Dark Poems | Poemist

Popular Dark Poems

Saturday At The Canal

by Gary Soto

I was hoping to be happy by seventeen.
School was a sharp check mark in the roll book,
An obnoxious tuba playing at noon because our team
Was going to win at night. The teachers were
Too close to dying to understand. The hallways
Stank of poor grades and unwashed hair. Thus,
A friend and I sat watching the water on Saturday,
Neither of us talking much, just warming ourselves
By hurling large rocks at the dusty ground
And feeling awful because San Francisco was a postcard

......

Let America Be America Again

by Langston Hughes

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

......

Disabled

by Wilfred Owen

He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,
And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,
Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park
Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,
Voices of play and pleasure after day,
Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.

About this time Town used to swing so gay
When glow-lamps budded in the light blue trees,
And girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim,-

......

The Victims

by Sharon Olds

When Mother divorced you, we were glad. She took it and
took it in silence, all those years and then
kicked you out, suddenly, and her
kids loved it. Then you were fired, and we
grinned inside, the way people grinned when
Nixon's helicopter lifted off the South
Lawn for the last time. We were tickled
to think of your office taken away,
your secretaries taken away,
your lunches with three double bourbons,

......

Hope Nebula

by Ayatullah Nurjati

In the dark night sky, I sail on the ocean of stars, looking for a ray of light, in a nebula of hope far away.

Cosmic dust dances slowly, whispering promises of the future, amidst the eerie darkness, I found a glimmer of light.

Oh, nebula, the vortex of dreams that never goes out, you draw a path in the dark, towards a day full of courage. Every colour you emit, is a prayer that floats into the sky, touching the throne of the Creator, carve your destiny with love and hope.

So let me fly, penetrate the endless sky, with the hope of being a guide, into a new universe.

Slipi. 05 December 2024. 9:19 PM

Recent Dark Poems

Hope Nebula

by Ayatullah Nurjati

Holy War

by Bryan Burkevics

Searing blades full of thunder,
Helping tear the world asunder,
Bleeding truth of guile and fear,
Raucous voices emit a cheer.

Bring again the word of dark,
Preying demons soon embark,
Stalk the innocent, selfless lives,
As light must flee so darkness thrives.

......

The beast within

by Saleh Ben Saleh

There is a beast,
that lives within.
In every man,
promotes a sin.
You hear his whisper,
from deep within.

Inside your brain.
under your skin.
He looks around,

......

Final Moments

by Aheli Mustafi

I can hear the cars passing down below
The lights light up the street
I can feel the wind blowing on my face
I doubt anyone is looking for me
I am drowning in my own fear
I just want to be free
I am stuck in my body, waiting to be free
There are kids skipping on the pavement below
I’m so scared, I’m overflowed in my own fear
I can see every person, every dog, every cat walking on the street

......

Burnt honey

by Quinn Smorenburg

Slobber on his shovel; this old man shits nothing.
Naked and shaking; his begging lips crack.
He swallows his honey, swinging his lanterns;
but piercing his darkness: two button eyes –
rimmed golden; reflections of want glazing his jowl.

His shadows birth those dregs swallowed.
Hounding sweet truth, his lanterns in hand.
Shine they do not, but gulp and lick that
waste remaining; unknown, still crunching.

......