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'World Poetry Day' đź“™ 21 August

  • Writer: Simon O'Donovan
    Simon O'Donovan
  • 5 days ago
  • 2 min read

Updated: 3 days ago


World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 August. This CST activity celebrates some of the great poets and poems that have enriched our cultural lives, just as music, dance, theatre and the visual arts have done.


Many older people - including me - learned famous poems by heart at school, and some of those familiar words may still be held securely in long-term memory. Others may simply enjoy hearing a poem read aloud while following the printed text. For members who experience greater language or reading difficulties, the illustrated panels and video performances may provide a more accessible and enjoyable way to experience the poetry.


Before beginning, please ask members whether they have a favourite poem or remember learning one at school. Whenever possible, include their choices in the session.


You certainly do not need to use every poem. Select those most likely to interest and engage your particular group - and choose thoughtfully, because some of these poems pack a considerable emotional punch.


Please let me know whether the activities succeed in engaging your members. I would also be delighted to hear your suggestions for other poems that could be added to the collection.





Group One — Nature and Animals


  1. Daffodils — William Wordsworth

  2. Leisure — W. H. Davies

  3. The Lake Isle of Innisfree — W. B. Yeats

  4. The Tyger — William Blake

  5. The Owl and the Pussy-Cat — Edward Lear

  6. Jabberwocky — Lewis Carroll


This group begins peacefully before moving into animals, nonsense and imagination.















Group Two — Personal and Impactful


  1. The Road Not Taken — Robert Frost

  2. I Am! — John Clare

  3. If— — Rudyard Kipling

  4. Desiderata — Max Ehrmann

  5. A Psalm of Life — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  6. Live Your Life — attributed to Chief Tecumseh

  7. Still I Rise — Maya Angelou


These poems explore identity, choices, resilience, self-belief and how we might live our lives.

















Group Three — Age and Ageing


  1. Warning — Jenny Joseph

  2. Crabbit Old Woman — Phyllis McCormack

  3. Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night — Dylan Thomas


This is the smallest but potentially most powerful group. These poems move from humorous defiance to personhood in later life and finally resistance at the approach of death.










Group Four — Service and Duty


  1. The Crown — Carol Ann Duffy

  2. O Captain! My Captain! — Walt Whitman

  3. The Charge of the Light Brigade — Alfred, Lord Tennyson

  4. In Flanders Fields — John McCrae


These poems consider leadership, public service, courage, sacrifice and remembrance.











Group Five — Love and Loss


  1. Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? — William Shakespeare

  2. i carry your heart with me — E. E. Cummings

  3. Footprints in the Sand — commonly attributed to Mary Stevenson

  4. Funeral Blues — W. H. Auden















Poetry Songs












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