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
Moon.
Twenty-five poems, ranked.
25 of the finest public-domain poems about moon, 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
Endymion
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Longfellow draws on the Greek myth of the moon goddess Diana falling for the sleeping shepherd Endymion to convey a reassuring message: love will find you, rega…”
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02
Look Down Fair Moon
Walt Whitman
“A soldier walks through a battlefield at night, asking the moon to cast its soft light on the lifeless bodies scattered around him. This brief, haunting poem le…”
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03
Moonlight
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“The moon turns an ordinary neighborhood into something enchanting and surreal, making familiar paths appear as if they were magical avenues and marble streets.…”
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The complete index
- 04
The Harvest Moon
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A harvest moon illuminates rooftops, vacant bird nests, resting children, and fields of harvested grain, signaling summer's conclusion. Longfellow employs this one image of the moo…
- 05
The Moon
James Russell Lowell
A restless soul, like a stormy sea without a course, discovers peace and purpose when a cherished person comes into the speaker's life — much like how the moon controls the tides.…
- 06
Variation of the Song of the Moon
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This short lyric captures how beautiful things can change everything around them — a violet reflects the sky's color, mist turns sparkling like jewels, wind becomes a melody, and e…
- 07
Daylight and Moonlight
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A speaker spots the moon during the day and thinks it looks pale and lackluster, then reads a poem and feels similarly about it. However, when night arrives and the moon shines bri…
- 08
Full Moon and Little Frieda
Ted Hughes
A father observes his little daughter as she spots the full moon for the first time, and in that moment, it feels like the entire world is holding its breath. Hughes beautifully ca…
- 09
Onafiel
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This short poem is delivered by Onafiel, the Angel of the Moon. He introduces himself as a celestial being whose light — even when it dims or fades — always returns. He shares that…
- 10
The Man-Moth
Elizabeth Bishop
A peculiar, half-human being known as the Man-Moth resides underground and embarks on unsettling, compulsive trips through the city, scaling tall buildings in pursuit of the moon —…
- 11
To the Moonbeam
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A teenage Shelley speaks to a moonbeam, asking it to soothe his feverish brow, only to realize that the moonbeam's brightness pales in comparison to his own inner turmoil. By the e…
- 12
A Heine Love Song
Eugene Field
A speaker likens the woman he loves to the moon: steady and radiant, yet reflected as a quivering, restless image within his lovesick heart. The difference between the moon's seren…
- 13
The Highwayman
Alfred Noyes · 1906
A highwayman rides to meet his secret love, Bess, the landlord's daughter. However, a jealous soldier informs the redcoats, who set a trap using Bess. She fires a musket to warn he…
- 14
Rhapsody on a Windy Night
T. S. Eliot · 1917
A man strolls through deserted city streets in the early hours of the night, and as the clock strikes from midnight to four, the street lamps seem to whisper to him, stirring fragm…
- 15
Simaetha
H. D. · 1921
A woman named Simaetha carries out a ritual spell, dyeing wool and burning herbs in an attempt to win back — or perhaps punish — a man who has hurt her. She fluctuates between deep…
- 16
A Lullaby
Eugene Field
A mother sings her baby to sleep, finding solace in the thought of the moon serenading a star. Yet, in the final stanza, we discover she is mourning a child who has passed away. Th…
- 17
Another Version of the Preceding
Percy Bysshe Shelley
This brief lyric captures a choral song about a nighttime meeting between two lovers, under the watchful gaze of the moon and the passing hours. Boys and girls alternate in singing…
- 18
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…
- 19
Dutch Lullaby
Eugene Field
A parent sings a child to sleep by telling the story of three little figures — Wynken, Blynken, and Nod — who sail through the night sky in a wooden shoe, fishing for stars. As the…
- 20
Il Penseroso
John Milton
*Il Penseroso* is John Milton's tribute to the thoughtful, melancholic life — someone who chooses moonlit solitude, engrossing books, and quiet reflection over social gatherings an…
- 21
Lady Button-Eyes
Eugene Field
A parent sings a lullaby to a sleepy child, telling of a magical figure known as Lady Button-Eyes who drifts down from the night sky to softly close the child's eyes and invite sle…
- 22
Orkney Lullaby
Eugene Field
A moonbeam, a brownie, and a night wind take turns promising to watch over a sleeping child, wrapping light, song, and a sailor's prayer around the little one's bed. It’s a lullaby…
- 23
—st. Irvyne’s Tower
Percy Bysshe Shelley
A teenage Shelley captures a moonlit night surrounding a crumbling tower before abruptly questioning why humans struggle to perceive anything beyond death — and why life seems to w…
- 24
To Apollo and Diana
Horace
This is Horace's "Carmen Saeculare" (Secular Hymn), a significant public prayer sung by a choir of Roman boys and girls during the Secular Games in 17 BCE. It calls on the gods Apo…
- 25
To Diana
Horace
This brief ode is Horace's heartfelt tribute to a pine tree on his country estate, dedicated to Diana, the goddess of the hunt, the moon, and childbirth. He vows to sacrifice a you…
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