30 Inspirational Poems That Will Boost Your Mood
Updated: Apr. 22, 2024
When life brings you down, turn to these inspirational poems for a bit of encouragement
Inspirational poems that’ll raise your spirits
Thousands of years ago, humankind figured out how to transform one of our greatest inventions into infinite beauty, and language gave way to poetry. From the prehistoric poems of the Nile civilizations to contemporary poets changing the literary landscape, poetry encapsulates and immortalizes feelings and emotions. Do you gravitate toward inspirational poems or stanzas of sorrow? Whatever emotion you’re feeling can be found (and often better expressed) in poetry written by people like you who’ve experienced the same thing and found the right words to describe it.
Whenever I’m feeling down, I know I can find not only solace in poetry but true inspiration as well. No matter how sad I may be, I know a few Walt Whitman verses will remind me of how rare and magnificent it is to be alive.
Inspirational poems are like love poems written for life itself. Ahead, you’ll find verses that promise a roller coaster of emotions. We can’t help but hit rough bumps from time to time, but we can turn to these inspirational poems for encouragement, motivation and a rekindling of our fire.
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1. “Promise” by Georgia Douglas Johnson
Through the moil and the gloom they have issued
To the steps of the upwinding hill,
Where the sweet, dulcet pipes of tomorrow
In their preluding rhapsodies trill.
With a thud comes a stir in the bosom,
As there steals on the sight from afar,
Through a break of a cloud’s coiling shadow
The gleam of a bright morning star!
Georgia Douglas Johnson is a very important figure in American poetry. She attended a conservatory in hopes of being a composer, but she slowly shifted toward poetry and became one of the pioneers of the Harlem Renaissance—she held weekly gatherings attended by poets including Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer. Her musical background is beautifully reflected in this poem, as she uses metaphors like the buildup to an epic piece of music, full of hope and inspiration.
2. “Shadows” by Langston Hughes
We run,
We run,
We cannot stand these shadows!
Give us the sun.
We were not made
For shade,
For heavy shade,
And narrow space of stifling air
That these white things have made.
We run,
Oh, God,
We run!
We must break through these shadows,
We must find the sun.
We continue our list of inspiring poems about life with another great figure of the Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes. Like some of the best Black poets throughout history, Hughes provides rich insights with poetry about love, race and common struggles. And although his poems have a brutal side to them, there is an unmistakable tone of hope. In “Shadows,” he speaks of escape, but not in the cowardly sense. He is escaping past sorrows in search of something better—the sun, as he calls it.
3. “A Song of Hope” by Charles Bertram Johnson
Day is at the gate,
I am risen late;
Clouds laze in the air,
Clouds sleep on the grass;
I have song to spare
Till the shadows pass.
Day is at the noon,
No thread of bow or moon;
Rain is in the air,
Drenched and limp the grass;
I have song to spare
Till the shadows pass.
Day is at the close,
Faith no logic knows;
Rain-clouds blur the air,
All the world is dun;
I have song to spare
Till to-morrow’s sun.
Much like Langston Hughes in the poem “Shadows,” Charles Bertram Johnson uses metaphors and thematics to promise hope after periods of rain and gloom. When things seem dreadful, remember that tomorrow brings sunshine and a song.
4. “The Plains of Peace” by Olivia Ward Bush-Banks
Again my fancy takes its flight,
And soars away on thoughtful wing,
Again my soul thrills with delight,
And this the fancied theme, I sing,
From Earthly scenes awhile, I find release,
And dwell upon the restful Plains of Peace.
The Plains of Peace are passing fair,
Where naught disturbs and naught can harm,
I find no sorrow, woe or care,
These all are lost in perfect calm,
Bright are the joys, and pleasures never cease,
For those who dwell on the Plains of Peace.
From the beginning of this poem, you can feel Olivia Ward Bush-Banks’ voice of hope and inspiration in its beautiful verses. She speaks in divine proportions of a place where there is no sorrow and misery, where all dreams come true, and as the poem progresses, you’ll feel an overwhelming sense of inspiration rise within. (Read the full poem for more.)
5. “Margrethe” by William Saphier
You are an ice covered twig
with a quiet, smiling sap
The spring winds of life
have tested your steel-blade soul
and the harsh breath of men
covered you with a frigid shell.
But under the transparent ice
I have seen your warm hand
ready to tear the shell
and grasp the love-sun’s heat,
and your cool morning eyes
look clear and calm into the day.
Much like a nature poem, “Margrethe” uses metaphors of ice, sap and spring to paint a picture of love pushing through as winter gives way to warmer times. In the most beautiful way, William Saphier says, “This too shall pass.”
6. “A Song” by Lucretia Maria Davidson
Life is but a troubled ocean,
Hope a meteor, love a flower
Which blossoms in the morning beam,
And whithers with the evening hour.
Ambition is a dizzy height,
And glory, but a lightning gleam;
Fame is a bubble, dazzling bright,
Which fairest shines in fortune’s beam.
When clouds and darkness veil the skies,
And sorrow’s blast blows loud and chill,
Friendship shall like a rainbow rise,
And softly whisper—peace, be still.
Lucretia Maria Davidson wrote this poem when she was only 15 years old. Written in the early 1800s, “A Song” criticizes our obsession with ambition and fame, the reasons for much of the modern world’s worries. She reminds us of what really matters. To her, true friendship will always be there for us. As for everything else, it will naturally fit into its place.
7. “Renewal of Strength” by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
The prison-house in which I live
Is falling to decay,
But God renews my spirit’s strength
Within these walls of clay.
For me a dimness slowly creeps
Around earth’s fairest light,
But heaven grows clearer to my view,
And fairer to my sight.
It may be earth’s sweet harmonies
Are duller to my ear,
But music from my Father’s house
Begins to float more near.
Then let the pillars of my home
Crumble and fall away;
Lo, God’s dear love within my soul
Renews it day by day.
“Renewal of Strength” tells us that belief is a great source of inspiration in troubled times. It does not have to be belief in a deity, for simply believing in something is the beginning of a path toward a better tomorrow.
8. “When My Soul Findeth Wings” by Libbie C. Baer
Like roses the bright dream did pass,
On swift, noiseless footsteps away;
Like glistening dew on the grass,
Dissolving beneath the sun’s ray.
Like voice of the lark that doth soar,
Through the golden haze of the dawn;
You hear it and bend to adore,
Just hear it and then it is gone.
Libbie C. Baer narrates a dream of a celestial being who is so utterly perfect in “When My Soul Findeth Wings.” This, of course, is a metaphor for what we seek to be. The catch here is that we need to “grow wings,” or find the inspiration to chase the image of ourselves that we dream of. At the end of the full-length poem, she realizes she has a long way to go before she finds her wings.
9. “Credo” by Alfred Kreymborg
I sing the will to love:
the will that carves the will to live,
the will that saps the will to hurt,
the will that kills the will to die;
the will that made and keeps you warm,
the will that points your eyes ahead,
the will that makes you give, not get,
a give and get that tell us what you are:
how much a god, how much a human.
I call on you to live the will to love.
This is more a poem about life than merely a poem of inspiration. In “Credo,” Alfred Kreymborg speaks to our humanity, saying that once we find the will to love, we can live happily and with none of the tragedy we see every day. We are all able to reach that state, and it’s simply by realizing that we are human.
10. “War” by Leslie Coulson
What war has left its wake of whitened bone,
Soft stems of summer grass shall wave again,
And all the blood that war has ever strewn
Is but a passing stain.
This is a short poem with immeasurable depth. In “War,” Leslie Coulson writes about our most miserable states in order to say that things do get better. We all experience different “wars,” and it’s important to remember that from their ashen battlefields, hope can rise again.
11. “When I Rise Up” by Georgia Douglas Johnson
When I rise up above the earth,
And look down on the things that fetter me,
I beat my wings upon the air,
Or tranquil lie,
Surge after surge of potent strength
Like incense comes to me
When I rise up above the earth
And look down upon the things that fetter me.
In a list of inspiring poems, one work by Georgia Douglas Johnson is not enough. So here is another one. “When I Rise Up” is a celebration of being unchained, breaking free from everything that holds you down.
12. “The Old Stoic” by Emily Brontë
Riches I hold in light esteem,
And Love I laugh to scorn;
And lust of fame was but a dream,
That vanished with the morn:
And if I pray, the only prayer
That moves my lips for me
Is, “Leave the heart that now I bear,
And give me liberty!”
Yes, as my swift days near their goal:
‘Tis all that I implore;
In life and death a chainless soul,
With courage to endure.
Emily Brontë is a name that needs no introduction in literary history, as she penned one of the most celebrated classics books of all time: Wuthering Heights. In “The Old Stoic,” she reminds us that most of the things that bring us down, like wealth and fleeting relationships, are completely futile. Stoics endure what life throws their way, and for that, they are generously rewarded with true happiness and peace of mind.
13. “Songs for the People” by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Let me make the songs for the people,
Songs for the old and young;
Songs to stir like a battle-cry
Wherever they are sung.
Not for the clashing of sabres,
For carnage nor for strife;
But songs to thrill the hearts of men
With more abundant life.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s poem is essentially a declaration of her mission to offer inspiration to humans who desperately need it, and she does this through inspirational poems. Songs of hope, she writes, are still needed as long as there is misery in the world, and she maintains hope that one day, we’ll no longer have to sing.
14. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson
Lift every voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.
Continuing with inspirational poems that use the metaphor of song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” promises better days if we can all get together and just … sing. In a world constantly divided by infinite things, it is important to remember that we are sharing this planet with humans who are the same as us. While the full poem has a religious side, its message is universal.
15. “Sic Vita” by William Stanley Braithwaite
Heart free, hand free,
Blue above, brown under,
All the world to me
Is a place of wonder.
Sun shine, moon shine,
Stars, and winds a-blowing.
All into this heart of mine
Flowing, flowing, flowing!
Mind free, step free,
Days to follow after,
Joys of life sold to me
For the price of laughter.
Girl’s love, man’s love,
Love of work and duty,
Just a will of God’s to prove
Beauty, beauty, beauty!
Not to be mistaken with Henry David Thoreau’s poem by the same name, William Stanley Braithwaite’s “Sic Vita,” named after the Latin phrase for “such is human life,” is one of the most elegant inspirational poems. Using different metaphors, he paints an image of serenity, featuring themes of love, hope, joy and beauty.
16. “He Had His Dream” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
He had his dream, and all through life,
Worked up to it through toil and strife.
Afloat fore’er before his eyes,
It colored for him all his skies:
The storm-cloud dark
Above his bark,
The calm and listless vault of blue
Took on its hopeful hue,
It tinctured every passing beam—
He had his dream.
He labored hard and failed at last,
His sails too weak to bear the blast,
The raging tempests tore away
And sent his beating bark astray.
But what cared he
For wind or sea!
He said, “The tempest will be short,
My bark will come to port.”
He saw through every cloud a gleam—
He had his dream.
“He Had His Dream” is one of the most famous inspirational poems ever written. Paul Laurence Dunbar tells the story of a man who has faced hardships throughout his life but has persevered in the face of every challenge. Whenever things got too hard, he reminded himself that “the tempest will be short.” May yours be as well.
17. “Beat, Old Heart” by Carl Sandburg
Beat, old heart, these are the old bars
All stragglers have beat against.
Beat on these bars like the old sea
Beats on the rocks and beaches.
Beat here like the old winter winds
Beat on the prairies and timbers.
Old grizzlies, eagles, buffalo,
Their paws and beaks register this.
Their hides and heads say it with scars.
Carl Sandburg is one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century literature. He was a biographer, journalist and poet with not one, not two, but three Pulitzer Prizes to his name. In “Beat, Old Heart,” he urges his spirits forward in the face of life, using different metaphors that bring this poem very close to being about nature.
18. “When I Read the Book” by Walt Whitman
When I read the book, the biography famous,
And is this then (said I) what the author calls a man’s life?
And so will some one when I am dead and gone write my life?
(As if any man really knew aught of my life,
Why even I myself I often think know little or nothing of my real life,
Only a few hints, a few diffused faint clews and indirections
I seek for my own use to trace out here.)
No list of inspirational poems is complete without at least one poem by the great Walt Whitman—he wrote Leaves of Grass, perhaps the most celebrated poetry book. And when it comes to inspirational poems, there is no shortage of uplifting poetic words in that body of work. “When I Read the Book” is about an accomplished person reading their biography and being unable to recognize themself in the book. The beautiful message here is that as long as you’re alive, you must strive to really know yourself. Understand that the way others see you is worthless in comparison.
19. “See It Through” by Edgar Guest
When you’re up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it’s vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!
When it comes to famous inspirational poems, “See It Through” is at the top of the list. Edgar Guest lists valuable life lessons in the full poem, ending each stanza with “See it through!” The technique of repetition here serves to underline the poem’s messages of courage and perseverance in the face of life’s challenges.
20. “George Gray” by Edgar Lee Masters
I have studied many times
The marble which was chiseled for me—
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
But my life.
For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know that we must lift the sail
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
Of restlessness and vague desire—
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.
Not all inspirational poems are going to be cheerful, and some (like “George Gray” by Edgar Lee Masters) are going to resemble a funeral poem in their sorrow. Nonetheless, the inspiration is still very much present in the form of a person long dead expressing regret over missed chances in life. Live fully and leave no room for regrets, says Masters’ speaker from beyond the grave.
21. “Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops – at all
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm
I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
Emily Dickinson fashions hope into a tiny bird that lives inside human hearts. It is there for us in difficult times as a reminder of the great days past and future. Hope is present no matter what—you just have to find it. And the great thing is that it doesn’t ask for much more than a crumb in return.
22. “Dreams” by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Langston Hughes appears again on our list of inspirational poems, and rightfully so. He was the first African American person to make a living by writing poetry, turning his dreams into a reality. As he writes here, life without dreams is incomplete and paralyzed, like a bird with broken wings.
23. “Ode to Duty” by William Wordsworth
Stern Daughter of the Voice of God!
O Duty! if that name thou love
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring, and reprove;
Thou, who art victory and law
When empty terrors overawe;
From vain temptations dost set free;
And calm’st the weary strife of frail humanity!
William Wordsworth, a great poet of the Romantic Movement who sought meaning in a rapidly changing world, reminds us here (and in the full poem) that fulfillment in life is not always some exaggerated tale of breaking free from everything. Sometimes work and duty, when performed earnestly, can bring more joy and satisfaction than anything else.
24. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same
This inspirational poem appears in Dead Poets Society, one of my comfort films. Robin Williams’ character, a professor at a prep school, reads Robert Frost’s iconic poem to his students, and their entire view of life changes. Singularity, writing your own destiny, finding your “road”—now that is what makes us human.
25. “If I can stop one heart from breaking” by Emily Dickinson
If I can stop one heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one Life the Aching
Or cool one in pain
Or help one fainting Robin
Unto his Nest again,
I shall not live in Vain.
You might assume from the title that this poem is about heartbreak, but that’s not the case. Like many of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “If I can stop one heart from breaking” doesn’t really have a title—it just uses the first line as one. Read the full thing, and you’ll soon see that this poem is about living a good life. In the span of a few lines, Dickinson manages to pack immeasurable depth. She notes that if we can help someone live a better life, no matter how small our contribution, our life earns true meaning.
26. “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
This right here is the ultimate inspirational poem, and much of that has to do with the circumstances of how it was written. William Ernest Henley had his leg amputated when he was just 17 years old, and he wrote “Invictus” in the healing process. Essentially a declaration of his refusal to let this handicap ruin his life, the full poem says in bold words that you, and only you, are in charge of your destiny.
27. “As You Go Through Life” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Don’t look for the flaws as you go through life;
And even when you find them,
It is wise and kind to be somewhat blind
And look for the virtue behind them.
For the cloudiest night has a hint of light
Somewhere in its shadows hiding;
It is better by far to hunt for a star,
Than the spots on the sun abiding.
The current of life runs ever away
To the bosom of God’s great ocean.
Don’t set your force ‘gainst the river’s course
And think to alter its motion.
Don’t waste a curse on the universe—
Remember it lived before you.
Don’t butt at the storm with your puny form,
But bend and let it go o’er you.
The world will never adjust itself
To suit your whims to the letter.
Some things must go wrong your whole life long,
And the sooner you know it the better.
It is folly to fight with the Infinite,
And go under at last in the wrestle;
The wiser man shapes into God’s plan
As water shapes into a vessel.
While “Invictus” preaches that we are the masters of our fate, “As You Go Through Life” inspires with the opposite sentiment. Ella Wheeler Wilcox says that no matter how hard we try, there are some things we cannot control and have to accept eventually. There is great comfort in that understanding.
28. “Don’t Take Your Troubles to Bed” by Edmund Vance Cooke
You may labor your fill, friend of mine, if you will;
You may worry a bit, if you must;
You may treat your affairs as a series of cares,
You may live on a scrap and a crust;
But when the day’s done, put it out of your head;
Don’t take your troubles to bed.
You may batter your way through the thick of the fray,
You may sweat, you may swear, you may grunt;
You may be a jack-fool if you must, but this rule
Should ever be kept at the front: —
Don’t fight with your pillow, but lay down your head
And kick every worriment out of the bed.
That friend or that foe (which he is, I don’t know),
Whose name we have spoken as Death,
Hovers close to your side, while you run or you ride,
And he envies the warmth of your breath;
But he turns him away, with a shake of his head,
When he finds that you don’t take your troubles to bed
“Don’t Take Your Troubles to Bed” flows seamlessly with beautiful rhymes and sharp rhythm to give advice in simple and plain words. Don’t take your worries and regrets to the land of dreams. Leave them behind before they begin to accumulate.
29. “In Spite of War” by Angela Morgan
In spite of war, in spite of death,
In spite of all man’s sufferings,
Something within me laughs and sings
And I must praise with all my breath.
In spite of war, in spite of hate
Lilacs are blooming at my gate,
Tulips are tripping down the path
In spite of war, in spite of wrath.
“Courage!” the morning-glory saith;
“Rejoice!” the daisy murmureth,
And just to live is so divine
When pansies lift their eyes to mine.
The clouds are romping with the sea,
And flashing waves call back to me
That naught is real but what is fair,
That everywhere and everywhere
A glory liveth through despair.
Though guns may roar and cannon boom,
Roses are born and gardens bloom;
My spirit still may light its flame
At that same torch whence poppies came.
Where morning’s altar whitely burns
Lilies may lift their silver urns
In spite of war, in spite of shame.
And in my ear a whispering breath,
“Wake from the nightmare! Look and see
That life is naught but ecstasy
In spite of war, in spite of death!”
Angela Morgan wrote this poem during World War I, which makes it both tragic and truly inspiring. Despite the horrors of war, the speaker finds beauty in nature and hope in daydreaming of life’s return to normal. In the end, war is but a nightmare, and it must end to leave room for brighter days.
30. “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
And last but not least, here is Walt Whitman’s iconic poem “Song of Myself.” It couldn’t be more fitting to end our list of inspirational poems with what is considered by many to be Whitman’s greatest work. It inspires individuality and originality, and it sheds light on the immense value of creating your own path. Read the full poem and embark on your own journey.
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Sources:
- Poets.org: “The Plains of Peace”
- Poets.org: “When My Soul Findeth Wings”
- Poets.org: “Songs for the People”
- Poets.org: “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
- Poets.org: “See It Through”
- Poetry Foundation: “Ode to Duty”
- Poetry Foundation: “The Road Not Taken”
- Poetry Foundation: “Invictus”
- Poetry Foundation: “Song of Myself”
Originally Published: March 19, 2024
