Gold

9 Must-Read Poems about Gold

A poem about gold may delve into the material aspects of this precious metal, describing its lustrous appearance, its rarity, and its enduring value throughout history. It might explore the allure and fascination that gold holds for humanity, whether as a symbol of wealth and power or as a metaphor for the intangible aspects of life.

Poems about gold often shine light on the virtues of generosity, emphasizing the beauty and significance of selflessness. They evoke emotions of joy and fulfillment, emphasizing the potential for positive change and the creation of empathetic communities.

Poems about Gold Visual Representation

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

#1

Nationality: English

Themes: Death, Desire, Failure

Emotions: Anxiety, Disgust, Fear, Greediness, Worry

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Evil, Humanity, Money, Wealth

Form: Free Verse

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Gold!

by Thomas Hood

‘Gold!’ by Thomas Hood is a piece about the corrupting nature of gold. It focuses on the duality of the substance. It can save but, it can also doom the person seeking it out.

Thomas Hood's poem is one of the finest poetic renderings of gold ever produced as it completely captures the material's capacity for both good and evil. On the one hand, the substance can save lives and rescue people from poverty but, on the other hand, it is so often a source of greed and selfishness. Hood also highlights how gold can become a corrupting force which blinds people and prevents them thinking about anything else than the pursuit of wealth.

Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!

Bright and yellow, hard and cold

Molten, graven, hammered and rolled,

Heavy to get and light to hold,

#2

Nationalities: Canadian, English

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The Spell of the Yukon

by Robert Service

‘The Spell of the Yukon’ reveals a prospector’s shift from gold lust to a deep love for the Yukon’s wild, untamed beauty.

Service does a superb job of depicting the frenzy of the gold rush, in which over 100,000 men travelled in search of their fortune. However, what makes this poem one of the best depictions of gold is the details of what happened to the prospector after he had attained the wealth he sought. The possession of gold quickly reveals how little impact it actually has to improve a person's state of mind - Service implies that true happiness will always come from other sources.

I wanted the gold, and I sought it;

I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.

Was it famine or scurvy—I fought it;

I hurled my youth into a grave.

#3

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Nothing Gold Can Stay

by Robert Frost

The poem, ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’, by Robert Frost, is about the impermanence of life. It describes the fleeting nature of beauty by discussing time’s effect on nature.

Frost's poem is largely concerned with the golden color of leaves rather than the material itself, however its message can equally be applied to both. In his typically accessible style, Frost highlights the fact that everything fades and loses its shine, no matter how highly revered it may have been in its prime. The poem thus functions as a warning against a belief in permanence or too great a reliance on the present.

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

#4

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Nine Gold Medals

by David Roth

Roth’s ‘Nine Gold Medals’ celebrates compassion over competition, with Special Olympics athletes uniting to finish a race together.

'Nine Gold Medals' effectively challenges the readers' perceptions of what success looks like, and why it is so often predicated on the failure of others. The personal symbol of success, as symbolised by the gold medal, is shared among all the competitors which encourages the reader to consider whether or not society should attempt to be more inclusive and less prone to competition for its own sake.

The athletes had come from so many the countries

To run for the gold and the silver and bronze

Many weeks and months in training

All building up to the games

#5

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All that is gold does not glitter

by J.R.R. Tolkien

‘All that is gold does not glitter,’ also known as ‘The Riddle of Strider,’ or ‘Song of Aragorn,’ hints at unseen depth and destinies.

Likely a reworking of the Shakespeare quote, this poem's title outlines its message and its attitude to the precious metal. Rather than assuming things must be outwardly impressive in order to have value, Tolkien's poem suggests that the beauty and precious connotations of gold can be found in more humble things, including people.

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

#6

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The Cremation of Sam McGee

by Robert Service

‘The Cremation of Sam McGee’ is one of the best-known poems of Robert W. Service. The poem presents the cremation of Sam McGee who freezes to death in the prospect of gold.

Sam leaves everything behind to go after gold, which was a big dream for many people during the Yukon gold rush. The poem shows how the search for gold can take over someone’s life. Sam’s desire for wealth pulls him into a place where he doesn’t belong, and it ends badly for him. This poem shows how gold can sometimes cost more than it's worth.

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

By the men who moil for gold;

The Arctic trails have their secret tales

That would make your blood run cold;

#7

Nationality: American

Themes: Beauty, Love, Relationships

Emotions: Contentment, Hope, Joyfulness, Love for Her, Love for Him, Optimism, Passion

Topics:

56

Making Love, Memories, Memory, Past

Form: Free Verse

Genre: Lyric

"> 56/100

Gold

by Donald Hall

A golden poem out of Hall’s heart, ‘Gold’ is about the precious past and conjugal memories of a speaker. It appears in the collection Old and New Poems published in 1990.

Hall's use of gold is primarily symbolic, as he uses it to represent his positive memories of the past and the people close to him. The material has connotations of both value and beauty, which explains why he felt it was appropriate to represent the people and places he felt most attached to.

Pale gold of the walls, gold

of the centers of daisies, yellow roses

pressing from a clear bowl. All day

we lay on the bed, my hand

#8

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Straw into Gold

by Glynn Young

‘Straw into Gold’, by Glynn Young, uses the story of Rumpelstiltskin in its five stanzas to address a common problem.

Glynn Young's poem uses the impossibility of turning straw into gold to expose people's lies and boasts by reminding the reader that such untruths will always be exposed eventually. Gold is therefore used as a symbol for positive claims and aspirations, likely because of its associations with wealth and its attractive, shiny appearance.

Can you spin

straw into gold,

straw into gold, a boast

becomes a lie, a lie

#9

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The Jewellery Maker

by Louisa Adjoa Parker

‘The Jewellery Maker’ by Louisa Adjoa Parker is a poem telling of a jewellery maker, his craft, and why he does it.

The mention of gold is between the second and third stanzas of the poem. Gold first symbolizes the metal which is melted and molded to produce jewellery. Alongside this literal meaning, it is used metaphorically in stanza two (with the word "butterflies") to symbolize the beauty and delicateness of gold jewellery as it forms. In the last stanza, it represents the jeweller's wife's wedding ring and his desire to give her finer-looking gold.

Each day after sunrise he walks to the workshop-
like his father before him, and his father too –
the slap of sandalled feet on heat-baked stone,
the smell of blossom, a plate-blue sky. He greets

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