CommonLit The Library

The speaker describes the animals they see during a visit to the zoo.

The speaker describes a traveler’s tale about ancient ruins encountered in a desert.

A speaker describes a woman’s beauty.

A young girl shares the experience of having her hair braided by her mother.

“Jabberwocky” tells the story of a boy who must follow his father’s advice as he encounters a creature called the Jabberwock.

A speaker describes reading old diaries.

In this poem inspired by “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the speaker describes concealing their identity.

Inspired by Jean Toomer’s poem “Storm Ending,” this poem compares a new day to a storm.

Malala Yousafzai receives the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy for education.

In this poem, the speaker describes his life at sea and why he desires to return to it.

This famous short poem describes the painful losses on World War I battlefields.

A planet narrates his role in the universe, governed by the laws of nature.

A knight and a princess fall in love, but at the cost of betraying their king.

A rousing poem celebrating Columbus’s perseverance even when success was far from certain.

A soldier laments the loss of his fellow young combatants during the First World War.

A speaker depicts the arrival of the "iron horse," or railroad engine and its train.

In this satirical poem, a speaker remarks on the impressive diligence of war and its effects, from "provid[ing] food for flies" to "invigorat[ing] the coffin makers."

A man pauses for a thoughtful moment in the woods.

A man speculates on the lives of the dead — and what may be said of him, after death — as he walks through a country churchyard.

A Harlem Renaissance poet discusses facing death and other obstacles with courage and dignity.