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
identity.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about identity, 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
We Wear the Mask
Paul Laurence Dunbar · 1896
“A group of people—Black Americans during Dunbar's era—must conceal their true pain behind cheerful, agreeable expressions just to navigate a hostile environment…”
Open the poem
02
Checking Out Me History
John Agard · 2007
Open the poem
03
A Far Cry from Africa
Derek Walcott
“A Far Cry from Africa is Derek Walcott's honest and unfiltered exploration of his mixed identity — part African, part European — framed by the harsh realities o…”
Open the poem
The complete index
- 04
Heritage
Countee Cullen
Written by Countee Cullen in 1925, "Heritage" is a poignant poem where the speaker grapples with the significance of Africa for a Black American who has never set foot there. He fi…
- 05
Homage to My Hips
Lucille Clifton
Lucille Clifton embraces her hips as strong, liberated, and proudly hers—rejecting the notion that a Black woman's body ought to be small, restricted, or ashamed. The poem reads li…
- 06
Leaves of Grass
Walt Whitman
This is the inscriptional preface by Whitman for his life's work, *Leaves of Grass* — you can think of it as a dedication page, but crafted as a poem. His soul urges him to create…
- 07
Mirror
Sylvia Plath
A mirror is perfectly honest—it shows exactly what's in front of it, without any judgment or emotion. A woman frequently returns to gaze at her reflection, and as time passes, the…
- 08
Your Native Land Your Life
Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Rich's *Your Native Land, Your Life* (1986) is a sequence of poems that explores what it truly means to belong — to a country, a history, a body, or a community. Rich inte…
- 09
The Emigrée
Carol Rumens · 1993
- 10
Love After Love
Derek Walcott
A brief yet impactful poem where Walcott expresses that one day you'll take a moment to genuinely embrace yourself—the person you overlooked while focusing on loving someone else.…
- 11
Still I Rise
Maya Angelou
Still I Rise is Maya Angelou's bold assertion that no amount of hatred, cruelty, or oppression can hold her — or, by extension, Black Americans — back. She layers vivid imagery of…
- 12
My Last Duchess
Robert Browning · 1842
A Duke is displaying a painting of his deceased ex-wife to an envoy sent to discuss his upcoming marriage. As he speaks, it becomes evident that he orchestrated his wife's death be…
- 13
1492
Emma Lazarus · 1883
In 1492, Spain expelled its Jewish population through the Alhambra Decree, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee without a destination. Emma Lazarus reflects on that year as a coin…
- 14
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…
- 15
She Contrasts with Herself Hippolyta
H. D. · 1924
Hippolyta, the Amazon queen from Greek myth, contemplates her defeat by Theseus — not out of love, but through brute force — and the son, Hippolytus, born from that tumultuous unio…
- 16
America
Claude McKay
Claude McKay's "America" is crafted as a Shakespearean sonnet where the speaker grapples with two conflicting emotions toward the United States: he despises how the country treats…
- 17
A Nameless Grave
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A speaker encounters the grave of an unnamed Union soldier in Newport News, Virginia, and feels the weight of the fact that this man gave everything, even his name, for his country…
- 18
Ariel
Sylvia Plath
Written in the final months of Sylvia Plath's life, "Ariel" captures a pre-dawn horse ride that evolves into a thrilling and frightening rush toward the rising sun. The speaker she…
- 19
As Kingfishers Catch Fire
Gerard Manley Hopkins
This poem suggests that everything in the world — whether it's a kingfisher, a dragonfly, or a stone plopping into a well — exists to reveal its true nature, nothing more and nothi…
- 20
Aurora Leigh
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
*Aurora Leigh* is a lengthy poem in nine volumes that tells the story of a young woman determined to pursue her dream of becoming a great poet, even when the man she loves urges he…
- 21
Black Art
Amiri Baraka
Written in 1965 during the peak of the Black Arts Movement, "Black Art" is Amiri Baraka's passionate manifesto-poem urging Black poetry to move beyond decoration and become a tool…
- 22
Bluebird
Charles Bukowski
Bukowski's "Bluebird" is a brief, personal poem where the speaker reveals that he has a delicate, sensitive part of himself—a bluebird—that he keeps hidden from the world. He drink…
- 23
Confession
Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton's "Confession" is a brutally honest poem where the speaker lays bare her painful truths—her guilt, her failures, and the complexities of her inner life. Much like a Cat…
- 24
Daddy
Sylvia Plath
Written in 1962, "Daddy" is Sylvia Plath's intense confrontation with her memories of her father, Otto Plath, who passed away when she was just eight. The speaker navigates through…
- 25
Dear John Wayne
Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich's "Dear John Wayne" is a letter-poem directed at the iconic Hollywood cowboy actor, crafted from the viewpoint of Native Americans viewing a Western film at a drive-…
Read deeper