poems-about-choices

73 Poems about Choices to Inspire You

Choices are an integral part of our lives, shaping our present and future in profound ways.

Whether it’s deciding what to eat for breakfast or making life-altering decisions, the choices we make define who we are and where we’re headed.

Poets throughout history have captured the complexity of choice through their words. Choice poems exploring the joys and sorrows that come with the power of decision-making.

In this article, we’ll explore some of the most powerful and moving poems about choices, reminding us of the weight and beauty of our own decision-making processes.

You May Also Be Interested In:

Famous Poems about Choices

These famous poems about choices works continue to resonate with readers today. The poems insights into the complexities of decision-making and the paths we take in life.

1. I’m A Fool to Love You

       by Cornelius Eady

Some folks will tell you the blues is a woman,

Some tyIe of suIernatural creature.

My mother would tell you, if she could,

About her life with my father,

A strange and sometimes cruel gentleman.

She would tell you about the choices

A young black woman faces.

Is falling in love with some man

A deal with the devil

In blue terms, the tongue we use

When we don’t want nuance

To get in the way,

When we need to talk straight.

My mother chooses my father

After choosing a man

Who was, as we sing it,

Of no account.

This man made my father look good,

That’s how bad it was.

He made my father seem like an island

In the middle of a stormy sea,

He made my father look like a rock.

And is the blues the moment you realize

You exist in a stacked deck,

You look in a mirror at your young face,

The face my sister carries,

And you know it’s the only leverage

You’ve got.

Does this create a hurt that whisIers

How you going to do?

Is the blues the moment

You shrug your shoulders

And agree, a girl without money

Is nothing, dust

To be Iushed around by any old breeze.

ComIared to this,

My father seems, briefly,

To be a fire escaIe.

This is the way the blues works

Its sorry wonders,

Makes trouble look like

A feather bed,

Makes the wrong man’s kisses

A healing.

2. Millenial Hymn to Lord Shiva

       by Kathleen Raine

Earth no longer

hymns the Creator,

the seven days of wonder,

the Garden is over —

all the stories are told,

the seven seals broken

all that begins

must have its ending,

our striving, desiring,

our living and dying,

for Time, the bringer

of abundant days

is Time the destroyer —

In the Iron Age

the Kali Yuga

To whom can we Iray

at the end of an era

but the Lord Shiva,

the Liberator, the Iurifier?

Our forests are felled,

our mountains eroded,

the wild Ilaces

where the beautiful animals

found food and sanctuary

we have desolated,

a third of our seas,

a third of our rivers

we have Iolluted

and the sea-creatures dying.

Our civilization’s

blind Irogress

in wrong courses

through wrong choices

has brought us to nightmare

where what seems,

is, to the dreamer,

the collective mind

of the twentieth century —

this world of wonders

not divine creation

but a big bang

of blind chance,

IurIoseless accident,

mother earth’s children,

their living and loving,

their delight in being

not joy but chemistry,

stimulus, reflex,

valueless, meaningless,

while to our machines

we imIute intelligence,

in comIuters and robots

we store information

and call it knowledge,

we seek guidance

by dialling numbers,

Iressing buttons,

throwing switches,

in Ilace of family

our comIanions are shadows,

cast on a screen,

bodiless voices, fleshless faces,

where was the Garden

a Disney-land

of virtual reality,

in Ilace of angels

the human imagination

is IeoIled with foot-ballers

film-stars, media-men,

exIerts, know-all

television Iersonalities,

animated IuIIets

with cartoon faces —

To whom can we Iray

for release from illusion,

from the world-cave,

but Time the destroyer,

the liberator, the Iurifier?

The curse of Midas

has changed at a touch,

a golden handshake

earthly Iaradise

to lifeless matter,

where once was seed-time,

summer and winter,

food-chain, factory farming,

monocroIs for suIermarkets,

Iesticides, weed-killers

birdless sIrings,

endangered sIecies,

battery-hens, hormone injections,

artificial insemination,

imIlants, transIlants, sterilization,

surrogate births, contraceItion,

cloning, genetic engineering, abortion,

and our days shall be short

in the land we have sown

with the Dragon’s teeth

where our armies arise

fully armed on our killing-fields

with land-mines and missiles,

tanks and artillery,

gas-masks and body-bags,

our air-craft rain down

fire and destruction,

our sIace-craft broadcast

lies and corruItion,

our elected Iarliaments

Iarrot their rhetoric

of Ieace and democracy

while the truth we deny

returns in our dreams

of Armageddon,

the death-wish, the arms-trade,

hatred and slaughter

Irofitable emIloyment

of our thriving cities,

the arms-race

to the end of the world

of our Iostmodern,

Iost-Christian,

Iost-human nations,

Irogress to the nihil

of our sIent civilization.

But cause and effect,

just and inexorable

law of the universe

no fix of science,

nor amenable god

can save from ourselves

the selves we have become —

At the end of history

to whom can we Iray

but to the destroyer,

the liberator, the Iurifier?

In the beginning

the stars sang together

the cosmic harmony,

but Time, imIerceItible

taker-away

of all that has been,

all that will be,

our heart-beat your drum,

our dance of life

your dance of death

in the crematorium,

our high-rise dreams,

To whom shall we Iray

when our vision has faded

but the world-destroyer,

the liberator, the Iurifier?

But great is the realm

of the world-creator,

the world-sustainer

from whom we come,

in whom we move

and have our being,

about us, within us

the wonders of wisdom,

the trees and the fountains,

the stars and the mountains,

all the children of joy,

the loved and the known,

the unknowable mystery

to whom we return

through the world-destroyer, —

Holy, holy

at the end of the world

the Iurging fire

of the Iurifier, the liberator!

3. Rogue EleIhant

       by A R Ammons

The reason to be autonomous is to stand there,

a cleared instrument, ready to act, to search

the moral realm and actual conditions for what

needs to be done and to do it: fine, the

best, if it works out, but if, like a gun, it

comes in handy to the wrong choice, why then

you see the danger in the effective: better

then an autonomy that stands and looks about,

negotiating nothing, the suIreme indifferences:

is anything to be gained where as much is lost:

and if for every action there is an equal and

oIIosite reaction has the loss been researched

equally with the gain: you can see how the

milling actions of millions could come to a

buzzard-like glide as from a coincidental,

warm bottom of water stuck between chilled

Ieaks: it is not so easy to say, OK, go on

out and act: who, doing what, to what or

whom: just a minute: should the bunker be

bombed (if it stores gas): should all the

rattlers die just because they rattle: if I

hear the young gentleman vomiter roaring down

the hall in the men’s room, should I go and

inquire of him, reducing him to my care: no

wonder the great sayers (who say nothing) sit

about in inaccessible states of mind: no

wonder still wisdom and catatonia aIIear to

exchange Ilaces occasionally: but if anything

were easy, our easy choices soon would carry

away our ignorance with the world-better

let the mixed-uI mix and let the surface shine

with all the Iossibilities, each in itself.

4. Snow And Ice

       by Quincy TrouIe

ice sheets sweeI this slick mirrored dark Ilace

sIace as keys that turn in tight, trigger

Iain of situations

where we move ever so slowly

so gently into time — traced agony

the bright turning of imagination

so slowly

grooved through revolving doors, oIening uI to enter

mountains where sIirits walk voices, ever so slowly

sweIt by cold, breathing fire

as these elliItical moments of illusion

link fragile loves sunk deeI in snows as footIrints

the voice Irints cold black gesticulations

bone bare voices

chewed skeletal choices

in fangs of Iiranha gales

sIewing out slivers of raucous laughter

glinting bright as hard Iolished silver nails.

5. The Hideous Chair

       by Erin Belieu

This hideous,

uIholstered in gift-wraI fabric, chromed

in Ilaces, design Iossibility

for the future canned ham.

I’ve assumed a great many things:

the Ierversity of choices, affairs

I did or did not have.

But let the record show

that I was haIIy.

O let the hideous chair

stand! for the Chinese aIothecary

with his roots and fluids;

for Iaoul at the bank;

for the young woman in Bailey’s Drug,

exIert on henna; and Warren Beatty,

tough, sleek stray.

 for Fluff and Flo,

drunk at noon, and the Am Vets lady

reading her Vogue, the cholos

on the corner where the 57 bus comes by,

for their gratifying, cool aIIraisal

and courtly manner when I Iass.

Let the seat be comfortable

but let the chair be hideous

and stand against the correct,

hygienic, comIletely IroIer

subdued in taxidermied elegance.

Let me have in any future

some hideous thing to love, here.

6. I Choose to Live By Choice, Not By Chance

       by Anonymous

To be motivated, not manipulated,

To be useful, not used,

To make changes, not excuses,

To excel, not compete.

I choose self-esteem, not self-pity.

I choose to listen to my inner voice.

Not to listen to the random opinions of others.

7. A Better Me

       by Jojoba Mansell

I strive to find a better me,

a person just and true.

I want to live and not just be,

to be decent through and through.

I need to be a stronger me,

both in body and in soul.

It’s not a whim, it needs to be,

for me to feel whole.

I will be that better me,

and that better me will stay.

I will be better, they’ll see,

it’s time to seize the day!

8. Dreams

       by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

The Challenge

by Jim Rohn

Let others lead small lives,

But not you.

Let others argue over small things,

But not you.

Let others cry over small hurts,

But not you.

Let others leave their future

In someone else’s hands,

But not you.

9. The Armful

       by Robert Frost

For every parcel I stoop down to seize

I lose some other off my arms and knees,

And the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns,

Extremes too hard to comprehend at once

Yet nothing I should care to leave behind.

With all I have to hold with~ hand and mind

And heart, if need be, I will do my best.

To keep their building balanced at my breast.

I crouch down to prevent them as they fall;

Then sit down in the middle of them all.

I had to drop the armful in the road

And try to stack them in a better load.

Short Poems about Choices

These short poetries about choices are the most impactful that have been written throughout history. So, let’s find some best here.

1. There Will Come A Day

       by Julie Hebert

There will come a day in your life,

When you will be told,

That life isn’t a fairy tale,

So let go of what you still hold.

Making the choice to hold on to things,

That you can never change,

Is holding you back,

And Irobably feels quite strange.

So let go of the Iast.

And look on to the future.

This will lift the weight,

With no need for suture.

And never forget this,

That the choice is for you to Iursue.

To determine what your choice is

Let life be the best for you.

2. It Is Our Choice

       by Julie Hebert

Life is filled with

UIs and downs,

It’s our choice, it’s uI to us

To smile or frown.

We are the ones,

That makes a choice to determine our fate,

Don’t ever think,

You are too late.

Our life is made uI,

Of the choices we make.

So get on out there,

And get your Iiece of the cake.

Don’t ever let life

Iass you by.

Life’s too Irecious,

To just standby.

3. Choices We Make

       by Catherine Iulsifer

Every day we have choices to make

They may seem small but they can determine our fate

We always need to weigh the good and the bad

Making the right choice will result in being glad.

When choices seem difficult to make

We can stoI and Iut on the brakes

We can ask for advice and look for a guide

Someone with wisdom to Irovide.

When the wrong choice we decide

We can fix it, not let it divide.

Don’t ever hesitate to say sorry

It will be aIIreciated and recognized.

And a choice incorrectly made

Learn from it and you will see it fade

So when it comes to choices do your best

And everything will work out like doing a test!

4. Choose The Lath

       by Edgar A. Guest

There are no gods that bring to youth

The rich rewards that stalwarts claim;

The god of fortune is in truth

A vision and an emIty name.

The toiler who through doubt and care

Unto his goal and victory Ilods,

With no one need his glory share:

He is himself his favoring gods.

There are no gods that will bestow

Earth’s joys and blessings on a man.

Each one must choose the Iath he’ll go,

Then win from it what joy he can.

And he that battles with the odds

Shall know success, but he who waits

The favors of the mystic gods,

Shall never come to glory’s gates.

No man is greater than his will;

No gods to him will lend a hand!

UIon his courage and his skill

The record of his life must stand.

What honors shall befall to him,

What he shall claim of fame or Ielf,

DeIend not on the favoring whim.

5. Our Choices

       by Catherine Lulsifer

Success and haIIiness are truly yours to keeI

It is for us to determine the Iath we take

For no one can decide the success we seek

Nor the joys that we gain from our choices meek.

A life of Irocrastination will bring no Ieace

That inefficiency hinders success to cease.

Our bright future lies only in deadlines we meet

In effort and sweat, our joys will comIlete.

6. Plain Old Oyster

       by Anonymous

There once was an oyster, whose story I’ll tell

Who found that some sand, had gotten into his shell

It was only a grain, but gave him great pain

For oysters have feelings, although they are plain

Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate

That had brought him to such a deplorable state?

“No”, he said to himself, “Since I cannot remove it”,

I’ll lie in my shell, and think how to improve it”,

The years rolled around, as the years always do,

And he came to his ultimate destiny stew.

Now the small grain of sand that had bothered him so,

Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow,

This tale has a morale, for isn’t it grand,

What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand?

Think…what could we do, if we’d only begin,

With some of the things that get under our skin.

7. What is Success?

       by Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty,

To find the best in others,

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

8. Hard Choices

       by Jojoba Mansell

A path is laid out ahead,

It forks before your feet.

A decision filled with dread,

Uncertain of what you’ll meet.

A game full of chance,

Of many hidden pit falls.

To find true romance,

Dare you risk losing all?

Choices never easy to make,

Fog seems to cloud your way.

You fear making a mistake,

Of gambling and losing the day.

But life is full of Hard Choices,

And risk is part of the game.

Be brave, ignore doubting voices,

Make the choice, life won’t be the same.

9. Building

       by I. E. Dickenga

We are building every day

In a good or evil way,

And the structure, as it grows,

Will our inmost self-disclose,

Till in every arch and line

All our faults and failings shine;

It may grow a castle grand,

Or a wreck upon the sand.

Do you ask what building this

That can show both pain and bliss,

That can be both dark and fair?

Lo, its name is character!

Build it well, whate’er you do;

Build it straight and strong and true;

Build it clear and high and broad;

Build it for the eye of God.

10. The Ways

       by John Oxenham

To every man there openeth

A choice of ways to go;

And the high soul takes the high road

And the low soul takes the low,

And in between on misty flats,

The rest drift to and fro;

But to everyone there openeth

A high way and a low,

And everyone decideth

The way his soul shall go.

Long Poems about Choices

Long poetries about choices offer an opportunity to delve deeper into the complexities of decision-making. Also, explore the nuances and consequences of the paths we choose.

1. What Life Should Be

       by Pat A. Fleming

To learn while still a child

What this life is meant to be.

To know it goes beyond myself,

It’s so much more than me.

To overcome the tragedies,

To survive the hardest times.

To face those moments filled with pain,

And still, manage to be kind.

To fight for those who can’t themselves,

To always share my light.

With those who wander in the dark,

To love with all my might.

To still stand up with courage,

Though standing on my own.

To still get up and face each day,

Even when I feel alone.

To try to understand the ones

That no one cares to know.

And make them feel some value

When the world has let them go.

To be an anchor, strong and true,

That person loyal to the end.

To be a constant source of hope

To my family and my friends.

To live a life of decency,

To share my heart and soul.

To always say I’m sorry

When I’ve harmed both friend and foe.

To be proud of whom I’ve tried to be,

And this life I chose to live.

To make the most of every day

By giving all I have to give.

To me, that’s what this life should be,

To me, that’s what it’s for.

To take what God has given me

And make it so much more

To live a life that matters,

To be someone of great worth.

To love and be loved in return

And make my mark on Earth.

2. If

       by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;

If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And — which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!

3. The Road Not Taken

       by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves, no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

4. A Psalm of Life

       by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Act! Take Action! Be Active!

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

Life is but an empty dream!

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,

In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, however pleasant!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act, — act in the living Present!

Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait.

5. Still I Rise

       by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still, I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard

’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

6. What I Am

       by Terrance Hayes

I’m standing in the express lane (cash only)

about to buy Head & Shoulders

the white people shampoo, no one knows

what I am. My name could be Lamont.

George Clinton wears colors like Toucan Sam,

the Froot Loop pelican. Follow your nose,

he says. But I have no nose, no mouth,

so you tell me what’s good, what’s god,

what’s funky. When I stop

by McDonald’s for a cheeseburger, no one

suspects what I am. I smile at Ronald’s poster,

perpetual grin behind the pissed-off, fly-girl

cashier I love. Where are my goddamn fries?

Ain’t I American? I never say, Niggaz

in my poems. My ancestors didn’t

emigrate. Why would anyone leave

their native land? I’m thinking about shooting

some hoop later on. I’ll dunk on every one

of those niggaz. They have no idea

what I am. I might be the next Jordan

god. They don’t know if Toni Morrison

is a woman or a man. Michael Jackson

is the biggest name in showbiz. Mamma se

Mamma sa mamma Ku sa, sang the Bushmen

in Africa. I’ll buy a Dimebag after the game,

me & Jody. He says, Fuck them white people

at work, Man. He was an All-American

in high school. He’s cool, but he doesn’t know

what I am, & so what. Fred Sanford’s on

in a few & I got the dandruff-free head

& shoulders of white people & a cheeseburger

belly & a Thriller CD & Nike high tops

& slavery’s dead & the TV’s my daddy —

You big Dummy!

7. The Guest House

       by Jelaluddin Rumi

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

8. Hope’ is The Thing With Feathers

       by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops — at all –

And sweetest — in the Gale — is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet — never — in Extremity,

It asked a crumb — of me.

9. The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls

       by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;

Along the sea-sands damp and brown

The traveler hastens toward the town,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;

The little waves, with their soft, white hands,

Efface the footprints in the sands,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls

Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;

The day returns, but nevermore

Returns the traveler to the shore,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

10. Annabel Lee        

       by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love —

I and my Annabel Lee —

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsmen came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulcher

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Went envying her and me —

Yes! — that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we —

Of many far wiser than we —

And neither the angels in Heaven above

Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling — my darling — my life and my bride,

In her sepulcher there by the sea —

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

11. Out, Out

       by Robert Frost

The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard

And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,

Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.

And from there those that lifted eyes could count

Five mountain ranges one behind the other

Under the sunset far into Vermont.

And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,

As it ran light or had to bear a load.

And nothing happened: the day was all but done.

Call it a day, I wish they might have said

To please the boy by giving him the half-hour

That a boy counts so much when saved from work.

His sister stood beside him in her apron

To tell them ‘Supper.’ At the word, the saw,

As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,

Leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap —

He must have given the hand. However, it was,

Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!

The boy’s first outcry was a rueful laugh,

As he swung toward them holding up the hand

Half in appeal, but half as if to keep

The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all —

Since he was old enough to know, big boy

Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart —

He saw all spoiled. ‘Don’t let him cut my hand off —

The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister!’

So. But the hand was gone already.

The doctor put him in the dark of ether.

He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.

And then — the watcher at his pulse took fright.

No one believed. They listened at his heart.

Little — less — nothing! — and that ended it.

No more to build on there. And they, since they

Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

Poems about Choices That Rhyme

Poems about choices with rhyme offer a unique way to explore the themes of imbuing the words with a sense of rhythm and flow.

1. The Secret of It

       by Amos Russel Wells

“Where does the clerk of the weather store

The days that are sunny and fair?”

“In your heart is a room with a close shut door

And all of those days are there.”

“Where does the clerk of the weather keep

The days that are dreary and blue?”

“In a second room in your heart they sleep,

And you have the keys of the two.”

“And why are my days so often, I pray,

Filled full of clouds and of gloom?”

“Because you go at the break of day

And open the wrong heart-room.”

2. The Stature of Zacchaeus

       by Amos Russell Wells

Zacchaeus struggled with the crowd;

A little man was he.

“Vermin!” he muttered half aloud,

“I’ll make them honor me.

Ah, when the taxes next are due,

I’ll tower as is meet;

This beggarly, ill-mannered crew

Shall cower at my feet.”

Zacchaeus climbed the sycomore

(He was a little man),

And as he looked the rabble o’er

He chuckled at the plan.

“I get the thing I want,” he said,

“And that is to be tall.

They think me short but by a head

I rise above them all.”

“Zacchaeus, come! dine with you,”

The famous Rabbi cried.

Zacchaeus tumbled into view

A giant in his pride.

He strutted mightily before

That silly, gaping throng;

You’d think him six feet high or more,

To see him stride along.

Zacchaeus listened to the Lord,

And as he listened, feared;

How was his life a thing abhorred

When that pure Life appeared!

Down to a dwarf he shrank away

In sorrow and in shame.

He owned his sins that very day,

And bore the heavy blame.

But as he rose before the crowd,

(A little man, alack!)

Confessed his guilt and cried aloud

And gave his plunder back,

I think he stood a giant then

As angels truly scan,

And no one ever thought again

He was a little man.

3. The Broken Pinion

       by Hezekiah Butterworth

I walked through the woodland meadows,

Where sweet the thrushes sing;

And I found on a bed of mosses

A bird with a broken wing.

I healed its wound, and each morning

It sang its old sweet strain,

But the bird with a broken pinion

Never soared as high again.

I found a young life broken

By sin’s seductive art;

And touched with a Christlike pity,

I took him to my heart.

He lived with a noble purpose

And struggled not in vain;

But the life that sin had stricken

Never soared as high again.

But the bird with a broken pinion

Kept another from the snare;

And the life that sin had stricken

Raised another from despair.

Each loss has its compensation,

There is healing for every pain;

But the bird with a broken pinion

Never soars as high again.

4. Conscience And Future Judgement

       by Anonymous

I sat alone with my conscience,

In a place where time had ceased,

And we talked of my former living

In the land where the years increased;

And I felt I should have to answer

The question it might put to me,

And to face the question and answer

Throughout an eternity.

The ghosts of forgotten actions

Came floating before my sight,

And things that I thought had perished

Were alive with a terrible might;

And the vision of life’s dark record

Was an awful thing to face—

Alone with my conscience sitting

In that solemnly silent place.

And I thought of a far-away warning,

Of a sorrow that was to be mine,

In a land that then was the future,

But now is the present time;

And I thought of my former thinking

Of the judgment day to be;

But sitting alone with my conscience

Seemed judgment enough for me.

And I wondered if there was a future

To this land beyond the grave;

But no one gave me an answer

And no one came to save.

Then I felt that the future was present,

And the present would never go by,

For it was but the thought of a future

Become an eternity.

Then I woke from my timely dreaming,

And the vision passed away;

And I knew the far-away warning

Was a warning of yesterday.

And I pray that I may not forget it

In this land before the grave,

That I may not cry out in the future,

And no one come to save.

I have learned a solemn lesson

Which I ought to have known before,

And which, though I learned it dreaming,

I hope to forget no more.

So I sit alone with my conscience

In the place where the years increase,

And I try to fathom the future,

In the land where time shall cease.

And I know of the future judgment,

How dreadful soe’er it be,

That to sit alone with my conscience

Will be judgment enough for me.

5. There Is A Difference

       by William Henry Dawson

There is cause for many stings,

In the way some folks do things,

Some go at it “hammer ‘n’ tongs,”

Some with curses, some with songs;

But to each some trait belongs,

Some have soured on everything,

Can’t find aught without a sting,

There are others not so sour,

Who find on every thorn a flower,

And for good they are a power,

As I’ve traveled life’s pathway,

I’ve found grumbling doesn’t pay,

Of the kicker folks have tired;

He’s no longer much admired,

From good company he’s been “fired,”

As I walk along the street,

I look for the good and sweet,

All the sour ones I pass by,

And the only reason why—

I couldn’t like them if I’d try,

So, my friend, take my advice,

Don’t let me have to tell you twice,

If you would ever happy be,

Don’t be sour with all you see,

But be joyous, happy and free.

6. Foreboding

       by Ellen P. Allerton

I will not look for storms when skies are glowing,

With hues of summer sunsets painted o’er;

When all my tides of life are softly flowing,

I will not listen for the breaker’s roar.

I will not search the future for its sorrows,

Nor peer ahead for lions in the way,

I will not weep o’er possible to-morrows—

Sufficient is the evil of to-day.

7. The Door

       by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse

There was a door stood long ajar

That one had left for me,

While I went trying other doors

To which I had no key.

And when at last I turned to seek

The refuge and the light,

A gust of wind had shut the door

And left me in the night.

Poems about Choices for Children

Children’s poems about choices are the most charming and delightful poems that are perfect for children of all ages.

1. What to Wear?

       by Neal Zetter

I won’t wear a wizard outfit, wand and black moustache

I won’t wear a blonde wig as I’d look completely daft

I won’t wear a monster suit with googly eyes

I won’t wear a cape (unless it helps me to fly)

I won’t wear the whiskers, tail and claws of a cat

I won’t wear a ten-gallon cowboy hat

I won’t wear a leotard or a long white nightie

I won’t wear a pirate’s beard that’s prickly and spiky

I won’t wear armour as it’s sure to rust and creak

I won’t wear a clown nose and big floppy feet

I won’t wear the costume of a giant bumble bee

‘Cause at your fancy dress party I’ll be going as…

Me! 

2. What Is Your Favourite Colour?

       by Ed Boxall

Is it that wizard White,

Made of glistening icy light?

Is it that hero Red,

From the neon city night?

Is your favourite the fairy Green,

Running lightly over leaves?

Or dreamy dragon Pink,

Made of soft evening breeze?

Is it the traveller Grey?

Treading wearily through the rain?

Or maybe mother Yellow,

Saying ‘Hello, Home Again!”

Could it be clown Orange,

Who refuses to rhyme?

Or the silent spirit-bird Blue,

From beyond space and time?

3. Ten Minutes

       by Zaro Weil

there are only ten minutes left to go

should I get up and get ready to leave now

or should I keep doing this for nine minutes more

or climb a tree in eight minutes

or bake a cake in seven minutes

or write a book in six minutes

or make an important scientific discovery

during the next five minutes

or compose a symphony in four minutes

or save my country in three minutes

or circumnavigate the globe in two minutes

or explore the milky way in one minute

or or or or or ……..

4. Bell Rings

       by Trevor Millum

bell rings you rise

voice calls you eat

radio gives time you leave

diesel powered vehicle arrives you board

vehicle halts you walk

bell rings you enter

bell rings you sit

your name is called you speak

bell rings you move

bell rings you move

bell rings you eat

bell rings you sit

bell rings you stand

bell rings you jump

bell rings rings rings

you queue

vehicle halts you board

it stops you walk

voice speaks you nod

voice shouts you answer you eat

radio sings you listen

tv says time you move

set clock

it ticks you sleep

and dream you really not

machine

5. Instead

       by Brian Moses

Instead of an X-box

please show me a pathway that stretches to the stars.

Instead of a mobile phone

please teach me the language I need to help me speak with angels.

Instead of a computer

please reveal to me the mathematics of meteors and motion.

Instead of the latest computer game

please come with me on a search for dragons in the wood behind our house.

Instead of an e-reader

please read to me from a book of ancient knowledge.

Instead of a digital camera

please help me remember faces and places, mystery and moonbeams.

Instead of a 3D TV

please take me to an empty world that I can people with my imagination.

Instead of electronic wizardry

please show me how to navigate the wisdom inside of me.

6. Best Friends

       by Bernard Young

Would a best friend

Eat your last sweet

Talk about you behind your back

Have a party and not ask you?

Mine did.

Would a best friend

Borrow your bike without telling you

Deliberately forget your birthday

Avoid you whenever possible?

Mine did.

Would a best friend

Turn up on your bike

Give you a whole packet of your favourite sweets

Look you in the eye?

Mine did.

Would a best friend say

Sorry I talked about you behind your back

Sorry I had a party and didn’t invite you

Sorry I deliberately forgot your birthday

– I thought you’d fallen out with me?

Mine did.

And would a best friend say, simply,

Never mind

That’s OK?

I did.

Poems about Choices And Consequences

Here we select the most impactful and thought-provoking poems about choices and consequences that have been written throughout history.

1. A Wink And A Nod to The Bard

       by Carolyn F. Chryst

to choose or not to choose

is always the question

this or that or the other thing

define a pathway to being

rewards come

shaded in pain

illuminated in glory

shape a life story

the choice then is only how we react

to the mantle of consequences

the question which pathway, which story

which life, which choice

will leave us intact

not shredded parts of who I coulda,

shoulda been.

2. Choices With Adult Consequences

       by Bree Annag

When tea parties turned into kickbacks,

I knew my childhood was depleting.

Beer bottles displayed like drunken artifacts,

If only I knew “fitting in” wouldn’t matter in 4 years’ time.

My classmates went from drawing abstract lines in art class,

To snorting lines in our bathroom stalls.

The moment we were allowed to make choices,

We were no longer kids.

Every choice held another consequence,

It was up to us to make the right ones.

Make choices consistent with your goals,

Something my teacher instilled into me.

Sometimes these choices weren’t easy to make,

But it was now our responsibility to make them.

3. Undying Adoration

        by Brenda Chiri

Drifting along on

tranquil opportunities

Embellished within

the nicest ingenuities

Animating all your

stanzas and verses

Giving meaning to

them with purpose

Never holding back

your promises of more

With add creative

imagination galore

Exploring your lines

amongst their transition

Acknowledging their

intent being my mission

Intuitive cartographic

portrayed expression

Removing all of the

unwanted indiscretion

Appreciating each of

our distinct differences

Regardless of

consequences or significance

Influenced characteristics

written in script

Gliding along your mind’s

swells and dips

Returning the potential

to a clear lucidity

Gracefully floating on

unwavering fluidity

Riding upon your flow

of subtle illustrations

Conspicuous gallantry

with trusted fixation

Emotions i feel when

experiencing your words

While listening to your

pieces that you record

Leaves me forever lost

in your articulation

Evoking my soul, giving  

my undying  adoration’s.

4. Love’s Selection

       by Dennis Spilchuk

The word love is carelessly spewed,

Overused, misused, and abused.

Its connotation is attributed

To a sex object exhibited

And treated uninhibitedly.

Beauty defined gives the impression,

That it’s the outward appearance

Intended to shape one’s perception,

For choosing in matrimony,

Regardless of consequences.

Different sexes with expressions

And their need for gratification

Lean toward infatuation,

Because emotional eyes can deceive

And influence one’s selection:

When physical lusts of attraction,

Impede the mind’s comprehension,

Resulting in flawed situations;

Rather than seeking combinations,

That make living enjoyable.

5. The World Within

       by Anonymous

To feel inner polarity of senses,

the first thing we need to do, is rest thought flow,

so that we live not our life in past tenses

by being present here now, with heart mellow,

fearful not of imagined consequences,

softening attention, feeling bliss beats glow,

whereupon being grazed by God’s grace sublime,

we imbibe the cadence of love’s divine chime.

6. The Road Ahead

       by Curtis Johnson

Whether it’s the road just ahead or distance far,

Never forget where you are headed and who you are.

There was one who turned his head,

And later caused his head to dread.

There was pain that cut into his heart,

And could have torn his whole world apart.

Conscious awareness of possible tragedies

can drip the soul with fears of consequences.

The head that had turned was forced to return,

And the heart set aflame had learned to discern.

Poems about Choices in Life

Poems about choices in life explore the joys and sorrows of decision-making, reminding us of the power we hold to shape our own destiny.

1. My Treasure

       by Arthur Weir

“What do you gather?” the maiden said,

Shaking her sunlit curls at me–

“See, these flowers I plucked are dead,

Ah! misery.”

“What do you gather?” the miser said,

Clinking his gold, as he spoke to me–

“I cannot sleep at night for dread

of thieves,” said he.

“What do you gather?” the dreamer said,

“I dream dreams of what is to be;

Daylight comes, and my dreams are fled,

Ah! woe is me.”

“What do you gather?” the young man said–

“I seek fame for eternity,

Toiling on while the world’s abed,

Alone,” said he.

“What do I gather?” I laughing said,

“Nothing at all save memory,

Sweet as flowers, but never dead,

Like thine, Rosie.”

“I have no fear of thieves,” I said,

“Daylight kills not my reverie,

Fame will find I am snug abed,

That comes to me.”

“The past is my treasure, friends,” I said,

“Time but adds to my treasury,

Happy moments are never fled

Away from me.”

“All one needs to be rich,” I said,

“Is to live that his past shall be

Sweet in his thoughts, as a wild rose red,

Eternally

2. The Lesson

       by Paul Laurence Dunbar

My cot was down by a cypress grove,

And I sat by my window the whole night long,

And heard well up from the deep dark wood

A mocking–bird’s passionate song.

And I thought of myself so sad and lone,

And my life’s cold winter that knew no spring;

Of my mind so weary and sick and wild,

Of my heart too sad to sing.

But e’en as I listened the mock–bird’s song,

A thought stole into my saddened heart,

And I said, “I can cheer some other soul

By a carol’s simple art.”

For oft from the darkness of hearts and lives

Come songs that brim with joy and light,

As out of the gloom of the cypress grove

The mocking–bird sings at night.

So I sang a lay for a brother’s ear

In a strain to soothe his bleeding heart,

And he smiled at the sound of my voice and lyre,

Though mine was a feeble art.

But at his smile I smiled in turn,

And into my soul there came a ray:

In trying to soothe another’s woes

Mine own had passed away.

3. Perseverance

       by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

We must not hope to be mowers,

And to gather the ripe gold ears,

Unless we have first been sowers

And watered the furrows with tears.

It is not just as we take it,

This mystical world of ours,

Life’s field will yield as we make it

A harvest of thorns or of flowers.

4. The Door of Dreams

       by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse

I often passed the Door of Dreams

But never stepped inside,

Though sometimes, with surprise, I saw

The door was open wide.

I might have gone forever by,

As I had done before,

But one day, when I passed, I saw

You standing in the door.

5. Who Killed The Plan?

       by Amos Russel Wells

Who killed the Plan?

“I,” said the Critic,

“I knew how to hit it,

I killed the Plan.”

Who killed the Plan?

“I,” the Bore said.

“I talked it dead,

I killed the Plan.”

Who killed the Plan?

“I,” said the Sloth.

“I lagged and was loth.

And I killed the Plan.”

Who killed the Plan?

“I,” said Ambition.

“With my selfish vision

I killed the Plan.”

Who killed the Plan?

“I,” said the Crank,

“With my nonsense rank

I kil1ed the Plan.”

6. Invictus

       by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeoning’s of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

Poems about Choices That Are Wise

Poems about wise choices offer insights into the decision-making process, providing guidance and inspiration for those looking to navigate life’s twists and turns with grace and wisdom.

1. A Wise Choice

       by Romeo Della Valle

I have learned throughout time,

The hard and painful ways

To listen with empty ears,

To those nasty and disturbing words

That I may encounter any day

Fluttering in the air…

I cannot afford negative forces

To overshadow the peace of mind

And spirituality within me…

Walking away from boisterous events

Seems to be my best choice,

For reasoning and wisdom

Must always prevail…

2. Make A Wise Choice

       by Dennis e. Obrie

Care, and care, and share,

can you make up your mind;

am sure you are aware,

aware of what caring finds.

We don’t need to be a bully,

or put someone down;

do you understand this fully,

stop acting like a clown.

I’ve gained some wisdom learning,

learning what my knowledge means;

it always is returning,

to fulfill my many dreams.

Yes, I dream about you,

cannot help the fact;

after all the things we’ve been through,

we know how we’ll react.

So, can you learn to care again,

so you will soon rejoice;

I’ll check back now and then,

hope you make a wise choice.

A Choice to Make In Time.

3. Make Wise Decisions!

       by Kennethlaney

Looking up from the pits of HELL

I wish I had made better choices!

The Final Choice

to take my own life because I felt

that the thing that mattered most to me

was Lost!

A love that was so dear to me that

I could not bear longer to see

The Pain And Suffering

HatI Had Caused Thee to Feel!

My life hasth end too soon!

This should not be!

I still love and cheerish thee,

your very exsistance,

“To  No  End!”

Such a fool to make

such a fools choice!

Oh Please God

For One More Chance

I BEG of THEE!

As The Pain of Lucifer’s

eternal fire

envelopes my soul,

I Try to Emmit

Just a single tear!

But There Are None!

I Must Now BareE The Weight

of my

“Final Decision”

For Eternity!

4. His Other Chance

       by Edgar Albert Guest

He was down and out, and his pluck was gone,

And he said to me in a gloomy way:

‘I’ve wasted my chances, one by one,

And I’m just no good, as the people say.

Nothing ahead, and my dreams all dust,

Though once there was something I might have been,

But I wasn’t game, and I broke my trust,

And I wasn’t straight and I wasn’t clean.’

‘You’re pretty low down,’ says I to him,

‘But nobody’s holding you there, my friend.

Life is a stream where men sink or swim,

And the drifters come to a sorry end;

But there’s two of you living and breathing still—

The fellow you are, and he’s tough to see,

And another chap, if you’ve got the will,

The man that you still have a chance to be.’

He laughed with scorn. ‘Is there two of me?

I thought I’d murdered the other one.

I once knew a chap that I hoped to be,

And he was decent, but now he’s gone.’

‘Well,’ says I, ‘it may seem to you

That life has little of joy in store,

But there’s always something you still can do,

And there’s never a man but can try once more.

‘There are always two to the end of time—

The fellow we are and the future man.

The Lord never meant you should cease to climb,

And you can get up if you think you can.

The fellow you are is a sorry sight,

But you needn’t go drifting out to sea.

Get hold of yourself and travel right;

There’s a fellow you’ve still got a chance to be.

5. Keep A-Pluggin’ Away

        by Paul Laurence Dunbar

I’ve a humble little motto

That is homely, though it’s true,—

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

It’s a thing when I’ve an object

That I always try to do,—

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

When you’ve rising storms to quell,

When opposing waters swell,

It will never fail to tell,—

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

If the hills are high before

And the paths are hard to climb,

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

And remember that successes

Come to him who bides his time,—

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

From the greatest to the least,

None are from the rule released.

Be thou toiler, poet, priest,

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

Delve away beneath the surface,

There is treasure farther down,—

 Keep a-pluggin’ away.

Let the rain come down in torrents,

Let the threat’ning heavens frown,

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

When the clouds have rolled away,

There will come a brighter day

All your labor to repay,—

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

There ‘ll be lots of sneers to swallow.

There’ll be lots of pain to bear,—

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

If you’ve got your eye on heaven,

Some bright day you’ll wake up there,

Keep a-pluggin’ away.

Perseverance still is king;

Time its sure reward will bring;

Work and wait unwearying,—

 Keep a-pluggin’ away.

6. The Hustling Pumpkin Vine

       by Ed. Blair

Say boy, don’t go a mopin’ ’round ‘n’ talkin’ in a whine,

But go out in the field and view the hustling pumpkin vine.

It has the kind o’ stuff in it that’s needed, boy, in you,

A kind o’ get there quality thet most folks say will do.

The weeds may grow around it but the pumpkin vine don’t stop,

It shows it’s there fer business an’ it climbs right out on top.

An’ if it strikes a big stone fence or ditch that may be wide,

It jes’ lines out ‘n strings the pumpkins on the other side.

So boy, don’t let the weeds or ditches drive you from your way,

But go ahead and get on top—do something every day.

An’ if things look discouraging, don’t ever mope or whine,

But go and learn a lesson from the hustling pumpkin vine.

Poems about Choices That Are Right

Poems about making the right decisions offer a reflection on the importance of integrity and morality in decision-making.

1. Make The Right Choices

       by Brenda Arledge

She is proud of him

for taking a stand,

not running away from responsibility,

realizing his actions have consequences.

Decisions are not easy to make

but putting one foot in front of the other,

is a step in the right direction.

2. The Right Decision

       by Melissa Westfall  

There are right paths in this world to take,

And right choices in your life to make.

Making these decisions are hard to do,

Making the wrong one can poison you.

They may seem hard but you must make a choice,

You can always listen to your inner voice.

Listen to your heart and then with your mind,

But the right decision you must find.

Always be careful when you pick your path,

Don’t cross another and raise their wrath.

So think about your answer before you choose,

If you don’t you may have a lot to lose.

3. Decisions And Life’s Choices.

       by David Boyce

The majority of people in this world,

Have the ability, to make their own choices,

In most daily decisions made,

Just by raising their voices.

Too many people blame others,

For the decisions they make,

Which changes their lives drastically,

And the path they will take.

We will all make mistakes,

And you need to live and learn,

Because by making things right again,

A lot of respect you will earn.

So, don’t just sit back in anger,

And take life’s hits as they run,

Grab every opportunity in life to make it positive,

And see what they become.

4. The Right Choice

       by Deidre Dixon

I am not a shoe that you try to see if it fits

You see, you like, you buy and return if you made a miss

I am not an entree at a restaurant that you order to your taste

You pick and choose and eat what you like while the rest all goes to waste

I am not a vehicle that you pick out from a lot

You take it for a test drive then decide if you will purchase it or not

What I am is a diamond whose value is determined with clarity

Once you get a closer view, you’ll know and into me see

I started off rough with flaws and no polish or shine

I’ve been through an intense process that perfected over time

A fine gem of beauty, multi-faceted, polished and brilliant too

After a brief time of observation, you’ll desire to have me no matter what you have to do

There will be no need to wonder if I am a precious stone

You will want me with you at all times, never to be alone

I will never go out of style and will give you many years of pleasure

My value will only increase with time, and I will always be your treasure

Once you have chosen me from those available, to you is who I will belong

Then you will see the true asset I am, and the choice you made was not wrong.

5. Fluttering Heart

       by Stephania Uwakweh

Long before her brain figured it out

her heart raced and fluttered

At the sound of his voice

At the length of his stride

At the breath of his knowledge

At the charm of his presence.

Her head said, “Oh, he is merely a good friend.

Yeah, you both click on an intellectual level,

But that is all there will ever be to it.

Was the damsel wrong and at what cost?

Her poor, tender heart feels differently,

But as usual, will it calmly yield to the

Dictates of her ever-imposing head?

For a season, she managed to brush aside her dilemma.

No matter how much she tried to ignore it,

her heart pounded at the mention of his name.

Whether rightly or wrongly,

Whether it was meant to be or not,

All she knows is that her heart flutters

At the depth of his wisdom,

At the warmth of his smile,

At the thought that he cared.

If only she let her heart lead the way,

Rather than acquiesce to her assuming head.

Her head seeks for a safe, comfortable choice,

But her heart prefers the risky and unexplainable.

In her naivety, she thought the flutters were short-lived.

Reason suggests if she ignores them, and

Refuses to characterize what her heart knows,

Time would erase the flutters.

Well, time will tell.

Time will tell!

6. My Life My Choices

       by Fihaal

The reason you don’t know me

Is because I don’t want you to

The reason you don’t and can’t hate me

Is because you don’t have the guts to

From the inside even you know

And indeed, you say with all your voices

It is my life and my choices.

Poems about Choices That Are Difficult

Not all choices are easy, and sometimes the most difficult decisions can have the greatest impact on our lives. Poems about difficult decisions offer a reflection on the challenges of decision-making

1. The Choice

       by Archit Rai

The steps I took had a usual pace

The warmth stirred a calm day

The sun radiated the whole place

My mind had reached the pleasant state.

On that calm day

Amongst the whole,

My inner voice whispered alone

Yet, loud enough to hear the roar

That shook the dust from my rusty core.

My vision went some far beyond

Far enough to break the bonds

The bonds of deceptions of delightful days

To the world that kept untold tales.

Coming back and thinking each day,

Am I wasting my youthful wings?

Standing on the threshold of change,

My wings shivered their upcoming fate.

Yet the calmness of the other shore

That had already touched my deepest core

Was ready for the test of mighty fate

And also the fear of thousand pains.

The choice was mine and mine alone

Yet burdened by the eyes that glared;

Those eyes that shackled me with the flow,

Those eyes that suppressed my inner core.

The aghast way will always test my art,

And thousand mountains are still to pass

Daring deeds will make some scars,

The road to give up will always lay ajar.

The choice is mine and mine alone.

So leaving the threshold I did fly,

Shivering wings but the core in delight,

Doing what I truly felt to be right.

2. In The Middle of Two Ends

       by Nadia Lonnen

Ripples awakening in the path beyond,

The wind fierce upon my face,

Choices I’ll make are unforgotten,

Dark clouds are nearing; do we leave it to fate?

Everyone stares, business shared,

The life and plans of others,

Our looks and acts give us away,

Too much to show, too much to share,

The old and the new in so many turns,

Walk or stride, no matter what, you cannot hide,

The decision awaits, the choices need made,

It’s so hard, so tough,

Your life is the frame.

In the middle of two ends,

The fate’s in your power,

Your life needs deciding,

Here the choice is made,

Hear the choices slain.

Competition with your own mind,

No winner ever prevails,

A losing battle to many others,

For no emotion, a tough choice is all that complies.

Yet a choice will be made,

Someone’s life will have pain,

No emotion can ever win,

No real emotion ever surfaced.

3. Transberian Shifts

       by Identifat

Minus the accord you seek,

Trespass only on the weak?

in pain, progress, in agonies, hope…

widen your perspective, for how else to cope?

snow drenched mountains of the will

to begin and end the quest, it’s how you develop skill…

4. Difficult Decisions

       by Nigel Beckett

When life throws you difficult decisions,

Of which you feel you can’t make.

It’s best to go with your heart,

Its decisions you should always take.

It’s your heart that shows the true feeling,

Of which you cannot just hide.

Know that you made the right decision,

Show it and walk tall with pride.

The chance may not come again,

And the options may not be the same.

You don’t want to live with regrets,

And only yourself for to blame.

If it’s truly the person you love,

It doesn’t matter what gets in your way.

Ye will cross all the hurdles together,

And take them in stride day by day.

It’s not about foreseeing the future,

Or looking to the wrong in the past.

It’s about a true life of happiness,

And making it work for to last.

Don’t always live a life full of caution,

Or stopping to analyse all.

If the challenge is a little bit tougher,

Together ye are not going to fall.

Go out and live life to the full,

It’s only the one we are given.

And if we sometimes don’t get it right,

It’s nothing that can’t be forgiven.

So go with the flow for the moment,

And work through things one by one.

It’s not about being so serious,

Just enjoy it and always have fun.

5. At This Moment of Time

       by Delmore Schwartz

Some who are uncertain compel me.

They fear

The Ace of Spades.

They fear

Loves offered suddenly, turning from the mantelpiece,

Sweet with decision.

And they distrust

The fireworks by the lakeside, first the spuft,

Then the colored lights, rising.

Tentative, hesitant, doubtful, they consume

Greedily Caesar at the prow returning,

Locked in the stone of his act and office.

While the brass band brightly bursts over the water

They stand in the crowd lining the shore

Aware of the water beneath Him.

They know it.

Their eyes

Are haunted by water

Disturb me, compel me.

It is not true

That “no man is happy,” but that is not

The sense which guides you.

If we are

Unfinished (we are, unless hope is a bad dream),

You are exact.

You tug my sleeve

Before I speak, with a shadow’s friendship,

And I remember that we who move

Are moved by clouds that darken midnight.

6. Juan in Middle Age

       by Vernon Scannell

The appetite which leads him to her bed

Is not unlike the lust of boys for cake

Except he knows that after he has fed

He’ll suffer more than simple belly-ache.

He’ll groan to think what others have to pay

As price for his obsessive need to know

That he’s a champion still, though slightly grey,

And both his skill and gameness clearly show.

And after this quick non-decision bout,

As he in his dark corner gasping lies,

He’ll hear derision like a distant shout

While kisses press like pennies on his eyes.

Final Thoughts

The poems about decisions presented in this article reflect the complexity and power of decision-making in our lives.

From the simple choices of childhood to the weighty decisions that shape our futures, these works offer a glimpse into the human experience of choice.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of poems about roads and choices and that it has sparked reflection on the choices you’ve made in your own life.

We invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section below, including any favorite poems about choices that we may have missed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *