Editor's note
Ranking is generated by Storgy's classification model, which scores each poem's thematic depth on this subject relative to the rest of the corpus. The list is re-indexed weekly as new poems enter the public-domain corpus.
Best poems about — Storgy
growing-up.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about growing-up, ranked by thematic depth. Scored by Storgy's classification model against the rest of the corpus, and re-indexed weekly as new works enter the canon.
The leading three
01
Death of a Naturalist
Seamus Heaney
“A young boy who enjoyed collecting frogspawn from a nearby flax dam slowly loses his innocent joy in nature when he sees the frogs coming back to reclaim their…”
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02
Hiawatha's Childhood
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“This poem narrates the tale of Hiawatha's birth and upbringing. His grandmother Nokomis raises him by a vast lake, sharing the names and secrets of the stars, a…”
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03
ib'
Sappho
“A young woman calls out to her virginity — imagined as a friend — wondering where it has gone since it departed from her. The virginity replies plainly: it will…”
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The complete index
- 04
Maidenhood
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A young woman stands at the edge of girlhood and adulthood, and Longfellow uses the image of a brook meeting a river to illustrate that moment of uncertainty. He encourages her not…
- 05
Ode Intimations of Immortality
William Wordsworth
Wordsworth reflects on childhood and grieves the loss of a unique, almost magical perspective on life — a sparkle that dims as we age. However, rather than succumbing to despair, h…
- 06
Prelude
William Wordsworth
*The Prelude* is Wordsworth's autobiographical poem that explores the development of his mind and imagination from childhood to young adulthood. He reflects on the "spots of time"…
- 07
The Prelude
William Wordsworth
*The Prelude* is Wordsworth's autobiographical work in verse, exploring how nature influenced his thoughts and creativity from childhood into early adulthood. He spent much of his…
- 08
When I Was One and Twenty
A. E. Housman
A wise older man advises a twenty-one-year-old to guard his heart, but the young man brushes off the warning. A year later, he discovers the truth in that advice the hard way. It’s…
- 09
The New Duckling
Alfred Noyes · 1922
A young duckling chooses to be completely different from what he was born as — he doesn’t want webbed feet, waddling, or quacking — and disregards all warnings about a fox lurking…
- 10
Aladdin
James Russell Lowell
A poor boy, armed only with his imagination, creates magnificent dream-worlds in his mind, and that inner richness feels more than sufficient. Years later, he finds himself wealthy…
- 11
Brother and Sister
D. H. Lawrence
A brother and sister are mourning the loss of their mother, and Lawrence uses the image of the moon fading in the night sky to illustrate how grief leaves you exposed and pushes yo…
- 12
By Charles Coran
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A speaker returns to a wine he cherished in his youth, only to discover it tastes sour. The wine itself hasn't changed; he has. This short, bittersweet poem captures how time robs…
- 13
Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Hiawatha, now a young man equipped with magical gear, heads west to face Mudjekeewis, the Wind-King and his father, who abandoned and hurt his mother. They engage in an epic battle…
- 14
Inscription for My Little Son's Silver Plate
Eugene Field
A father carves a brief collection of life lessons into his young son's silver plate, transforming a simple object into a timeless moral compass. The engraving encourages the boy t…
- 15
In the Half-Way House
James Russell Lowell
In this two-stanza poem, Lowell contrasts the romantic dreams of a twenty-year-old with the stark reality of middle age. The young individual envisions a magnificent medieval realm…
- 16
In the Waiting Room
Elizabeth Bishop
A seven-year-old girl waits in a dentist's office in Worcester, Massachusetts, flipping through a National Geographic, when a sudden scream from inside the office leaves her feelin…
- 17
Nascent
D. H. Lawrence
A teacher observes his students and senses the familiar world shifting to welcome something new. He sees in the young men around him the vibrant energy of life itself—a creative fo…
- 18
Not only around our infancy, etc.: The allusion is to
James Russell Lowell
Lowell challenges Wordsworth's well-known notion that we lose our connection to heaven's glory as we age. He suggests that the divine light Wordsworth believes diminishes in adulth…
- 19
Seein' Things
Eugene Field
A young boy boasts about his bravery during the day—he isn't afraid of snakes, bugs, or anything else—but every night when the lights go out, shadowy figures emerge in his room and…
- 20
So he tossed ... in scorn: This is the turning-point of the
James Russell Lowell
This passage is a commentary by James Russell Lowell on a pivotal moment in his narrative poem *The Vision of Sir Launfal* (1848). In it, Sir Launfal, clad in armor and full of pri…
- 21
The Brook
Eugene Field
A speaker glances into a brook twice: first as a child and again as an adult. The brook's message has shifted entirely — where it once bubbled with excitement and energy, it now wh…
- 22
The Castle-Builder
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A father observes his young son as he plays with wooden blocks and listens to stories, recognizing in those simple moments the beginnings of a larger life to come. Longfellow encou…
- 23
The Children of the Lord's Supper
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A village church on Pentecost Sunday gets ready to welcome its young people for their first Communion, led by an elderly pastor whose sermon shifts from a solemn warning to heartfe…
- 24
The Limitations of Youth
Eugene Field
A young boy daydreams out loud about all the wild, dangerous, and rebellious things he would do—riding across the frontier, hunting lions in Africa, sailing as a pirate, and even g…
- 25
Tintern Abbey
William Wordsworth
Wordsworth comes back to the Wye Valley after five years and thinks about how the memory of this beautiful place helped him stay grounded while living in bustling cities. He explor…
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