15+ Must-Read Poems about Corruption

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

Poems about corruption delve into the dark underbelly of human society, shedding light on the moral decay and abuse of power that afflict individuals, institutions, and systems.

These poems explore the insidious nature of corruption, exposing its detrimental effects on justice, equality, and social harmony. They often depict the erosion of trust, the perversion of values, and the manipulation of truth that accompanies corrupt practices.

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

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"> 90/100

Consider This And In Our Time

by W.H. Auden

Auden’s ‘Consider This and in Our Time’ captures a society poised on the brink, blending serene imagery with ominous undertones of political upheaval.

Auden captures corruption as a force that eats away at societal foundations. Images like “infected sinus” and “brutal farmers” convey how decay infiltrates both individuals and institutions. The antagonist mobilizes these corrupted forces, using them to further disrupt an already fragile world, painting a grim picture of humanity’s vulnerability to moral and structural collapse.

As the hawk sees it or the helmeted airman:

The clouds rift suddenly - look there

At cigarette-end smouldering on a border

At the first garden party of the year.

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"> 89/100

Cahoots

by Carl Sandburg

‘Cahoots’ by Carl Sandburg delves into the dark underbelly of a corrupt city, exposing the collusion and exploitation that thrive within its power structures.

This poem addresses the topic of corruption by illustrating a world where dishonesty and illicit activities prevail. The poem portrays a network of individuals involved in various criminal acts, suggesting a pervasive culture of corruption. The speaker contemplates stealing and manipulating the system for personal gain, highlighting the moral decay and unethical behavior that exist within society.

Play it across the table.

What if we steal this city blind?

If they want any thing let 'em nail it down.

Harness bulls, dicks, front office men,

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"> 76/100

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.

This poem largely focuses on the corruption that is earned with age from the speaker's perspective. She associates aging with the loss of innocence and the corruption of purity. As a result, she initially feels inclined to protect the corruption of a young man. However, as an older woman herself, she is already corrupt. As such, she cannot resist the urge to corrupt the young man and try to take his youth for herself in an attempt to reclaim her own purity. This poem shows how the corruption feared by the speaker is an inevitable consequence of age.

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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A Castle-Builder’s World

by Christina Rossetti

‘A Castle-Builder’s World’ by Christina Rossetti describes an empty and inauthentic world. It serves as a warning against spiritual emptiness.

The idea that the world is filled with masks and devoid of souls suggests a form of moral or spiritual corruption. The people in this world have departed, in an important way, from authentic living. Their lives, goals, dreams, and humanity have all been corrupted. It's implied that some form of materialism is to blame for this.

Unripe harvest there hath none to reap it

From the misty gusty place,

Unripe vineyard there hath none to keep it

In unprofitable space.

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The Dreamer

by Gabriel Okara

‘The Dreamer’ by Gabriel Okara reflects a nation’s fight against corruption and hardship, showing the strength, unity, and hope of its people for a brighter future.

The poem makes it clear how much damage corruption does to society. Leaders focus on their own wealth and power while ignoring the needs of the people. Words like "masked greed" show how dishonesty has taken over everything. It’s not just about bad leadership; it’s about how this corruption destroys trust, hope, and progress, leaving the country in a state of chaos and people feeling abandoned and betrayed.

He was seeking good in our collective good

As he stood aside, not apart, watching

Helpless stream of mankind passing slowly by;

Cheerless mankind with dying hopes of flickering flames

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Contractors

by Gabriel Okara

‘Contractors’ by Gabriel Okara is a poem that explores the ideas of corruption within large organisations, suggesting that everyone is trying to find profit for themselves.

Corruption is the central topic of this poem. Okara explains the way in which people who are attempting to get more power and influence try their best to ingratiate themselves with the people in power so that they can gain the things that they want. The poet shows that this is not done in an honest way, and that there is no altruism in the way in which the people behave.

Men and women

Wearing grim, ingratiating faces,

Moving with money-steps; and receptionists

With pothole-faces of money importance

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Woodchucks

by Maxine Kumin

‘Woodchucks’ by Maxine Kumin is a metaphorical poem which uses the conceit of a farmer hunting woodchucks to uncover the murderous tendencies only a position of power can reveal in humans.

This poem figuratively reminds readers how easy it is for humanity to be tainted. All one needs is a position of power, and in due time, while pushing the right buttons, their murderous tendencies will eventually show. Kumin indirectly renders this as the probable reason for the Nazi rhetoric and the Holocaust that followed.

The food from our mouths, I said, righteously thrilling

to the feel of the .22, the bullets' neat noses.

I, a lapsed pacifist fallen from grace

puffed with Darwinian pieties for killing,

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The Telephone Call

by Fleur Adcock

Adcock’s ‘The Telephone Call’ humorously navigates the illusion of luck, emphasizing life’s experiences over material wealth.

The fraudulent aspects of the lottery scheme fight against corruption. Through this poem, we see the mechanisms of these scams and uncover the dishonesty that takes advantage of people’s dreams of financial success. Adcock depicts the scheme as a trick and reveals how repulsive consumer promises are along with the sneaky methods people use to obtain their desires.

They asked me 'Are you sitting down?

Right? This is Universal Lotteries,'

they said. 'You've won the top prize,

the Ultra-super Global Special.

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Prayer Before Birth

by Louis MacNeice

‘Prayer Before Birth’ by Louis MacNeice was written during the terror struck days of World War II. It places the realities of an evil world into the mouth of an unborn baby.

In the poem's narrative on corruption, readers see how societal factors contribute to the erosion of morals. Anxiety about 'wise lies' and degrading forces indicates a life under threat from manipulation and brutal acts. Thus, this work on corruption functions as an analysis of social paradigms that erode personal ethical standards and as a depiction of the ubiquity of evil in human experience.

I am not yet born; O hear me.

Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the

club-footed ghoul come near me.

#10

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Lycidas

by John Milton

In ‘Lycidas,’ Milton employs the pastoral elegy to memorialize the death of his friend, Edward King. As he transforms King’s life into an allegory, Milton interrogates Christian ideology and the form of epic poetry.

This poem contains a scathing passage on corruption in the church. Through the voice of Saint Peter, Milton criticizes how the Church of England has become more preoccupied with ceremony than saving its worshipers' souls.

Yet once more, O ye laurels, and once more

Ye myrtles brown, with ivy never sere,

I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude,

And with forc'd fingers rude

#11

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Mass Transit Buses

by Gabriel Okara

‘Mass Transit Buses’ by Gabriel Okara is a short poem that uses the example of a mass transit system to show how promises by politicians are rarely kept and how corruption derails plans.

Corruption is an important topic in this poem. The poet looks at the way that politicians often lie and fail to deliver on the things which they promise. The poet shows the way that this kind of corruption can affect the regular members of society.

The governor's exhortations

Were their launching pad!

Away they careered!

The masses cheered!

#12

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Money Talks

by Carol Ann Duffy

Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Money Talks’ gives money a bold and unapologetic voice, revealing how deeply it shapes people’s lives, decisions, and beliefs.

The way money talks in the poem makes you see how it changes people. It knows people will trade anything for it, even their values or honesty. It proudly admits it smells and piles up like something rotten, but still expects love and attention. This shows how easy it is for people to ignore the bad parts of money just to keep it close. That slow loss of what is right feels like a quiet kind of corruption.

I am the authentic language of suffering. My cold, gold eye

does not blink. Mister, you want nice time? No problem.

I say, Screw You. I buy and sell the world. I got

Midas touch, turn bread to hard cash. My million tills

#13

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To a Millionaire

by A.R.D. Fairburn

‘To a Millionaire’ by A. R. D. Fairburn critiques opulence, unraveling hidden guilt, moral decay, and inevitable downfall through vivid metaphors and striking imagery.

This poem delves into the topic of corruption, unraveling the societal decay concealed beneath opulence. Vivid metaphors, like woven curtains of blood and buried bones, expose the moral consequences. A. R. D. Fairburn navigates the corrosive impact of unchecked wealth, painting a stark picture of corruption and exploitation, urging reflection on its pervasive societal ramifications.

Lord of our world, take off your velvet

mask. Remove your gentle glove, disclose

the claw-like hand, the dried blood under the nails,

the murder print that never shows.

#14

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Welcome Home

by Gabriel Okara

‘Welcome Home’ by Gabriel Okara sees the poet telling Africans returning home that their idealised idea of the “Fatherland” might not be as true to life as they hope.

At the heart of Okara's warning in this poem is the corruption that he thinks has taken over Africa. Okara warns the people outside of Africa that things are not quite what they think they will be, and that people have to be careful of the corruption that he thinks has become such a large part of life there. Okara believes that it can even be dangerous enough that it could lead to a loss of life.

Welcome home to the fatherland

Flowing with milk, honey and oil

Where it's said one no longer needs to toil!

#15

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Translating the English, 1989

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘Translating the English, 1989’ is a bold and satirical poem that unpacks how English identity is marketed through clichés, contradictions, and surface-level pride, revealing the deeper problems hidden underneath.

There is a quiet sense of corruption running through the poem. It is not shouted, but you feel it in lines about nods, winks, and no questions asked. Everything feels like a deal or a cover-up. Duffy does not need to name the wrongdoings—they are just slipped into the background like they are normal. That is what makes it feel so real, like this is a place where things happen under the table and people have learned to look the other way.

Welcome to my country! We have here Edwina Currie

and The Sun newspaper. Much excitement.

Also the weather has been most improving

even in February. Daffodils. (Wordsworth. Up North.) If you like

Home » Collection » Poems about Corruption

15+ Must-Read Poems about Corruption

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

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15+ Must-Read Poems about Corruption

(15 to start, 25+ to explore)

by W.H. Auden

by Carl Sandburg

by Sheenagh Pugh

by Christina Rossetti

by Gabriel Okara

by Gabriel Okara

by Maxine Kumin

by Fleur Adcock

by Louis MacNeice

by John Milton

by Gabriel Okara

by Carol Ann Duffy

by A.R.D. Fairburn

by Gabriel Okara

by Carol Ann Duffy

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