15+ Must-Read Poems about Islands

(15 to start, 19+ to explore)

Poems about islands capture the allure and mystique of these isolated paradises. These verses paint picturesque landscapes, bringing into the reader’s mind the beauty of secluded shores, lush forests, and turquoise waters.

Islands often serve as symbols of escape, freedom, and self-discovery, inviting readers to seek solace and introspection away from the world’s noise. These poems may also explore themes of isolation, both physical and emotional, and the journey to find belonging and connection. Through the lens of islands, poets transport readers to idyllic settings where dreams and realities converge.

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"> 75/100

The Virgins

by Derek Walcott

Derek Walcott’s poem ‘The Virgins’ gives a holistic view of the life, economy, and culture of one of the Virgin Islands of the US, Saint Croix.

This Derek Walcott poem is about the Virgin Islands, especially the island town of Frederiksted and its history.

Down the dead streets of sun-stoned Frederiksted,

the first free port to die for tourism,

strolling at funeral pace, I am reminded

of life not lost to the American dream;

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"> 73/100

The Island

by A. A. Milne

A. A. Milne’s ‘The Island’ presents the speaker’s desire to land on a distant island, from where he overlooks the sea like a king.

This poem is the perfect piece to describe the longing for a tropical paradise. Milne uses a mysterious, distant island as a metaphor for finding perfect seclusion and contentment.

If I had a ship,

I’d sail my ship,

I’d sail my ship

Through Eastern seas

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Cetacean

by Peter Reading

‘Cetacean’ by Peter Reading describes a speaker’s whale watching experience and the overall grace of the blue whales he observed.

The poem presents islands as isolated ecosystems, both beautiful and vulnerable. It reflects on their rich biodiversity and the delicate balance they maintain. Through the imagery of marine life surrounding these lands, it highlights the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the human impact threatening their survival, urging readers to appreciate their uniqueness and protect them from ecological degradation.

Out of Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, Sunday, early,

our vessel, bow to stern, some sixty-three feet,

to observe Blue Whales -and we did, off the Farallones.

They were swimming slowly, and rose at a shallow angle

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A Night on the Island

by Pablo Neruda

‘A Night on the Island’ by Pablo Neruda is a lyric poem about intimacy between partners in a romantic relationship.

This element is in the title of the poem, is the poem's physical setting and a tool to describe the speaker's bond with his lover. The poem focuses on a couple who spend a night sleeping by the sea on an island. The speaker employs the natural elements of this island (the earth and sea especially) to describe certain aspects of his relationship with his partner.

The whole night long I have slept with you

next to the sea, on the island.

You were wild and gentle between pleasure and dreams,

between fire and water.

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Circe

by Hilda Doolittle

‘Circe’ by Hilda Doolittle is a poem that gives voice to Circe, a goddess and master of magical enchantments. Despite her power, she laments that she cannot control love.

In 'Circe,' the goddess's island is her own private universe where she rules over the men she has conquered with her magic. However, Circe, like the half-men-half-animals, is trapped on her island without a companion. The isolation and loneliness seem to get to her emotions as she pines for a long-lost lover who does not respond to her magic.

It was easy enough

to bend them to my wish,

it was easy enough

to alter them with a touch,

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Island Man

by Grace Nichols

‘Island Man’ contrasts tranquil island life with London’s urban rush, highlighting a deep yearning for simplicity.

The entire poem centers around the memory of an island. From the moment the man wakes, the sounds and feeling of the sea return to him. The island is more than a place; it represents peace, belonging, and identity. Even though the man now lives in the city, the island stays with him every morning. The strong presence of the island makes this the most clearly portrayed topic in the entire poem.

Morning

And Island man wakes up

To the sound of blue surf

In his head

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If You Forget Me

by Pablo Neruda

‘If You Forget Me’ speaks directly to the speaker’s lover, warning her what will happen if she falls out of love with him.

The speaker uses islands as part of a beautiful image, where small boats travel toward the places where his lover is waiting. This is not just about land or water but about the feeling of distance and longing. The islands represent separation and desire, but also the hope of arrival and closeness. The word choice helps make the emotional distance feel physical, which adds depth to the poem and makes this topic quietly meaningful.

If suddenly

you forget me

do not look for me,

for I shall already have forgotten you.

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Odysseus to Telemachus

by Joseph Brodsky

‘Odysseus to Telemachus’ by Joseph Brodsky is told from the perspective of the epic hero, Odysseus, while he is stranded on Circe’s island.

Islands symbolize a sense of isolation, longing, and the quest for home. The depiction of islands as similar and interchangeable reflects the narrator's disorientation and longing for a specific place, while also evoking a universal sense of searching and the desire for stability amidst the vastness of the sea.

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

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Sea Grapes

by Derek Walcott

‘Sea Grapes’ by Derek Walcott is a deep and interesting poem. In it, Walcott uses numerous allusions to convey a message about choosing between lust and responsibility.

The poem mentions islands not just as places, but as symbols of tiredness, isolation, and emotional weight. The schooner is described as tired of islands, suggesting a desire to move beyond limits or burdens. Islands also reflect the Caribbean setting and Walcott’s own background. They represent places surrounded by water, cut off from the rest of the world, just as Odysseus was separated from home. This makes the idea of islands feel emotionally loaded.

That sail which leans on light,

tired of islands,

a schooner beating up the Caribbean

#10

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Look, Stranger

by W.H. Auden

‘Look, Stranger’ by W. H. Auden captures the beauty of a moment observed by the speaker and reveals the very human desire to commit it to memory.

The poem begins by describing that the speaker is on an island. This is a small detail that just serves to orient the speaker and is also a reference perhaps to Auden's home country of England. But it also contributes to the speaker's compelling desire to share the view with anyone, be they a stranger or not.

Look, stranger, on this island now

The leaping light for your delight discovers,

Stand stable here

And silent be,

#11

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Atoll

by Robert Service

Robert Service visits the fantasy of living alone on an island in ‘Atoll,’ and depicts it as an experience both unique and unsettling.

The woes of men beyond my ken

Mean nothing more to me.

Behold my world, and Eden hurled

From Heaven to the Sea;

#12

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Homecoming: Anse La Raye

by Derek Walcott

‘Homecoming: Anse La Raye’ by Derek Walcott is a complex and interesting poem about when a homecoming doesn’t feel like coming home. It is rich with allusions and connections to Walcott’s real-life experience.

Whatever else we learned

at school, like solemn Afro-Gods eager for grades,

of Helen and the shades

of borrowed ancestors,

#13

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In Her Splendor Islanded

by Octavio Paz

‘In Her Splendor Islanded’ by Octavio Paz describes a woman through various images of water and land that are separated from the rest of the world.

#14

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Ithaca

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘Ithaca’ explores longing and disillusionment, contrasting the hope of return with the harsh reality of unreciprocated love.

And when I returned, I pulled off my stiff and salty sailor’s clothes,

slipped on the dress of the girl I was,

and slid overboard.

A mile from Ithaca, I anchored the boat.

#15

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Names

by Derek Walcott

Walcott’s ‘Names’ probes identity and colonialism’s scars, exploring the struggle for self-definition in a post-colonial Caribbean.

My race began as the sea began,

with no nouns, and with no horizon,

with pebbles under my tongue,

with a different fix on the stars.

Home » Collection » Poems about Islands

15+ Must-Read Poems about Islands

(15 to start, 19+ to explore)

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15+ Must-Read Poems about Islands

(15 to start, 19+ to explore)

by Derek Walcott

by A. A. Milne

by Peter Reading

by Pablo Neruda

by Hilda Doolittle

by Grace Nichols

by Pablo Neruda

by Joseph Brodsky

by Derek Walcott

by W.H. Auden

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