15+ Captivating Morning Poems

(15 to start, 30+ to explore)

These morning poems welcome the beginning of the day and celebrate the new beauty each morning brings. They capture the essence of hope, renewal, and the promise of a fresh start.

Poets use imagery of sunrises, birdsong, and dewdrops, invoking the beauty and serenity of the early hours. These verses may contemplate the awakening of nature and the human spirit, inspiring readers to embrace each day with gratitude and optimism.

Poems about Mornings Visual Representation

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

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To My Sister

by William Wordsworth

‘To My Sister’ is a serene call to embrace nature’s joy with loved ones, setting aside life’s hustle for spiritual renewal.

The setting of the poem takes place just after breakfast, on the first mild morning of March. This choice of time plays a key role in setting the poem’s mood. Morning is used to symbolize freshness, new beginnings, and the gentle start of something better. It becomes a moment of peace before the rest of the day unfolds. The early hour reflects a sense of hope and calm, giving the poem a soft and reassuring tone.

It is the first mild day of March:

Each minute sweeter than before

The redbreast sings from the tall larch

That stands beside our door.

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Morning at the Window

by T.S. Eliot

‘Morning at the Window’ presents the dejected lives of lower-class city people through the observations of an upper-class speaker.

'Morning at the Window' interacts with mornings as the speaker looks down out of his window on a mundane morning and captures his observations in the poem. The speaker observes the dejected and desolated lives of the lower-class people who have started their work while he is watching from above. Thus, two different mornings are evident, emphasizing the implicit idea of class injustice, suffering, and anguish of lower-class people in a modern city.

They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,

And along the trampled edges of the street

I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids

Sprouting despondently at area gates.

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Four Movements in the Scale of Two

by Owen Sheers

‘Four Movements in the Scale of Two’ traces a relationship’s lifecycle through musical metaphors, from harmony to dissonance.

The poem opens with the couple lying together early in the morning, which helps set the tone for something fresh and filled with promise. Morning here stands for new beginnings, for hope and quiet comfort. It also mirrors the early stage of the relationship, when things are still calm and full of potential. The calmness of that moment is something the speaker seems to long for later, as the rest of the poem turns toward loss.

Cut to us, an overhead shot, early morning,

Lying in bed, foetus curled,

back to naked back.

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An Extraordinary Morning

by Philip Levine

‘An Extraordinary Morning’ by Philip Levine is a moving poem that exalts and admires the brotherly love shared between two laborers enjoying being off the clock.

The title of this poem by Philip Levine indicates to the reader that it takes place in the morning. This detail reveals that the two men spent their night working long hours, making their hard-earned short week all the more appreciated. It also touches on dawn's symbolism as a moment of renewal and new beginnings.

Two young men—you just might call them boys—

waiting for the Woodward streetcar to get

them downtown. Yes, they’re tired, they’re also

dirty, and happy. Happy because they’ve

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Driving to the Hospital

by Kate Clanchy

‘Driving to the Hospital’ by Kate Clanchy captures a reflective car journey, blending love, memory, and shared moments into tender verse.

The moment happens at dawn, which brings a certain calmness to the scene. The speaker describes the city as still and quiet, and that early morning silence adds to the feeling of peace. This time of day reflects the mood of the poem. It is not rushed or loud but slow and thoughtful. The early hour gives the memory a fresh and peaceful tone that stays steady throughout the poem.

We were low on petrol

so I said let's freewheel

when we get to the hill.

It was dawn and the city

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Here we go round the mulberry bush

by Anonymous

‘Here we go round the mulberry bush’ was first recorded in the mid-nineteenth century by James Orchard Halliwell. It was noted, as a great deal of nursery rhymes were, as a children’s game.

The setting of the poem is a cold and frosty morning, which emphasizes the daily routine that starts each day. The children go through their morning tasks, like brushing teeth and getting dressed, which are universal parts of beginning a day. The repetition of these activities shows how mornings are structured and predictable, creating a comforting routine for children as they start their day together.

Here we go round the mulberry bush,

The mulberry bush,

The mulberry bush.

Here we go round the mulberry bush

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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 structure of the poem follows a single morning from sleep to waking. It starts with peaceful, dreamlike sounds and moves into the harsh reality of city life. That slow transition from comfort to effort is something many people can relate to. The poem does not just describe the time of day but captures how mornings can feel different depending on where you are and what you carry within you.

Morning

And Island man wakes up

To the sound of blue surf

In his head

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Steps

by Frank O’Hara

‘Steps’ by Frank O’Hara is one of the poet’s many pieces that explores life in New York City. It is written in his characteristic style and is filled with allusions that are sometimes hard to interpret.

This O'Hara poem opens with the poet getting out of bed in the morning and seeing what New York has to offer him today. The poem ends with an image of the morning and the poet's love for feeling alive with cigarettes and coffee.

How funny you are today New York

like Ginger Rogers in Swingtime

and St. Bridget’s steeple leaning a little to the left

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A Description of the Morning

by Jonathan Swift

‘A Description of the Morning’ by Jonathan Swift describes the various events happening one morning in London’s West End in the early 1700s.

Now hardly here and there a hackney-coach

Appearing, show'd the ruddy morn's approach.

Now Betty from her master's bed had flown,

And softly stole to discompose her own.

#10

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Artist’s Life

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

‘Artist’s Life’ by Ella Wheeler Wilcox describes the personal and emotional connection a speaker has to Strauss’ composition, Artist’s Life.

Of all the waltzes the great Strauss wrote,

mad with melody, rhythm—rife

From the very first to the final note,

Give me his “Artist’s Life!”

#11

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August Morning

by Albert Garcia

‘August Morning’ by Garcia finds joy in everyday tranquility, celebrating human life’s serene, quiet moments.

#12

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Break of Day

by John Donne

‘Break of Day’ by John Donne is an aubade told from a female perspective. It conveys a woman’s understanding of her relationship with a busy lover.

‘Tis true, ‘tis day, what though it be?

O wilt thou therefore rise from me?

Why should we rise because ‘tis light?

Did we lie down because ‘twas night?

#13

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Children

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

‘Children’ celebrates the joy of childhood, using nature metaphors to contrast youthful light against adult melancholy.

Come to me, O ye children!

For I hear you at your play,

And the questions that perplexed me

Have vanished quite away.

#14

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Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

by William Wordsworth

The poem, ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802, is a celebration of this city, referencing to the bridge over the River Thames.

Earth has not any thing to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

#15

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Life

by Charlotte Brontë

‘Life’ by Charlotte Brontë describes the overwhelming true merriment of life and dispels the images of life a dreary and dark dream to be suffered through.

Life, believe, is not a dream

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day.

Home » Collection » Poems about Mornings

15+ Captivating Morning Poems

(15 to start, 30+ to explore)

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15+ Captivating Morning Poems

(15 to start, 30+ to explore)

by William Wordsworth

by T.S. Eliot

by Owen Sheers

by Philip Levine

by Kate Clanchy

by Anonymous

by Grace Nichols

by Frank O’Hara

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