These are poems that are simply perfect to share – a parent could read them to a child, a teacher to a class or a child could read them aloud to themselves. It is a book to be read every day to shore up positivity or one to dip into on a down day to give a child a lift. Many of the poems by Edgar Guest (1881-1959) are encouraging and share important life lessons. In this poem, he shares powerful advice about standing strong in the face of trials and dark days. The poetic technique of repetition is used at the end of each stanza with the line, “See it through.” That brings the reader's attention to the themes of courage and perseverance. If you’re looking for a little courage, “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” is the poem to turn to. Angelou takes us into the mind of a child who lists an elaborate array of things that seemingly don’t frighten her — ‘shadows’, ‘big ghosts’ or even ‘tough guys’. The refrain ‘frighten me at all’, is repeated ten times throughout the poem. This repetition causes one to question the speaker’s honesty — is the child really not frightened? Or is this repetition simply a way to make her feel braver? Whether the child is truly unafraid or not, this poem perfectly encapsulates the concept of facing your fears with a smile. 12. "A Psalm of Life", by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow This enigmatic poem uses the metaphor of an early morning horse-ride to explore numerous shifting notions of identity.

Racism and discrimination continue to plague our society, and those themes are clearly seen in this poem by famous poet Maya Angelou. She was not only an author and poet. Maya Angelou was also a civil rights activist. In this poem, she encourages people to keep moving forward. Don’t give up the fight for equality. The repetition of “Equality, and I will be free,” draws the reader’s attention to this poem's important and emotional message. An extremely short poem, D.H Lawrence’s “Full Life” can be entirely quoted in two sentences. While Lawrence may be advocating a nonchalant, unbothered approach to life (as clearly reflected in the poem’s length), the paradoxical nature of the poem’s very existence often leaves readers wondering what the poet really means. 20. "What Is This Life", by Sir Walter Raleigh In the first two stanzas of “A Quoi Bon Dire”, poet Charlotte Mew introduces a curious protagonist — one who does not despair at the loss of a soulmate; who doesn’t fret at the passing of the years. For indeed, the question of a quoi bon dire (or, ‘what’s the point?’) is answered in the closing lines that you see above — a sentiment that the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas would echo many decades later: “Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion.” 39. "My Heart Leaps Up", by William WordsworthRudyard Kipling was an English poet who lived from 1865-1936. He also wrote many children's stories. The poem's line, "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same," is written on the wall of the players' entrance at Wimbledon. Considering Longfellow’s long career as an educator, the optimistic nature of “The Builders” comes as no surprise. By calling everyone ‘an architect of Fate’, working in the ‘walls of Time’, he conveys that all humans have a meaningful impact on the world. Be it with ‘massive deeds’ or ‘ornaments of rhyme’, each and every person has a role to play. 18. "Life", by Charlotte Brontë Reflecting on the futility of life, Oliver’s “The Summer Day” shakes the reader by the shoulder, offering a jolt of inspiration. As everything dies ‘at last’ and ‘too soon’, the poem encourages us to live our one life intentionally. By asking the reader what you plan to do with ‘your one wild and precious life’, the poem serves as a reminder that it’s ultimately our job to fill our own lives with meaning (whatever that might mean for each one of us!). So, what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? 6. "The Guest House", by Rumi Being You’ has been published this week by Collins and is a collection of 50 poems ‘inspire confidence and courage, help children to overcome worries and spread kindness.’ Daniel’s new book is like poetry therapy and is so accessible and so enjoyable too.

Encouraging kids to appreciate their full journey not simply the destination and to recognise it is all about being better than yesterday rather than being best is a great concept to get over to kids. Douglas Malloch (1877-1938), known as the "Lumbermen's Poet," compares good men to good timber in this famous metaphorical poem. The message of this poem is that people, like trees, grow and reach their true potential by overcoming adversity. It is only through struggles, like a tree fighting through forest growth to reach the sun, that we grow and discover our true potential. Malloch lived in Michigan where he grew up amongst logging camps and lumber yards. He wrote his first published poem when he was still a boy; it was published in the Detroit News. Being a ‘phenomenal woman’ is not about being a certain size, or a particular shape. It’s about how you carry yourself, and how you behave. As with several other classic Maya Angelou poems, ‘Phenomenal Woman’ is about being unbowed, about holding one’s head high and being proud of who one is. A phrase that is often used in discussion or analysis of ‘If—’ is ‘stiff upper lip’, that shorthand for the typically English quality of reserve and stoicism in the face of disaster. In this beautiful and powerful poem, Maya Angelou, teaches us that we are all people, and so much more alike than different. Imagine the change we would see in the world if we all lived this simple truth!Mae pawb angen hwb positif o dro i dro, a’r llyfr hwn o 50 o gerddi sy’n llawn dop o bositifrwydd a hapusrwydd ydy’r union beth sydd ei angen. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. This is summed up well in the reference to meeting with triumph and disaster and ‘treat[ing] those two impostors just the same’ – in other words, be magnanimous in victory and success (don’t gloat or crow about it) and be dignified and noble in defeat or times of trouble (don’t moan or throw your toys out of the pram).

Read in this way, ‘Ariel’ can be understood as a powerful, if ambiguous, declaration of self-expression and freedom, albeit freedom desired rather than fully possessed. Nevertheless, the final image of Plath riding into the red dawn of the sunrise is inspirational in the extreme. In just eight short lines, probably the best-known poet of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes (1901-67), gives us words to live by – reminding us that it’s important to ‘hold fast to your dreams’ because a life without them is a ‘barren field’. Written by the great 13th-century Persian poet, "The Guest House" is a call for acceptance — one that is, unsurprisingly, often invoked in mindfulness circles. Rumi uses the metaphor of a guest house, likening it to the mind. Much like guests in a lodge, thoughts arrive in our head one after another— some making us happy, sad, and even uncomfortable. This poem serves as a reminder to not resist life’s painful thoughts, but to welcome them with warmth and good grace. 7. "from Milk and Honey", by Rupi Kaur Mother Teresa’s “Life Is” leaves us with wise words to live by. Filled with words of encouragement, the poem is the Nobel Peace laureate’s view on all that life is, and how it should be lived. The poem’s positive, inspiring tone promises to leave you in high spirits. On reading “A Psalm of Life” , you might just feel an instant urge to live your best life. The poem rejects the idea that life can be broken down into meaningless, emotionless metrics. It advocates that life is neither made to suffer through, nor is it made to solely enjoy. While both these emotions are a part of the journey, the purpose of life is ‘to act’, improve oneself, and make each day better than the previous one. 13. "Do not go gentle into that good night", by Dylan ThomasThis inspiring poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, (1807 - 1882) was first published in 1838. It uses an ABAB rhyming pattern. Longfellow explained the poem's purpose as "a transcript of my thoughts and feelings at the time I wrote, and of the conviction therein expressed, that Life is something more than an idle dream." A very famous line from the poem is, "Footprints on the sands of time".