The poem is a gentle and reassuring meditation on the importance of reconnecting with oneself, emphasizing the need for self-acceptance and the idea that true love for oneself can be found within. Walcott writes about a future mome...

A simple poem of a chilly April evening when wonder passed by.   Enjoy! Support the show

David M. Romano - When/If Tomorrow Starts Without Me   Theme: David Romano's poignant poem, "When Tomorrow Starts Without Me," encapsulates the theme of coping with loss and finding solace in the belief of an afterlife. Through its heartfelt verses, the poem urges us to cherish life's fleeting moments and to appreciate the loved ones who enrich our journey. It reminds us to liv...

A heartfelt Sunday morning poem emerged from the depths of my being, inspired by the lessons I've gleaned and the challenges I've faced. Its purpose is to rekindle the flickering flame within, to celebrate the boundless love and genuine essence of life's grace. I offer this intimate poem with the hope that it resonates with your spirit, illuminating your path and filling your heart...

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi - Because I Cannot Sleep   Written: cca. 1207-1273 Poem:  Because I cannot sleepI make music at night. I am troubled by the onewhose face has the color of spring flowers. I have neither sleep nor patience,neither a good reputation nor disgrace. A thousand robes of wisdom are gone. All my good manners have moved a thousand miles away. The heart and the mind are left angry...

Berton Braley - Opportunity   Written: circa 1917 Theme: No matter where you live, or where you have been born whether that is into a wealthy family or to dirt poor parents, opportunities are available. The sad truth is that those who believe what their family roots did or did not give them have little to nothing to do with what lies ahead. Many of you have heard about the "cycle of poverty&q...

W.S. Merwin - Thanks   Published: 2005 in Migration: New and Selected Poems Theme & Story: Reads as an expression of gratitude for the bounty of his life. Merwin voices his thanks in an effusive manner that stays consistent whether bowing from bridges, addressing the water or remembering wars. It begins with the simple word “Listen” and goes on to describe a variety of beautiful moments: with...

Dragos Radu - Do Not Close Your Eyes   Written: 27th December 2022, Bucharest Theme & Story: This poem was inspired by a sentiment of longing and emptiness for one person in my life whom I got to know for only the first 6 years of my life, my grandfather. Since I was a child, I have been looking up to him; he was a pilot, so, at that time, I desired to become one too. Thanks to him, I know how...

Sara Teasdale - A Winter Bluejay   Written/Published: 1915 in Rivers to the Sea Theme: The poem begins by placing the couple in a snow-covered landscape, walking through the “whisper[ing]” snow, enjoying a quiet moment. Their shadows are “danc[ing]” behind them, creating a beautiful pattern of light. It is clear that this moment is not one that comes often.  They continue on their walk and come up...

Anonymous St Swithun's Parishioner - The Messiah   Source: It was published in a parish newsletter of St Swithun's church.  Story: Most of us are familiar with the words and music of the great Oratorio but Bill Jones of Golcar, a little village in the West Riding of Yorkshire, had never been to a performance and he tried to persuade a friend to go with him to the Huddersfield Town Hall t...

Lord Byron - Childe Harold's Pilgrimage [There is a pleasure in the pathless woods]   Written/Published: 3rd March 1812 Theme: In these lines of ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,’ the poet engages with themes of change, the sea, and power. The latter is used to reference the power of the sea as well as humankind’s lack of power in the face of the indomitable ocean. It has raged the same since the...

Mark Strand - Lines For Winter   Written/Published: 1979, Selected Poems Theme: "The echo of “as it gets cold” implies the language could be seen as appealing to readers for separate stages of understanding, not just the physical “cold” of winter, but also the coldness that comes with loss of emotion and possibly death, or at least accompanying the sober recognition of one’s own mortality. Su...

Edgar Allan Poe - The City in the Sea   Published: 1831 Theme:  The poem takes the reader through Death’s city. He rules this place from a throne and towers over it “gigantically”. The city is lit by nothing but the light from the sea. By following its progression a reader can see the towers, palaces, friezes, and spires that fill the city-scape. Towards the end of the poem, a change comes over th...

Lord Byron - All Is Vanity, Saith the Preacher   Written/Published in: Hebrew Melodies nr. 21 1815 Theme: Lord Byron’s poem is inspired by the Book of Qohelet. He transfers Qohelet’s feeling of life into a psalm, thereby condensing the Biblical material in his own way. He makes Qohelet, whom he conventionally identifies with King Solomon, look back at the happy times in his life. He interprets the...

Robert Frost - The Road Not Taken   Published: 1915 Theme :  "Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is often interpreted as an anthem of individualism and nonconformity, seemingly encouraging readers to take the road less traveled. This interpretation has long been propagated through countless song lyrics, newspaper columns, and graduation speeches. But as Frost liked to warn his listeners...

Don McLean - Crossroads (Song)     Written/Released: 1971 Album: American Pie Theme & Story: "I think this line is the essence of the pop ballad; the sense of regret, the wish to turn back time, the fear of the road lying ahead. Textually, the song is about a man who returns to a long lost love and begs for salvation. But that’s far too linear interpretation. I read the entire second vers...

Kabir Das - Songs of Kabir (songs 6 and 9) Written: 1398 - 1518 Published: One Hundred Poems of Kabir 1915 Translated: Rabindranath Tagore Theme:  The songs of Kabir by Tagore represent both the philosophies of Hinduism and Sufism. It is a seamless, luminous setting of Kabir 's beloved prayer, offering praise to a holy spirit, universal and personal, both in this world and beyond. ( Brainly.i...

Charles Bukowski - Roll The Dice Written: ca. 1970-1990 Published in: What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through the Fire (1999) Theme: “Roll the Dice” by Charles Bukowski is one of the most motivational poems in American History. During the 1950-60s people were headed on the path of being different. Whether that meant listening to different music or growing long hair, each poem is telling the...

Maya Angelou - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings   Published: 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Themes:  "Strong themes are present throughout "Caged Bird." Racist oppression, freedom against captivity, and joy versus grief are examples of themes. Through the picture of the two birds, one free and one imprisoned, Angelou weaves together all of these concepts in "Caged Bird.&q...

Dragos Radu - The War   Written: 2022   Summary & Story: Sometimes, we are all fighting a war. A war can -internally speaking- seem, at times, catastrophically never-ending. The warrior portrays an image where each of us has found ourselves at a point where an inevitable change must happen. A point where one has to be reborn and rise from the ashes. The warrior reflects that point. The horse,...

T.S. Eliot - Burnt Norton Pt. 2   Written in: Published in 1943 in the 4 Quartets of T.S. Eliot. ( source: poemanalysis.com, 2022 ) Theme: The main theme of ‘Burnt Norton is the nature of time, its relation to salvation, and the contrast between the experience of the modern man and spirituality. The lyrical voice meditates on life and the need to subscribe to the universal order. The poem’s struct...

T.S. Eliot - Burnt Norton Pt. 1   Written in: Burnt Norton is the first poem of the 4 Quartets of T.S. Eliot. This quartet was published in 1936 and in 1943 appeared together with the other 3 quartets. ( source: poemanalysis.com, 2022 ) Theme: The main theme of ‘Burnt Norton is the nature of time, its relation to salvation, and the contrast between the experience of the modern man and spirituality...

Dragos Radu - Home   Written: 2022   Summary & Story: Throughout my life, I had many moments where I missed my home. Not home in the sense of a birthplace, people or things that I've been closely acquainted with during my life, but home within, the altar within each of us. The place that always calls us back to ourselves, to inquire, to be curious. The place that is most meaningful to us...

Dylan Thomas - Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night   Written in: 1947 Published in: 1951 in the journal Botteghe Oscure ( wikipedia , 2022)   Theme & Story: "In the first stanza of "Do Not Go Gentle", the speaker encourages their father not to "go gentle into that good night" but rather to "rage, rage against the dying of the light." Then, in the subsequent...