PoemsShort poems on life
Poems for the thoughtful hours: a birthday that made you count, a train journey, the end of a school year, an evening on the terrace. They are short, plain and written to be understood on the first reading.
English
The Shoes
I bought him shoes a size too big, "He'll grow into them soon." He wore them slapping down the stairs One sunny afternoon. Today I found them by the door, Too small, the laces thin. Nobody told me when it was He stopped just fitting in.
ShareYourGroupOrdinary Day
Nothing happened. Tea was made. The paper came at eight. The milkman rang, the pressure cooker Whistled for the plate. One day I shall look back and see, Among the days gone past, That this was happiness itself, So quiet as it passed.
ShareYourGroupThe Clock
The clock upon my father's wall Has never told a lie. It ticked when I was learning words, It ticks as years go by. It does not hurry, does not wait, For sorrow or for fun. I wind it every Sunday now, The way that he had done.
ShareYourGroupPlatform
The train is late, the tea is hot, The bench is cold and long. A child is sleeping on a trunk, A porter hums a song. We all are going somewhere else, We all have somewhere been. For twenty minutes, strangers share One board, one clock, one scene.
ShareYourGroupOld Diary
I found a diary from the year That I was seventeen. The handwriting was mine, all right. The worries were so green. The exam I thought would end my life, The friend I thought I'd lost. I wish that I could write to him: It's fine. Hold on. It passed.
ShareYourGroupEnough
A roof, a meal, a friend to call, A book beside the bed, Work to do with these two hands, A pillow for my head. I counted what I do not have For years, and it was rough. I counted what I have today. It came to more than enough.
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हिन्दी
आज
कल जो बीत गया, वह किस्सा, कल जो आएगा, अनजान। मुट्ठी में तो बस आज है, इसकी ही कर लो पहचान। चाय को ठंडा मत होने दो, माँ से कर लो बात। जो कहना है, आज ही कह दो, क्या जाने कल की बात।
ShareYourGroupपुरानी डायरी
पुरानी डायरी हाथ लगी, सत्रह बरस का मैं मिला। जिन बातों पर रोया था तब, आज उन्हीं पर हँस पड़ा। जो दोस्त खो जाने का डर था, वह आज भी साथ खड़ा। वक़्त ने जो सबक़ सिखाया, किताबों में नहीं पड़ा।
ShareYourGroupबचपन के जूते
एक नंबर बड़े लिए थे जूते, सोचा, बड़ा हो जाएगा। आज वही जूते छोटे हैं, वक़्त किसे बतलाएगा। कब गोदी से उतरा था वह, कब कंधे तक आ गया। मैं घड़ी देखता रह गया, बचपन चुपके चला गया।
ShareYourGroupसाधारण दिन
कुछ ख़ास नहीं हुआ आज, चाय बनी, अख़बार आया। कुकर ने सीटी मारी, बच्चा स्कूल से घर आया। एक दिन पीछे मुड़ के देखूँगा, तब समझ में आएगा। यही तो सुख था, सीधा सादा, जो शोर नहीं मचाएगा।
ShareYourGroupकाफ़ी है
सिर पर छत है, थाली में रोटी, एक दोस्त है बात को। हाथों में काम है दिन भर, नींद है अच्छी रात को। जो नहीं है, उसे गिनता रहा, उम्र यूँ ही बीत गई। जो है, उसे गिनकर देखा, झोली पूरी भर गई।
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ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
ਵੇਲਾ
ਵੇਲਾ ਕਿਸੇ ਦੀ ਉਡੀਕ ਨਾ ਕਰਦਾ, ਤੁਰਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਚੁੱਪ ਚਾਪ। ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਜਿਹੜੇ ਸੀ ਗੋਦੀ ਖੇਡਦੇ, ਅੱਜ ਬਣ ਗਏ ਆਪ ਮਾਂ ਬਾਪ। ਜੋ ਕਹਿਣਾ, ਅੱਜ ਈ ਕਹਿ ਲੈ, ਜੋ ਕਰਨਾ, ਅੱਜ ਈ ਕਰ। ਮਾਪਿਆਂ ਕੋਲ ਬਹਿ ਕੇ ਦੋ ਘੜੀਆਂ ਗੱਲਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਝੋਲੀ ਭਰ।
ShareYourGroupਸ਼ੁਕਰ
ਸਿਰ ਤੇ ਛੱਤ, ਥਾਲੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਰੋਟੀ, ਮਾਪਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਠੰਢੀ ਛਾਂ। ਇੱਕ ਦੋ ਯਾਰ ਜੋ ਨਾਲ ਖੜ੍ਹਦੇ, ਹੋਰ ਮੈਂ ਰੱਬ ਤੋਂ ਕੀ ਮੰਗਾਂ। ਜੋ ਨਹੀਂ ਮਿਲਿਆ, ਗਿਣਦਾ ਰਿਹਾ, ਉਮਰ ਗਵਾਈ ਸਾਰੀ। ਜੋ ਮਿਲਿਆ, ਜਦ ਗਿਣ ਕੇ ਵੇਖਿਆ, ਝੋਲੀ ਭਰੀ ਸੀ ਭਾਰੀ।
ShareYourGroupਪਿੰਡ ਦਾ ਘਰ
ਜਿੰਦਰਾ ਲੱਗਾ ਬੂਹੇ ਉੱਤੇ, ਵਿਹੜੇ ਉੱਗਿਆ ਘਾਹ। ਜਿੱਥੇ ਬੇਬੇ ਰੋਟੀ ਲਾਹੁੰਦੀ, ਓਥੇ ਸੁੰਨਾ ਰਾਹ। ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੋਠੀ ਪਾ ਲਈ ਵੱਡੀ, ਸਭ ਕੁਝ ਹੈ ਭਰਪੂਰ। ਨੀਂਦ ਉਹ ਨਹੀਂ ਜੋ ਮੰਜੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਆਉਂਦੀ ਸੀ ਪਿੰਡ ਦੂਰ।
ShareYourGroup
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What a poem on life is for
Nobody needs a poem to be told that time passes. We need one to notice it. A good short poem takes something everyone knows, that children grow, that parents age and that ordinary days are the ones we later miss, and makes it felt for a moment. These poems do that with everyday things: a growing child's shoes, an old diary, a clock, a station platform.
Where to use them
- Morning assembly: one poem read slowly, followed by a moment of quiet. "The Shoes" and "आज" work well.
- Birthdays and farewells: as the thoughtful part of a speech, after the jokes.
- School magazines: beside an essay on growing up or on time.
- A message to an old friend or a grown child: with one line of your own added.
- For yourself: copied into a diary on the last day of the year.
Reading a reflective poem aloud
Slow down more than feels natural. A poem about time needs time. Pause after the line that turns, which is usually the third line of the last stanza. Keep your voice level. These poems do not need sadness added: if the words are right, a plain voice carries the feeling better than a trembling one.
Write one of your own
Take an object you have owned for a long time: a watch, a school bag, a steel glass, a cycle. Write four lines about what it was when new, and four about what it is now. Do not mention time at all. The poem will be about time anyway. More methods are in How to write a poem.
Good to know
- A poem on life is best sent alone. Do not attach a sermon.
Questions
Are these poems suitable for school assembly?
Yes. They are short, clean and take under a minute to read aloud.