Important words

I seem to be in a poetry mood lately, and so I thought I'd toss out a few of my favourite poems.

First I'd like to relink to this post. Because it still presents an beautiful but sad image.

Recently I was reading a short story and the story referenced a poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller who lived in Germany during the Nazi occupation. I've heard the poem before, but never really knew its origins. According to Wikipedia, this poem was Niemöller's response to the German intellectuals' response during the Nazi rise to power. Here you have it:

First They Came...

First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left
to speak up for me.

Suddenly I've been beset by a fit of laziness. So I shall instead merely link to other famous poems that are either really powerful for me, or just really pretty.

"If You Forget Me" by Pablo Neruda. I actually just found this poem while looking for a poem website. I liked the pretty imagery in it.

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Let's face it, we've all read this poem before, but it's so powerfully symbolic that I had to include it here.

"Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley. I have always loved this poem since I first read it in grade 10 English. I love how the author shows how fleeting life can truly be. Imagine what our lands will look like in hundreds of years.

"The Listeners" by Walter De La Mare. This poem has always intrigued me. It's a creepy but good snapshot. I'm always left wondering what the traveller was doing and why. The poem's cadence is among the best I've read.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. Okay, so this poem isn't exactly profound (at least in my opinion) but I love the imagery in it. You can imagine yourself in the rider's place.

"Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Once again here's a poem I first heard in grade 10 English. The thing that draws me to it is the rhythm - meant to sound like galloping horses.

Those are a few of my fave poems that I can think of off the top of my head.