You might not think of Alfred, Lord Tennyson as a children’s poet, but his short poem, “The Eagle” is perfect for the middle grades. It’s a great introduction to visual imagery with its vivid descriptions, and the rhyme makes it easy for kids to enjoy and remember.
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
I’m Nobody, Who Are You?
When it comes to short poems for kids to recite, no one can beat Emily Dickinson. The beautiful rhythm and rhyme scheme of her work makes it fun to read aloud. “I’m Nobody, Who Are You?” playfully deals with the concepts of identity and individuality, something that will resonate with kids of all ages.
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you—Nobody—Too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise—you know!
How dreary—to be—Somebody!
How public—like a Frog—
To tell one's name—the livelong June—
To an admiring Bog!
Many people don’t realize that William Makepeace Thackeray, author of important Victorian novels like Vanity Fair, was also a poet. “At the Zoo” is a fun, short rhyming poem for kids, and it’s also a great alliteration example for younger readers. Kids will love the repetition of sounds and the easy-to-remember rhyme and rhythm.
First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;
Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;
Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;
Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw;
Then I saw the elephant a-waving of his trunk;
Then I saw the monkeys-mercy, how unpleasantly they-smelt!
Bed in Summer
Written more than a century ago, Robert Louis Stevenson’s charming poem “Bed in Summer” speaks to a topic that resonates just as beautifully with children today: going to bed before it’s dark outside. It’s a great poem for kids to recite, since the rhyme scheme makes it easy to remember each line.
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
You can also use original short poems for kids. Write your own poem about something that will resonate with child readers. Be specific and keep the language at the appropriate level. “My Missing Shoe” by Kate Miller-Wilson is an original children’s poem about a child searching for their shoe.
I looked for you by the front door,
Under my bed, on the bathroom floor,
Near the back stairs, in the drawer with my socks,
Next to the table, and out in the sandbox.
My mother is calling me, and I’m calling you,
Where have you gone, my missing shoe?
