Inside: 21 poems about light to brighten up your day today.
Light is everything. Without it, we would have nothing. No heat, no visibility, no color. And these are all things associated with happiness.
When you separate light from life, you find darkness, unease, and the cold. All things associated with sadness. To separate from light is to separate from life, joy, and happiness.
While we all need the night to truly enjoy the day, grab ahold of the light and embrace the hours in the sunshine.There’s so many poems, works of art, and songs out there in the world about light and darkness. The contrast of light and shadows traditionally is resembling good versus evil or joy versus depression and sadness. But today we’re going to honor light and read many poems about how the light changes our lives for the better.
Light is all around us, and even if it’s the light from a phone screen, there’s still life to be found.
My favorite form of exercise is yoga. While it’s a lot of meditation, it’s the best workout I’ve ever had, too. It’s a great combination of stretching your mental strength as well as your physical.
At the end of each class, my yoga teacher instructs the class to hold our hands in prayer position and say, “namaste” to salute love and light all around us. It’s a beautiful reminder in the mornings to never neglect or look past the love and light that surrounds me during the day. Because there is a lot of love to be taken for granted and light to be overlooked. I love to keep this reminder close to mind throughout the day.
Solute your love and light today by reading these poems about light! It will brighten up your day for sure and bring you some internal and natural joy that we could all use a little bit of.
Inspirational Poem About Light
Poems are meant to make us feel a lot of things, because the author of the poem was likely feeling a lot of things when they wrote it.
If they felt sad, we feel sad.
If they felt inspired, we feel inspired.
How they feel while writing is likely dripping into the pages (or the keyboard) that they’re writing with, and their words are communicating it to us so that we may experience the same feeling. After all, is that not the whole point?!
So get inspired by these poems about light.
1. They are all Gone into the World of Light
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.
It glows and glitters in my cloudy breast,
Like stars upon some gloomy grove,
Or those faint beams in which this hill is drest,
After the sun’s remove.
I see them walking in an air of glory,
Whose light doth trample on my days:
My days, which are at best but dull and hoary,
Mere glimmering and decays.
O holy Hope! and high Humility,
High as the heavens above!
These are your walks, and you have show’d them me
To kindle my cold love.
Dear, beauteous Death! the jewel of the just,
Shining nowhere, but in the dark;
What mysteries do lie beyond thy dust
Could man outlook that mark!
He that hath found some fledg’d bird’s nest, may know
At first sight, if the bird be flown;
But what fair well or grove he sings in now,
That is to him unknown.
And yet as angels in some brighter dreams
Call to the soul, when man doth sleep:
So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes
And into glory peep.
If a star were confin’d into a tomb,
Her captive flames must needs burn there;
But when the hand that lock’d her up, gives room,
She’ll shine through all the sphere.
O Father of eternal life, and all
Created glories under thee!
Resume thy spirit from this world of thrall
Into true liberty.
Either disperse these mists, which blot and fill
My perspective still as they pass,
Or else remove me hence unto that hill,
Where I shall need no glass.
By Harry Vaughn
2. Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines
Light breaks where no sun shines;
Where no sea runs, the waters of the heart
Push in their tides;
And, broken ghosts with glow-worms in their heads,
The things of light
File through the flesh where no flesh decks the bones.
A candle in the thighs
Warms youth and seed and burns the seeds of age;
Where no seed stirs,
The fruit of man unwrinkles in the stars,
Bright as a fig;
Where no wax is, the candle shows its hairs.
Dawn breaks behind the eyes;
From poles of skull and toe the windy blood
Slides like a sea;
Nor fenced, nor staked, the gushers of the sky
Spout to the rod
Divining in a smile the oil of tears.
Night in the sockets rounds,
Like some pitch moon, the limit of the globes;
Day lights the bone;
Where no cold is, the skinning gales unpin
The winter’s robes;
The film of spring is hanging from the lids.
Light breaks on secret lots,
On tips of thought where thoughts smell in the rain;
When logics dies,
The secret of the soil grows through the eye,
And blood jumps in the sun;
Above the waste allotments the dawn halts.
3. Sudden Light
I have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.
You have been mine before,—
How long ago I may not know:
But just when at that swallow’s soar
Your neck turn’d so,
Some veil did fall,—I knew it all of yore.
Has this been thus before?
And shall not thus time’s eddying flight
Still with our lives our love restore
In death’s despite,
And day and night yield one delight once more?
4. The Light of Stars
The night is come, but not too soon;
And sinking silently,
All silently, the little moon
Drops down behind the sky.
There is no light in earth or heaven
But the cold light of stars;
And the first watch of night is given
To the red planet Mars.
Is it the tender star of love?
The star of love and dreams?
O no! from that blue tent above,
A hero’s armor gleams.
And earnest thoughts within me rise,
When I behold afar,
Suspended in the evening skies,
The shield of that red star.
O star of strength! I see thee stand
And smile upon my pain;
Thou beckonest with thy mailèd hand,
And I am strong again.
Within my breast there is no light
But the cold light of stars;
I give the first watch of the night
To the red planet Mars.
The star of the unconquered will,
He rises in my breast,
Serene, and resolute, and still,
And calm, and self-possessed.
And thou, too, whosoe’er thou art,
That readest this brief psalm,
As one by one thy hopes depart,
Be resolute and calm.
O fear not in a world like this,
And thou shalt know erelong,
Know how sublime a thing it is
To suffer and be strong.
5. There’s A Certain Slant Of Light
There’s a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference –
Where the Meanings, are –
None may teach it – Any –
‘Tis the seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –
When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, ’tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –
Spiritual Poems About Light
There are a lot of poems that have spiritual references, especially when it comes to light and darkness as it represents good and evil. If you need some spiritual references this week, here are some spiritual poems about light. The good guys.
6. Free Your Mind
You are the expression of God’s radiant light.
Release your Spirit on its long and glorious flight.
Free your mind, look into your heart.
Turn on your light, this is how your start.
Hatred and malice will simply float away,
leaving peace and pardon to guide you on your way.
Free your mind, look into your heart.
Turn on your light, this is how you start.
Cherish the moment, it will never come again.
See God’s reflection in the faces of all men.
Don’t let yourself be frightened by a mission oh so vast.
Be in the present, don’t hang on to the past.
Free your mind, look into your heart.
Turn on your light, this is how you start.
This is your moment, this is your song.
Sing it our proudly and let others sing along.
7. My Heart Reaches For A Spiritual Light
My heart reaches for a spiritual light
to understand my own self
and the universe at large.
‘What is your religion? ‘
They ask me.
I answer always.
‘All that leads me to the light
is the religion of my heart’.
Nothing glows brighter
than the heart awakened to the light
of love that lives within it.
By Dr. Antony Theodore
8. The Light That Shines in the Darkness
There’s a light that shines in the darkness.
There’s a destiny waiting at the end of the road.
There’s meaning in the middle of this emptiness.
There’s a reason you’ve been asked to carry this heavy load.
Lessons are taught when we reach out
Farther than we thought we’d ever dare.
Faith abounds when we confront our deepest doubts,
Enduring more than we dreamed we could ever bear.
There’s a dawn waiting at the edge of every midnight.
There’s a seed planted with every fallen leaf.
With every wrong there’s the chance to make a right.
With every hour of suffering there’s an eternity of relief.
Our darkest moments give us the opportunity
For seasons of our greatest growth.
Everyday we work towards continuity
Of acceptance and persistent hope.
And there’s a light that shines in the darkness.
There’s a star that guides the way.
There’s a gate that’s open to forgiveness.
There’s a shepherd who saves those who’ve gone astray.
Short Poems About Light
Not everything has to be long to be insightful. Here are some shorter poems for you to think about and reflect on the light in your life. It’s really everywhere, and sometimes you just need a few words to really spark an inspiration to start seeing it around you more often.
Mark Twain I believe once said that someone that can tell a story in fewer words is a better storyteller than the one who does it in many. Some of these short poems will probably do the trick.
9. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight
o not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
10. Warm Summer Sun
Warm summer sun,
Shine kindly here,
Warm southern wind,
Blow softly here.
Green sod above,
Lie light, lie light.
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, good night.
11. Lighthouse
I looked out over
the peninsula of ice
reaching out into the rippling lake,
unsettled as I.
Snow covered peaks on the horizon
like clouds,
dreams and ideals melted
in decades poured out
in earnest labor.
The tall gaunt preacher
stood stoop-shouldered
his black hat barely gripped
in his hand held against his left leg
his face sad, eyes cast down
as if to discern what had gone wrong.
The rusted out bike
tires flattened, lay on bricks discarded
from an old church
with a cast iron cross
aching and alienated.
A once sparkling life
may seem barely more than refuge
but a soul stirs
still beaming,
a lighthouse
on the sea
crashing against the rocky shoal.
12. A Light In The Attic
There’s a light on in the attic.
Thought the house is dark and shuttered,
I can see a flickerin’ flutter,
And I know what it’s about.
There’s a light on in the attic.
I can see it from the outside.
And I know you’re on the inside… lookin’ out.
13. No Difference
Small as a peanut,
Big as a giant,
We’re all the same size
When we turn off the light
Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We’re all worth the same
When we turn off the light.
Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light.
So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for God to just reach out
And turn off the light!
14. The Lamplighter
My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky.
It’s time to take the window to see Leerie going by;
For every night at teatime and before you take your seat,
With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.
Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,
And my papa’s a banker and as rich as he can be;
But I, when I am stronger and can choose what I’m to do,
O Leerie, I’ll go round at night and light the lamps with you!
For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door,
And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more;
And oh! before you hurry by with ladder and with light;
O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him to-night!
Light And Dark
Light and dark are all around us. Art drawings and paintings are made up of colors in different shades. It’s all light and shadows that make a picture. Not shapes and objects.
Light and dark define our lives in a metaphorical sense. Let yourself see it more clearly after reading these poems on light and dark.
15. Children Of Light
Our fathers wrung their bread from stocks and stones
And fenced their gardens with the Redmen’s bones;
Embarking from the Nether Land of Holland,
Pilgrims unhouseled by Geneva’s night,
They planted here the Serpent’s seeds of light;
And here the pivoting searchlights probe to shock
The riotous glass houses built on rock,
And candles gutter by an empty altar,
And light is where the landless blood of Cain
Is burning, burning the unburied grain.
16. Glimmer of hope
I escape the recesses of my mind,
But my throughts keep me in a bind.
The thoughts I resist,
While my mind insists.
Step by step, I dive deeper into the depths,
Where my secrets are kept.
You say, “release your mind.”
And I ask, “with what time?”
For me, the experience, much like a casted fishing line, allure;
For you, I imagine, is more like a detour.
Or so I perceive…
But will you leave?
Left to grieve
Trapped with a mind to decieve.
What will I receive?
A brighter day I hope,
Or a moment where even I can gloat.
Little flames flicker in the sea of dark,
Shadows dance in the shape of sharks.
Nipping away at the light,
Only myself in sight.
“Open your eyes, it’ll be alright.”
A hand grips tight,
Giving the strength lacking from my own might.
My heart takes flight,
Down a path that feels right.
By Jason Stevenson
17. Fading Light. [Sitting with my mother]
‘No,’ she said, as we waited, ‘that’s not right.’
Not fading, but returning, rising through
full spectrums of radiant light until,
to the human eye it appears to fade
(pale white to a silver grey)
but it simply steps into a vision
that is reserved for keener eyes than ours.
(like ultraviolet)
Not fading, but transforming, travelling
at a speed forever known as its own.
Always keen to get home in a fit state
to enjoy a few hours with its feet up
by the ebb and glow of its evening fire
(red with blues and greens)
before rising, rested, to greet the dawn
recharged with the full force of the sunrise.
(bold yellow and blood orange)
No, not fading. That fails to see the truth
that it’s taking paths through deeper shadows
(purples and blues mostly)
which our deceptive eyes struggle to grasp
and in our weakness, it is lost to us.
Then she gasped, and I saw that she was right,
the light didn’t fade, but it stepped ahead
waiting at the next bend of hope’s rainbow.
(a glow of pure gold)
18. Light
Light, my light, the world-filling light,
the eye-kissing light,
heart-sweetening light!
Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the center of my life;
the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love;
the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth.
The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light.
Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light.
The light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling,
and it scatters gems in profusion.
Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling,
and gladness without measure.
The heaven’s river has drowned its banks
and the flood of joy is abroad.
19. I Am Not Yours
I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.
You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.
Oh plunge me deep in love – put out
My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
A taper in a rushing wind.
20. Holding the Light
Gather up whatever is
glittering in the gutter,
whatever has tumbled
in the waves or fallen
in flames out of the sky,
for it’s not only our
hearts that are broken,
but the heart
of the world as well.
Stitch it back together.
Make a place where
the day speaks to the night
and the earth speaks to the sky.
Whether we created God
or God created us
it all comes down to this:
In our imperfect world
we are meant to repair
and stitch together
what beauty there is, stitch it
with compassion and wire.
See how everything
we have made gathers
the light inside itself
and overflows? A blessing.
21. Nature’s Gift
It’s how the stars are lit at night
and how the dew drops glisten
How evening shadows mock the light
and it’s how the silence listens
From the gentle sway of trees
that bid such fond adieu
Songs in a summer breeze
a voice so clear, so true
The glory of such symmetry
so more than fills the eye
To the beauty of such poetry
this hopeful heart draws nigh
In natural peace all love is born
To live and thrive each blessed morn
Light is what makes the plants grow, the earth warm up, and the darkness disappear. If you need a little hope and growth today, this is for you. It’s easy especially in the winter to get a little down and hopeless– when the sun goes down early and when the weather is too cold to spend time outside in fresh air, there’s a sense of sadness around us sometimes. But reminding yourself how beautiful the light is and finding the light inside of you will change the game and brighten up your day for sure!
Whatever it is that has you down and needing a little dose of light today, I hope is grows smaller as the light around you grows brighter. These poems about light should bring you up out of the shadows and into the world of joy again.
Need some more life poems? Check these out!
