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Sestet poems are a type of verse comprising six lines in a single stanza. The rhyme scheme of sestets can vary, but common patterns include ABCABC, ABABAB, or AABBCC.
Sestet poems offer poets the flexibility to experiment with different rhymes and meter while maintaining the brevity of the form. These poems can delve into diverse topics, from playful and whimsical verses to serious and contemplative themes.
The sestet’s compact structure allows for a focused exploration of emotions, observations, or narratives, and it often contributes to a memorable and impactful poetic experience.
‘Stormcock in Elder’ by Ruth Pitter describes the nature of a mistle thrush which sings in close proximity to the speaker.
By the small door where the old roof Hangs but five feet above the ground, I groped along the shelf for bread But found celestial food instead:
‘Little Red Cap’ by Duffy is a feminist retelling of the classic tale, exploring the empowerment and growth of the little girl.
At childhood’s end, the houses petered out
into playing fields, the factory, allotments
kept, like mistresses, by kneeling married men,
the silent railway line, the hermit’s caravan,
‘Muse’ by Meena Alexander is a poem about the poet’s muse or source of inspiration. The poet recalls meeting and being positively influenced by a girl in her youth.
I was young when you came to me.
Each thing rings its turn,
you sang in my ear, a slip of a thing
In ‘Rabbi Ben Ezra’ by Robert Browning, aging wisdom urges surrender to divine plan, embracing life’s imperfections for spiritual refinement.
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
‘Harlem Shadows’ by Claude McKay memorably addresses the lives of Black sex workers in Harlem. The poet describes their experience while also acknowledging their strength.
I hear the halting footsteps of a lass
In Negro Harlem when the night lets fall
Its veil. I see the shapes of girls who pass
To bend and barter at desire's call.
‘Love Poem’ by Gregory Orr is a short poem about a speaker’s imaginative telling of asking for someone’s phone number.
A black biplane crashes through the window
of the luncheonette. The pilot climbs down,
removing his leather hood.
He hands me my grandmother's jade ring.
Tennyson’s ‘Maud (Part I)’ uses nature’s imagery to express deep love and anticipation for Maud, highlighting the speaker’s emotional wait.
Come into the garden, Maud,
For the black bat, night, has flown,
Come into the garden, Maud,
I am here at the gate alone;
William Wordsworth’s literary classic, ‘Daffodils,’ also known as ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,’ is one of the most popular poems in the English language. It is a quintessential poem of the Romantic movement.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
‘On Her Loving Two Equally’ by Aphra Behn is a portrayal of a woman’s heart torn between two lovers, clearly illustrating the agony and indecision that accompany such deep, conflicting emotions.
How strongly does my Passion flow,
Divided equally ’twixt two?
Damon had ne’er subdued my heart,
Had not Alexis took his part;
‘The Spider and the Fly’ by Mary Howitt describes the entrapment of a silly fly who gives into her own vanity and loses her life to a cunning spider.
"Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,
"'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to shew when you are there."
‘The Storm-Wind’ by William Barnes contrasts peace and danger with images of home and a terrifying storm. The poem emphasizes how much easier it is to appreciate the safety of home when the conditions outside are so inhospitable.
When the swift-rolling brook, swollen deep,
Rushes on by the alders, full speed,
And the wild-blowing winds lowly sweep
O'er the quivering leaf and the weed,
And the willow tree writhes in each limb,
Over sedge-reeds that reel by the brim —
‘War Photographer’ by Carol Ann Duffy is an interesting poem. It depicts the unrest in the world from a photographer’s perspective.
In his dark room he is finally alone
with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.
The only light is red and softly glows,
as though this were a church and he
‘Your Last Drive’ reflects on the eerie prelude to his wife’s death, weaving themes of love, loss, and existential contemplation.
Here by the moorway you returned,
And saw the borough lights ahead
That lit your face—all undiscerned
To be in a week the face of the dead,
‘Barn Owl’ by Gwen Harwood is a powerful poem about losing one’s innocence. While using symbolism, the poet depicts a child sneaking off to shoot a barn owl.
Daybreak: the household slept.
I rose, blessed by the sun.
A horny fiend, I crept
out with my father's gun.
‘Conductor’ by Marilyn Nelson offers the rousing introspections of a conductor on The Underground Railroad who asserts the necessity of replacing self-preservation with an instinctual selflessness.
When did my knees learn how to forecast rain,
and my hairbrush start yielding silver curls?
Of late, a short walk makes me short of breath,
and every day begins and ends with pain.
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