Poems about Heaven delve into the mystical and spiritual realm, exploring themes of the afterlife, peace, and transcendence. They often reflect on the concept of paradise, offering comfort, hope, and a sense of wonder about the unknown and eternal.
‘Bards of Passion and of Mirth’ by John Keats is one of the poet’s early odes. In it, Keats confirms that bards, or authors, have two souls, with one rising to heaven, and the other staying on earth.
Bards of Passion and of Mirth,
Ye have left your souls on earth!
Have ye souls in heaven too,
Doubled-lived in regions new?
Romano’s ‘When Tomorrow Starts Without Me’ offers solace in grief, exploring love and afterlife, reassures that loved ones remain forever.
When tomorrow starts without me
And I’m not here to see
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me
‘Opportunity’ by Helen Hunt Jackson depicts one person’s encounter with a rapturous and divinely-given vision.
I do not know if, climbing some steep hill,
Through fragrant wooded pass, this glimpse I bought,
Or whether in some mid-day I was caught
To upper air, where visions of God’s will
‘They are all Gone into the World of Light’ by Henry Vaughan describes a speaker’s longing to understand what death is and where his loved ones have gone.
They are all gone into the world of light!
And I alone sit ling’ring here;
Their very memory is fair and bright,
And my sad thoughts doth clear.
‘June’ by James Russell Lowell is a religiously-charged romantic narrative poem about the overwhelming beauty and rejuvenating power of summer.
And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays:
‘In Heaven’ by Stephen Crane offers a parable-like anecdote that contrasts humility with self-righteous pride. It also challenges religion and those the poet’s speaker deemed hypocritical.
In Heaven,
Some little blades of grass
Stood before God.
“What did you do?”
‘Yes, Holy Be Thy Resting Place’ is one of Emily Brontë’s poems that visits the softly sentimental side of her poetic talent.
Yes, holy be thy resting place
Wherever thou may'st lie;
The sweetest winds breathe on thy face,
The softest of the sky.
‘Sonnet 23: Methought I saw my late espoused saint’ shares a beatific but ultimately bittersweet vision of a widower’s late wife.
Methought I saw my late espoused saint
Brought to me, like Alcestis, from the grave,
Whom Jove's great son to her glad husband gave,
Rescu'd from death by force, though pale and faint.
‘Stars’ by Sara Teasdale presents nature’s majesty through the sublime beauty and timelessness of stars providing spiritual truth.
And a heaven full of stars
Over my head
White and topaz
And misty red;
‘The Dead’ by Rupert Brooke describes the lives and experiences of mankind and what one will experience after death in the “Unbroken glory” of God.
These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,
Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.
The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,
And sunset, and the colours of the earth.
‘The Hollow Men’ presents the hollow, degenerated, and disillusioned people dealing with their meaningless existence amidst the ruins of the postwar world.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
‘I Never Saw a Moor’ is a simple but powerful affirmation of faith and acceptance of the limits of empiricism.
I never saw a moor;
I never saw the sea,
Yet know I how the heather looks
And what a billow be.
‘Night Song at Amalfi’ by Sara Teasdale weaves celestial silence and sea mystery, exploring love’s ineffable nature and expressive challenges.
I asked the heaven of stars
What I should give my love —
It answered me with silence,
Silence above.
‘Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –’ is one of Emily Dickinson’s best-known poems. It features the poet’s growing disbelief regarding the customary Christian rituals and her intention to seek salvation without resorting to the conventional means.
Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –
I keep it, staying at Home –
With a Bobolink for a Chorister –
And an Orchard, for a Dome –
‘The Manger Throne’ is a lyrical religious poem that envisions the nativity scene as a moment of harmony between the heavens and earth.
Like silver lamps in a distant shrine,
The stars are sparkling bright
The bells of the city of God ring out,
For the Son of Mary is born to-night.
support@poemanalysis.com
Poem Solutions Limited
Company no: 10883994
United Kingdom
Access Poetry PDF Guides
for this Poem
Complete Poetry PDF Guide
Perfect Offline Resource
Covers Everything You Need to Know
One-pager 'snapshot' PDF
Great Offline Resource
Gateway to deeper understanding
870+ Reviews
