6 Must-Read Mark Twain Poems

Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens, was an American writer and humorist. He is one of the best-known writers in American history. Born in 1835, he is best remembered for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Both books are considered American classics. He passed away in 1910 at the age of seventy-four.

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Those Annual Bills

‘Those Annual Bills’ by Mark Twain is a humorously bleak poem that bemoans the insufferable and unsatiated onslaught of bills the speaker is confronted with each year.

American writer Mark Twain is perhaps more well-known for his prose and satirical essays. Yet poems like this one are an essential reminder that his incisive and scathing humor is just as potent in verse. Here, he takes aim at the relentless burden that a yearly accumulation of bills had on a writer like himself.

These annual bills! these annual bills!

How many a song their discord trills

Of "truck" consumed, enjoyed, forgot,

Since I was skinned by last year's lot!

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Genius

Twain’s ‘Genius’ pokes fun at society’s view of genius, questioning the true nature of intellectual brilliance.

Through this poem, one can see Twain’s satirical approach, his desire to question the status quo, and his love for the use of satire as a tool for thinking. Thus, the poem, although it is not one of the most typical examples of 19th-century American poetry that deals with more serious topics, can be considered a part of Twain’s production, which focuses on criticizing societal hypocrisy.

Geniuses are people who dash off weird, wild,

incomprehensible poems with astonishing facility,

and get booming drunk and sleep in the gutter.

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Ode to Stephen Dowling Bots, Dec’d.

‘Ode to Stephen Dowling Bots, Dec’d.’ by Mark Twain parodies obituary verses of the time with its use of hyperbolic sentimentality and overtly religious imagery.

In this poem, Twain's familiar inclination to veil critique behind biting humor appears in poetic form. The result is a long-winded poem that pokes fun at verse that attempts to draw emotion through sanctimonious diction and tone. Instead of reading as a solemn elegy, the poem elicits humor and dry sarcasm.

And did young Stephen sicken,

And did young Stephen die?

And did the sad hearts thicken,

And did the mourners cry?

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To Jennie

‘To Jennie’ by Mark Twain is a moving poem that struggles through the grief in death’s permanency to discover the persistence of love and memory.

Although Twain's novels and essays might be what he's most remembered for he also wrote an abundance of poems. Many of these exhibit his capacity for ruthless social commentary, while others like this one, reveal an intensely personal moment in his life. One in which he uses verse to articulate both immense loss and hope.

Good-bye! a kind good-bye,

I bid you now, my friend,

And though 'tis sad to speak the word,

To destiny I bend

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O Lord, Our Father

Written in the form of a prayer, ‘O Lord, Our Father,’ is a poem in which Mark twain takes aim at the horror of war as well as the idea of religion being used to support war. War and religion were two subjects that Twain was a regular critic of and he turns his full anger on them in this poem.

This is a fairly good example of Twain's writing. The subject matter echoes his personal beliefs, and the style of writing has the informal feel that a lot of this writing does. His sarcastic wit is on display although the poem does sometimes come across as more caustic and cynical than some of his usual writings. Overall, it serves as a good introduction to his writing.

O Lord, our father,

Our young patriots, idols of our hearts,

Go forth to battle - be Thou near them!

With them, in spirit, we also go forth

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Warm Summer Sun

‘Warm Summer Sun’ by Mark Twain is a poem that expresses the process of aging and life, all the way to life’s final moments.

Warm summer sun,

Shine kindly here,

Warm southern wind,

Blow softly here.

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6 Must-Read Mark Twain Poems

Those Annual Bills

Genius

Ode to Stephen Dowling Bots, Dec’d.

To Jennie

O Lord, Our Father

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