Recently, I’ve been hyper fixated on reading through dozens of poems online — so fixated to the point I was reading for hours! I was especially influenced by those poetry slideshows on TikTok, where users upload poignant poems and quotes revolving around heartbreak, loneliness, and longing. Reading through these posts reminded me of my long-held love for writing poetry, which is an activity I still practice when I’m not overloaded with school work. Poetry has always served as a creative emotional outlet for me, since I’m not the best at articulating my feelings out loud.
Poetry is an opportunity for deep introspection, whether it be recounting your own experiences or navigating themes you’ve always found yourself drawn to. Not only is it highly complex and emotionally captivating, but it can also be used as a tool to inform and inspire. Poetry can spark important discussions surrounding social issues and historical events, encouraging people to think critically about the world and their own place in it.
Poetry is an incredible art form that’s highly flexible and candid, and it’s why I’ve chosen a handful of my favorite poems to share with you. I hope you find them as enthralling as I thought them to be :)
- Aubade with burning city, ocean vuong
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Ocean Vuong is an award-winning Vietnamese-American poet, essayist, and novelist, and I absolutely adore his work! His poem, Aubade With Burning City, is set during the fall of Saigon in 1975, and interweaving Irving Berlin’s song White Christmas into the prose is done so seamlessly. It’s one of my favorite poems, and if you’re interested in reading more of his work, check out his debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous where his poetic voice beautifully explores themes of war, immigration, sexuality, and more.
- Halloween in the anthropocene, 2015, Craig santos perez
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Craig Santos Perez is an Indigenous Chamorro from the Pacific island of Guam, and as a writer and a scholar, Perez writes eco-poetry and teaches creative writing and Pacific literature at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Halloween in the Anthropocene, 2015 is a captivating poem that warns readers of the dangers of global warming, serving as one of my all-time favorite poems.
- GOOD BONES, MAGGIE SMITH
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American poet and freelance writer, Maggie Smith, writes from the perspective of a parent concerned for their children growing up in a world that’s full of risk and danger. It’s a short, impactful poem that explores morality and sociological concepts, and it’s definitely worth a read!
- ATLAS, TERISA SIAGATONU
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Award-winning poet and educator from the Bay Area, Terisa Siagatonu, discusses colonialism and tourism in her eloquently narrated poem. Her prose will make you linger on every sentence; her hard-hitting examination uses land and water as an extended metaphor. I read this piece back in high school, and it has stuck with me ever since!
- To live in the borderlands means you, Gloria Anzaldúa
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Gloria E. Anzaldúa is a queer Chicana writer and feminist theorist. Her poem discusses the intricacies of race and gender, especially honing in on the mestiza — or mixed — identity. I started reading her work in my Intro to Chicana Studies: Gender class last year, which still remains as one of my favorite classes I’ve taken here at UCSB. Inspirational and deeply moving, make sure to check out the anthology she co-edited with Cherríe Moraga, This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color.
- F**K YOUR LECTURE ON CRAFT, MY PEOPLE ARE DYING, Noor Hindi
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Noor Hindi is a Palestinian-American poet and reporter, and her poem raises awareness on colonialism and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by creating a sharp, urgent narrative voice. It’s a powerful, stunning poem I often re-read in my free time because of how explosive and meaningful the prose is.
- The night angler, Geffrey davis
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Geffrey Davis is an award-winning poet who also teaches creative writing at the University of Arkansas. His poem is intimate and heartfelt, as it follows a father speaking to his son while reminiscing on his relationship with his own parent. It’s an incredibly touching poem that I’m sure you’d love!
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I hope you enjoyed this collection of poetry just as much as I did! Poetry is an art that can raise awareness on a plethora of important causes, and in doing so, deeply affects the way we look at the world and at ourselves. I encourage you all to continue reading more poetry, and maybe, one day, you can even write a poem of your own! ;)
