Inside: Our favorite yellow poems to celebrate the best spring color.
Yellow is the happiest color on the whole color wheel. It’s the color of the sun, of flowers, it’s in rainbows and hair, it’s everywhere! Its been a proud contributor to the arts as well, dating all the way back to the cavemen era.
That makes it one of the oldest colors in history! It’s been found on cave paintings that are over 17,000 years old and has been in nature since things first began to grow. So of course, there are poems dedicated to it!
I mean, I couldn’t help but make a rhyme myself with those with a few of these sentences. Yellow is just perfect for poems! In fact, I’ve created a list of 21 of the best poems dedicated to the color yellow.
But first, a brief history. That’s right…colors have history too…
The History of Yellow
As stated above, yellow was found to be one of the oldest colors in history, dating back to the caveman era. They used the yellow pigmentation from plants to paint with. This was also used by ancient Egypt and Rome to depict skin color. During the renaissance time, they used what was referred to as ‘Indian Yellow’, which was achieved through cows only eating mango leaves….yuck!
Throughout time, yellow has obtained its own meaning and symbolism as well. In many ancient religions, yellow was seen as sacred and indestructible. This is because many religions worshiped the sun god, and the sun is perceived as yellow. The ancient Egyptians believed that their god’s skin and bones were gold and used yellow to pigment their skin in depictions! In Buddhism, this color is important too, to them it symbolizes humility. Today, yellow can symbolize happiness, summertime, spontaneity, and celebration!
The yellow dye that is used to dye fabrics and to paint with can be created using many things. These days things can be done synthetically, but back in the day, they’d use nature. Things like Celery, Peachtree leaves, & Dandelions were used to obtain its hue!
Yellow’s Effect on Brain
Yellow also has been proven to have psychological effects on the brain! It affects the left side of the brain to be exact. Out of all of the colors, Yellow is the most noticeable to human eyes. This color is said to aid in analytical thinking. It also brings up feelings of happiness and optimism in those who see it. Though too much yellow at one time can actually lead to annoyance and agitation from viewers and may also make you visually fatigued. Who knew one color held so much power!
With yellow being so present in our lives and in art, it should be of no surprise that there have been poems written about it as well! Some of my favorite poems are dedicated to colors and yellow is among the highest of them. It’s affected people throughout the world. I’ve created a list of 21 of the best poems about the color Yellow that you must read! Scroll down to get started!
Poems about Yellow
1.Yellow Shoes in the Darkness
Walking through the land of shadows
wearing my yellow shoes
With each and every step
I created color and hues
The shadows started retreating
As color permeated the ground
Out of the shadowy darkness
I heard a horrible sound
“You do not belong here
I command you to go away
You are in the land of darkness
You must listen to what I say”
I kept on moving forward
Not sure what I would see
Where was the voice coming from
I looked behind a tree
Light and color expanded
Traveling up straight to the skies
The entity that so scared me
Was right before my eyes
As my shoes banished the darkness
The entity was reduced to tears
Without the aid of shadows
He couldn’t tap into my fears
I then reached down to touch him
I told him that he was safe
He looked up with confusion
As I gazed upon his face
“Are you here to destroy me?
Have you come to take me away?
There is a purpose for shadows
They create hope for brighter days.”
I heard what he was saying
The shadows have their reason
In order for spring to come
We need a darker season
So I removed my yellow shoes
Watched as the shadows returned
It was time for me to go home
With this strange lesson I had learned
-Richard Lamoureux
2. Daffodils
on stalks of green are faces of yellow
daffodils smile and say hello
social butterflies as they cluster
tilting their heads in chitter chatter
intoxicating musk of narcissi passion
flowing yellow ribbons over hills of green
bringing my world back to colour
after winter’s black and white dream
-Sherry Ann
3. The Yellow Violet
4. Theme in Yellow
5. Haiku
The low yellow
moon above the
Quiet lamplit house.
-Jack Kerouac
6. Yellow
Yellow is the sun of childhood
the certain day
the fine silk strands
of youthful years
and wearing them
in a simple dress
of pale shantung
natural delicate
rustling against warm thighs
Yellow is a daisy-chain of memories
picking primroses in the woods
on Mothering Sunday
mailing them home in a tin box –
the flowers arranged on damp moss
sandals on sea fronts
Italian ice-cream
English mustard in a blue glass pot
Welsh rarebit and tea
with my father on visiting days.
Yellow is perfect dawn –
a bouquet of open beaks in a nest
promising next year
and the year after next
it is the pure primary before the smudges
of growing up clouds it with tears
Yellow is a hurting joy like Chopin
it clings with tendrils to my mind
-Phillipa Lane
7. Modern Love: XI
8. Part II: Nature
NATURE rarer uses yellow
Than another hue;
Saves she all of that for sunsets,—
Prodigal of blue,
Spending scarlet like a woman, 5
Yellow she affords
Only scantly and selectly,
Like a lover’s words.
-Emily Dickenson
9. Symphony In Yellow
An omnibus across the bridge
Crawls like a yellow butterfly,
And, here and there a passer-by
Shows like a little restless midge.
Big barges full of yellow hay
Are moored against the shadowy wharf,
And, like a yellow silken scarf,
The thick fog hangs along the quay.
The yellow leaves begin to fade
And flutter from the temple elms,
And at my feet the pale green Thames
Lies like a rod of rippled jade
-Oscar Wilde
10. Yellow Flowers
You made me love yellow flowers
in the middle of July,
when everything was dying
because the ground was so dry.
You offered them to me
with the faintest smile on your face,
caressed the lemon petals
as you put them on display.
I looked at them quizzically,
questioning there presence.
You embraced me with laughter,
said they’re my essence.
You told me a short story
of blossoms and blooms,
and strength and survival,
in the midst of gloom.
And I fell in love with yellow flowers
because of the story you shared,
and I cherished their sunshine,
and the meaning they bared.
And then they were gone.
Along with you
and your stories and smile.
No laughter or embrace.
No petals or blooms,
sunshine or lemons.
The ground was dry
and cracked
and barren.
And I was alone,
with just a fading scent
and drifting memories.
You made me love yellow flowers,
then you took them away.
-Rapsede Blu
Yellow Poetry
People from all across time and space have written poetry dedicated to the color yellow. By space, I mean the earth, but one-day real space may actually be a real thing too! This is one of my favorite things about poetry. You can read someone’s words from over 100 years ago and be moved, inspired even. Not only is this person a stranger, but you didn’t even exist during the same time, and yet they can have an impact on you. Our connections to other humans can span several lifetimes, and that is amazing to me. When reading the poems below, it’s like you’re reading in a time machine!
11. Light
The color of happiness
Fills my senses
The taste
The sensation
The sight
The smell
The sound
Yellow surrounds my entire being,
and I couldn’t be happier.
-Unknown
12. Yellow
Filled with beauty.
Filled with admiration.
An admiration louder than scorn.
These yellow giants stare at their goddess in awe.
They’re happy flowers with smiley faces,
sun praising angels.
That when their goddess’s light is unveiled, they shower in her glistened kisses.
Though when she leaves, they sense her absence, and are left with the feeling of unpleasance.
Such graceful worshippers can’t help but embody the sun.
Amber, a sort of honey glow color, within each petal, of each sunflower.
Sky high, it’s green stems towers it’s environment.
Towers it like an ocean-cliff.
Vibrant and warm.
As free as air, they stand tremendously stunning and yellow.
That yellow.
The yellow from a lemon.
The yellow so bright, so alive,
like their goddess’s.
These yellow flowers,
These yellow giants,
Are the sun’s very own yellow guardians.
-Sammy
13. Yellow
the stars are yellow
the moon is yellow
the sun is yellow
my sheets are yellow
in it is my fellow
his eyes are mellow
he takes my hand
and I take his
and together
we create lovely yellow
-Unknown
14. Colors
What is pink? a rose is pink
By a fountain’s brink.
What is red? a poppy’s red
In its barley bed.
What is blue? the sky is blue
Where the clouds float thro’.
What is white? a swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? the grass is green,
With small flowers between.
What is violet? clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why, an orange,
Just an orange!
-Christina Rossetti
15. Porphyria’s Lover Excerpt(Read full poem here)
She put my arm about her waist,
And made her smooth white shoulder bare,
And all her yellow hair displaced,
And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,
And spread, o’er all, her yellow hair,
Murmuring how she loved me — she
Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour,
-Robert Browning
16. Apricot
soft apricot
skin golden
yellow summer fruit
-Zera Masters
she heard tales about saving grapefruit skins for cooking
she grew bright under the neon dragon of Chinatown
she made saffron curry rice for friends
she attended a barbecue in Amarillo, Texas
she stepped around yellow piss in snow
she cut herself on a Hawaiian pineapple
she learned to name forsythia where it grew
visions of ochre and citronella eluded he
-Frances Chung
18. Mau Vang
The sun glows
the same color
as my skin
as sunflowers
as happiness
but why
does the color of my people
the color that means joy
the same color I’m proud of
be the same reason that
you measure my worth
and the weight isn’t in gold
-Anna Dang
19. Yellow Senses
Yellow is beautiful
And kind.
Yellow tastes sour down my throat.
It feels like the warmth of the sky.
Yellow sounds like kids laughing down the street.
It feels like warmth upon my head.
Yellow looks like a big circle in the sky.
It makes me smile and play.
Yellow is my favorite color.
-Favor M. Abioye
20. Colors Passing Through Us Excerpt(Read full poem here)
21. For Anne Gregory
‘NEVER shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.’
‘But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,
Brown, or black, or carrot,
That young men in despair
May love me for myself alone
And not my yellow hair.’
‘I heard an old religious man
But yesternight declare
That he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.’
-William Butler Yeats
- 17 Black Love Poems – It has been said that poetry is the language of love. For centuries, people have taken to poetry to express their innermost feelings and thoughts, and to create amazing art out of these complex and poignant emotions. Love poems are steeped in passion, lust, appreciation, and romance. These black love poems portray themes of love, but also the deep cultural connection within the African American community that adds a nuanced layer of intimacy to a romantic relationship. Sharing black love poems with your partner is a wonderful way to show them how much they truly mean to you and to make them feel seen, appreciated, and cared for.
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17 Black Love Poems – Everyone has times when they feel discouraged, down on themselves, and even hopeless. Many times, this is due to a lack of belief in oneself and a deterioration of self worth. In those times, reading poems about confidence that describes these struggles and overcoming difficulties can be inspiring and encouraging. We often find strength in ourselves when we read about strength in others. Self assurance is a common theme in poetry: sonnets, haikus, and free verse alike. Many poets and writers turn to the written word during difficult times in their lives, and so these poems are touching, relatable, and hit close to the heart of those lacking faith in themselves. When you are struggling, reading these works of art will surely strengthen and encourage you. Take a moment to read some of these impactful and powerful quotes and poems about confidence that explore the themes of strength and self worth.
- 23 Incredible Rumi Poems. Persian poet Rumi has earned renown for the way that his deeply intimate works of writing have infiltrated literature and pop culture for many centuries. Read these poems about the complexities of love and life to see why Rumi has always been so loved by readers.
- 53 Amazing Sister Poems. There is nothing quite like the bond shared between siblings, especially the one between sisters. These pieces about sisterly love are sure to warm your heart and make you want to reach out to your favorite sister.
