15+ Must-Read Poems about Adulthood

(15 to start, 75+ to explore)

Adulthood poems center on the themes of change, understanding, confusion, and nostalgia. The following poems explore the concept from a wide array of perspectives. Some explore the changes one comes across being an adult. While some others look back at the past and the speakers nostalgically comment on bygone days. Readers will find these adulthood poems undoubtedly enriching.

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To My Nine-Year-Old Self

by Helen Dunmore

‘To My Nine-Year-Old Self’ addresses the poet’s younger self, exploring changes over time, contrasting past fearlessness with present cautiousness.

The poem explores the transition from childhood to adulthood, contrasting the carefree nature of youth with the physical and emotional burdens of growing older. The speaker reflects on how adulthood brings limitations, responsibilities, and regrets, highlighting the profound changes that come with aging and the inevitable loss of innocence and freedom.

You must forgive me. Don't look so surprised,

perplexed , and eager to be gone

balancing on your hands or on the tightrope

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What now?

by Gary Soto

‘What Now?’ by Gary Soto is a contemporary poem that speaks to the universal experience of aging and learning.

The poem addresses the topic of adulthood by depicting the speaker's transition from childhood wonder to the practicalities of grown-up life. The poem explores the shift in perspective and priorities that come with age, highlighting the speaker's focus on the road ahead and the small tragedies behind them.

Where did the shooting stars go?

They flit across my childhood sky

vAnd by my teens I no longer looked upward—

My face instead peered through the windshield

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Sweet 18

by Sheenagh Pugh

In Sheenagh Pugh’s ‘Sweet 18’, an older woman expresses her desire to regain youth as she battles the temptation to take it from others.

Unlike the coming-of-age story the title implies, 'Sweet 18' is about the speaker's rejection of maturity and adulthood as she tries desperately to reclaim her youth. The poem focuses on how becoming an adult corrupts young people, destroying the innocence and purity which once characterized them. The speaker initially laments this, wanting to preserve the youth of a young man. However, she ultimately becomes entranced by the opportunity to experience youth once again, finding herself willing to corrupt the young man to do so. This poem acts as a rejection of adulthood.

You move before me with all the unknown ease

of your age; your face clear of the awareness

that clouds mine. Your only scars; where you tried

to shave, before there was any need.

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Childhood Ideogram

by Larry Levis

Larry Levis’s ‘Childhood Ideogram’ unravels the intricacies of identity, memory, and the transience of time through the speaker’s nostalgia.

This poem addresses the topic of adulthood via the speaker's reflections on their childhood experiences and the lingering impact they have on their present self. 'Childhood Ideogram' explores the disillusionment and confusion that can arise in the transition from childhood to adulthood. The speaker grapples with questions of identity, longing for a sense of belonging, and the realization that the past cannot be fully understood or recaptured in the complexities of adulthood.

I lay my head sideways on the desk,

My fingers interlocked under my cheekbones,

My eyes closed. It was a three-room schoolhouse,

White, with a small bell tower, an oak tree

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At The Border, 1979

by Choman Hardi

‘At The Border, 1979’ contrasts adult optimism with a child’s realism during a family’s migration, questioning the notion of home.

The poem touches on adulthood through the roles and reactions of the adults in the scene, such as the mothers crying and the man kissing his homeland. These adult responses reflect the deeper emotional and practical implications of crossing borders, showing how the weight of leaving one’s homeland and the anticipation of a new life are felt most acutely by grown individuals.

'It is your last check-in point in this country!'

We grabbed a drink -

soon everything would taste different.

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Personal Helicon

by Seamus Heaney

Heaney’s ‘Personal Helicon’ draws inspiration from his rural carefree childhood and intimate connection with nature.

Adulthood is associated with routine and the mundane in the poem, in sharp contrast to youth.

As a child, they could not keep me from wells

And old pumps with buckets and windlasses.

I loved the dark drop, the trapped sky, the smells

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39

by Henry Lawson

’39’ is a poem in which the narrator looks back on his life while eagerly awaiting his fortieth birthday and the years that will follow.

In this poem, the narrator reflects on his adult life. He starts with his teen years and moves on all the way up to his current age, at thirty-nine years old. The narrator describes the different stages of his adult life up to that point, and then he also looks at the years that lie ahead for him. The narrator manages to demonstrate the idea that forty ushers in a new part of his life. He also manages to demonstrate the idea that aging does not have to be seen as a negative thing but can, in fact, be seen as a positive.

I only woke this morning

To find the world is fair —

I'm going on for forty,

With scarcely one grey hair;

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Little Red Cap

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘Little Red Cap’ by Duffy is a feminist retelling of the classic tale, exploring the empowerment and growth of the little girl.

This poem captures the transition into adulthood through the protagonist's encounter with the wolf. Her journey into the forest is metaphorical of the rite of passage from innocence to maturity. The sexual undertones and the act of confronting her desires reflect the complexity of adulthood, where decisions become more complicated and irreversible, pushing her toward a deeper understanding of self.

At childhood’s end, the houses petered out

into playing fields, the factory, allotments

kept, like mistresses, by kneeling married men,

the silent railway line, the hermit’s caravan,

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The Giving Tree

by Shel Silverstein

‘The Giving Tree’ by Shel Silverstein explores unconditional love, sacrifice, and the bittersweet journey of giving without expecting anything back.

This poem explores the transition from childhood to adulthood, focusing on the boy's evolving needs. In his younger years, he takes from the tree without understanding its sacrifice. As he ages, his desires shift, reflecting how adulthood often brings a deeper recognition of what truly matters. The boy’s final acceptance of rest on the tree’s stump signals his acceptance of life’s final stages.

Once there was a tree....

and she loved a little boy.

And everyday the boy would come

and he would gather her leaves

#10

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Childhood

by Frances Cornford

‘Childhood’ explores the transitory moment when a child becomes aware of the passing of time, and the process of growing old.

The poem is written from a first-person perspective and the speaker may well be Cornford’s adult self. This piece is about the sad realization of the fact that time is ruthless and aging is an irretrievable, inevitable process.

I used to think that grown-up people chose

To have stiff backs and wrinkles round their nose,

And veins like small fat snakes on either hand,

On purpose to be grand.

#11

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Half-Past Two

by U. A. Fanthorpe

‘Half-Past Two’ utilizes childish vernacular and mismatched capitalization to reflect the stress of a young boy, who in the past was punished for “Something Very Wrong.”

One of the important themes of this piece is the dichotomy between an adult and a child. For an adult, time is one of the most important concepts in a human's life. However, for a child, time is just a foreign concept that they are made to learn in order to step into the world of adults.

Once upon a schooltime

He did Something Very Wrong

(I forget what it was).

And She said he’d done

#12

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What Fifty Said

by Robert Frost

Frost’s ‘What Fifty Said’ is a reflection on youth and age’s lessons: learning past and future while creating one’s own identity.

The poem clearly presents the topic of adulthood and maturity through the concept known by all - feeing uncertain and anxious about education. By portraying the topic through a widely-known lens, the poet effectively connects themselves and the reader.

When I was young my teachers were the old.

I gave up fire for form till I was cold.

I suffered like a metal being cast.

I went to school to age to learn the past.

#13

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To a Daughter Leaving Home

by Linda Pastan

‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’ uses the metaphor of a child learning to ride a bike to beautifully capture a parent’s mixed emotions of pride and fear as they watch their daughter grow up and gain independence.

The poem captures the transition from childhood to adulthood as the daughter learns to ride a bike, symbolizing her first steps towards independence. This rite of passage marks the beginning of her own journey into adult responsibilities and freedoms.

When I taught you

at eight to ride

a bicycle, loping along

beside you

#14

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My Son the Man

by Sharon Olds

‘My Son the Man’ explores the reality of parenting and engages with the inevitability of the passage of time.

The narrator feels their son's newly acquired adulthood means he is distant from her, and she fears that she will not be able to hold on to their close relationship. The constant references to Houdini imply she feels his age to be synonymous with an escape from her life and her influence.

Suddenly his shoulders get a lot wider,

the way Houdini would expand his body

#15

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A Dead Rose

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

‘A Dead Rose’ mourns the short-lived nature of beauty, with vivid imagery and poignant emotions.

This poem indirectly addresses the topic of adulthood through the depiction of the rose's faded beauty. The rose, once vibrant and full of life, now represents the inevitable passage of time and the loss of youthful charm. It symbolizes the transition from youth to adulthood, where the beauty and vitality of youth gradually give way to the realities of aging and the impermanence of life. The poem subtly explores the theme of the bittersweet nature of growing older and the inevitable changes that come with adulthood.

O Rose! who dares to name thee?

No longer roseate now, nor soft, nor sweet;

But pale, and hard, and dry, as stubble-wheat,—-

Kept seven years in a drawer—-thy titles shame thee.

Home » Collection » Poems about Adulthood

15+ Must-Read Poems about Adulthood

(15 to start, 75+ to explore)

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15+ Must-Read Poems about Adulthood

(15 to start, 75+ to explore)

by Helen Dunmore

by Gary Soto

by Sheenagh Pugh

by Larry Levis

by Choman Hardi

by Seamus Heaney

by Henry Lawson

by Carol Ann Duffy

by Shel Silverstein

by Frances Cornford

by U. A. Fanthorpe

by Robert Frost

by Linda Pastan

by Sharon Olds

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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