General-Literary Poems

Posting these literary poems where people can enjoy them pleases me. Even poems that have landed in books, magazines, or anthologies will find a wider audience here, while poems used to the quiet solitude of my desk drawer will get to see the light of day and meet readers like you! (Art fans: Look for literary poems inspired by the work of well-known photographers and painters.) Please request permission by email, including full copyright information on each copy made. For internet use, a link back to this website is required.

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Keep Fighting Black

Written by Susan Noyes Anderson on January 28, 2015. Posted in General-Literary Poems, Spiritual Poems

©2015 Susan Noyes Anderson

hope

When trouble steals the blood that flows
beneath my rosy cheek—
when ashes gather round my eyes
and lips refuse to speak—
I let the sorrow carry me
on silvered wings—so high
that even in the darkness
I return as butterfly.

∞§∞

When Buddah was on his death bed, he noticed his young disciple, Anan, was weeping.
“Why are you weeping, Anan?” he asked.
“Because the light of the world is about to be extinguished, and we will be in darkness.”
The Buddha summoned up all his remaining energy and spoke what were to be his final words on earth.
“Anan, Anan, be a light unto yourself.”
– Buddhist scripture

There isn’t enough darkness in all the world to snuff out the light of one little candle.
–Robert Alden

Before you can see the light, you have to deal with the darkness.
–Anonymous

Faith is seeing the light with your heart when all your eyes see is darkness.
–Usman Ismaheel

I saw also that there was an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness.
–George Fox

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.
–Desmond Tutu

Other related poems are pictured with titles below. For more options, you can visit the home page and click on an appropriately themed category like “Hope Poems,” “Hardship Poems,” etc.