Poems about home evoke a sense of belonging, comfort, and nostalgia associated with the concept of “home.” They capture the essence of familiar surroundings, cherished memories, and the emotional connections we have to a physical place or a sense of belonging. These poems may explore themes of family, identity, and the longing for a place of safety and solace.
They celebrate the beauty of domestic life, the warmth of relationships, and the idea of finding refuge in the familiarity of home.
Poems about home can evoke feelings of nostalgia, inspire gratitude for the places we call home, and reflect on the universal longing for a place to belong.
‘Home is so Sad’ by Philip Larkin is a thoughtful poem about the importance of home. The poet explores what happens to a home when people leave it.
‘Home is So Sad,’ is one of the best poems about home and was composed while Larkin was at his mother’s home. In the first lines he expresses clearly and poignantly the themes of solitude, homesickness, and loneliness. The home is personified as though it is itself able to miss those who have left. It “withers so”. A series of images follow that work as snapshots of a home that does not have all of its residents.
‘At Home’ describes the plight of a ghost who is kept separate from happiness, friends, and her no longer possible future.
Rossetti’s speaker describes the plight of a ghost who is kept separate from her home and friends by death. The speaker, who is deceased, depicts her own death and what it was like when she first realized what had happened to her. She went home as soon as she could and watched as her friends carried on with their lives without her. The speaker can’t leave her home or become more than “yesterday” to those who lost her.
‘A Child’s Garden’ by Rudyard Kipling is written from the perspective of a young sick boy who is dreaming of escaping his confining and frightening life by taking to the sky in an airplane.
‘A Child’s Garden’ is written from the perspective of a young boy, who is dreaming of escaping his life. He’s critically ill, with tuberculosis, and has to stay within the confines of his home. He spends most of his time in the garden laying outside but far away from the noise of cars and other lives. The confining space is suffocating but that doesn’t stop him from dreaming. He knows that one day he will rise up over the walls of his garden prison.
‘Odysseus to Telemachus’ by Joseph Brodsky is told from the perspective of the epic hero, Odysseus, while he is stranded on Circe’s island.
‘Odysseus to Telemachus’ by Joseph Brodsky is told from the perspective of the epic hero, Odysseus while he is stranded on Circe’s island. He speaks directly to his son, Telemachus, in the lines of this piece. He tells him about his regrets, such as not being there to see his son grow up and missing the comforts of home. But, he realizes that it’s very unlikely that he’ll ever see his son or his homeland again.
My dear Telemachus, The Trojan War is over now; I don't recall who won it. The Greeks, no doubt, for only they would leave
‘The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm’ by Wallace Stevens describes the relationship between peace and the search for truth within the written word.
In this piece Stevens creates a very poignant atmosphere. Wallace describes a reader who is leaning over a book on a calm summer night. This person is seeking something from the text, a kind of perfect truth they have not been able to find elsewhere. The quiet nature of the scene is very important to the poem, without it, the “truth” he is looking for is impossible to find.
‘Home’ by Edward Thomas explores the serene harmony of home, where nature and humanity intertwine, evoking a sense of belonging.
In this poem Thomas’s speaker describes home, the relief of arriving there and the connections he feels. The natural world around his home brings him peace and comfort. The relish with which the speaker describes his location allows the reader to understand how important this place is to him. It’s such a special place that the world outside it feels and looks different when he’s there.
Anne Brontë’s ‘Home’ reflects on the serene joy of familiar natural settings, exploring deep personal connections to places of peace.
Brontë creates a warm and sunny atmosphere at the beginning of ‘Home’ that symbolizes the warmth that one gains when they are wherever they consider home. This changes into the howling wind and cold weather that is just as welcome. When one is “home” everything is wrapped in that idea. Although she is relishing in the idea of home, she is not present there. She asks to be returned to “that little spot” she remembers.
How brightly glistening in the sun The woodland ivy plays! While yonder beeches from their barks Reflect his silver rays.
‘My Grandmother’s Houses’ by Jackie Kay is a thoughtful recollection of youth and a young speaker’s relationship with her eccentric grandmother, who is forced to move homes.
The notion of home, where a person feels protected and comfortable, is closely examined in this poem, as the grandmother appears reluctant to move even though her new home is objectively better.
‘Home’ by Bruce Weigl is a wistfully honest poem that narrates the emotionally profound experience of returning home.
Home is, of course, the main topic of the poem. As far as poems go about where you are born and raised, Weigl's is incredibly moving and underrated. The poet manages to capture through their hyper-personal lens such a universal definition of what home is and means to people. It is a nurturing and fortifying place that one can hunker down in.
‘The Chinese Restaurant in Portrush’ offers tantalising clues about important issues without ever commiting to them.
The theme of home resonates strongly as Mahon reflects on the changing nature of what home means in an increasingly globalized world. The restaurant represents both the idea of a new home for immigrants and the reshaping of the poet’s own sense of home in Portrush.
‘The Young Housewife’ by William Carlos Williams envisions a few moments in the life of a lonely woman confined to her home.
This poem by Williams does not present a positive perception of one's home. To the young housewife, home is not even a place she can call her own. This, in turn, leads her to feel trapped behind its walls. The poet's diction and imagery offer a poignant portrait of a woman isolated within their own home.
‘The Old Vicarage, Grantchester’ is a light poem about a homesick traveler sentimentally remembering his former home in the English town of Grantchester. The poem takes a gently satirical tone to its subject matter.
There are few poems more focused on the topic of home than 'The Old Vicarage, Grantchester.' In fact, one of the titles Rupert Brooke originally considered for the poem was 'Home.' In the poem, a homesick traveler in Germany fondly remembers his old home back in England. The entire poem is one of praise of an old home now sentimentally and dreamily recalled. Through its gentle satire, the poem shows how memories of home can be invested with sentimental, melodramatic ideas.
‘De Gustibus’ by Robert Browning is a thoughtfully composed poem that speaks about memory and the importance of specific places in one’s life.
The places described, especially Italy, are present in this poem as more than just locations for Browning. They evoke deep feelings of home. The poem suggests that "home" isn't just a physical space but an emotional one.
‘The Sea Eats the Land At Home’ is the story a small town that is destroyed by an angry sea and all the lives that are impacted.
The poem addresses the topic of home by portraying it as a place of safety and belonging that is tragically disrupted by the sea’s invasion. The destruction of homes symbolizes the loss of security, comfort, and identity. As the sea engulfs their living spaces, the community’s sense of home is shattered, leaving behind grief and displacement.
‘Homecoming’ by Lenrie Peters is a poem about someone returning home after a long time away. This person is moved by the immense changes that their home has undergone during this period.
Home is a central topic as the speaker returns to a place that no longer feels the same or offers comfort. The poem explores the emotional connection to home and how changes can affect our sense of belonging. It reflects the struggle to find comfort in a place that has been transformed.
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