The beauty and rejuvenating spirit of spring have long been an inspiration to poets. Why not enhance your enjoyment of the season by learning about some of the loveliest spring poems in the English language? Here are four must-read poems that will get your spring off to a shining start this year:

 

"Spring," Gerard Manley Hopkins

In this stunning poem nineteenth century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins observes the lushness of spring and asks: “What is all this juice and all this joy?” He describes how a pear tree brushes against the “descending blue” of the spring sky and how the song of thrushes strikes the ear “like lightening.” This poem will remind you to pay attention to the season’s natural splendor. 

 

"(In Just – )," E.E. Cummings

The title may strike you as odd at first, but if you know a bit about E.E. Cummings’s highly original style you’ll recognize it as the kind of title that’s often found in his oeuvre. This is one of the most delightful poems about spring you’ll ever come across. Cummings describes spring as experienced by children, who see the world as “mud-licious” and “puddle-wonderful” as they play outside. 

 

"A Light Exists In Spring," Emily Dickinson

In this poem, Dickinson celebrates the way that beauty fills the world during spring, a quality of vibrancy which “science cannot overtake / But Human Nature feels.” But Dickinson also laments the ephemeral nature of spring, capturing the way we feel about spring’s passing: “a quality of loss / affecting our Content.” 

 

"Daffodils," William Wordsworth

This Wordsworth classic has long been considered one of the quintessential poems about the season. Wordsworth describes a spring stroll he takes, wandering “lonely as a cloud.” He observes “a host of golden daffodils…fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” Toward the end of the poem, he reflects on how, when he remembers the beauty of the daffodils that afternoon, his heart “with pleasure fills.” This poem will remind you of how spring’s beauty can live within you long after the season has passed.