Discovering the Inner Light: 7 Poems Illuminating the Beauty of Self-Exploration
Have you ever felt that gentle inner pull, urging you to embark on a journey of self-exploration? Well, my friend, youโre not alone. Lately, my soul has been yearning for self-expression, for a language that can capture the depth of my thoughts and emotions.
The quest for self-discovery is something we all resonate with at one time or another, and what better way to navigate this path than through the captivating power of poetry? Think of it as a trusted companion, a guiding light that leads us through the intricate maze of emotions, thoughts, and dreams. It helps us make sense of ourselves and the world around us, like a map unfolding before our eyes
Today, Iโm excited to share 7 poetic gems with you, in the hopes that they will resonate with your own journey of self exploration, just like they have mine.
So, find your cozy nook, wrap your hands around a warm cup of your favorite brew, and surrender yourself to the enchantment of these poems. Welcome to a world where self-discovery dances with the beauty of the written word.

Maya Angelou: Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, Iโll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
โCause I walk like Iโve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still Iโll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Donโt you take it awful hard
โCause I laugh like Iโve got gold mines
Digginโ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, Iโll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like Iโve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of historyโs shame
I rise
Up from a past thatโs rooted in pain
I rise
Iโm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak thatโs wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Thomas Hardy: The Self Unseen
Here is the ancient floor,
Footworn and hollowed and thin,
Here was the former door
Where the dead feet walked in.
She sat here in her chair,
Smiling into the fire;
He who played stood there,
Bowing it higher and higher.
Childlike, I danced in a dream;
Blessings emblazoned that day;
Everything glowed with a gleam;
Yet we were looking away!

Sylvia Plath: Ariel
Stasis in darkness.
Then the substanceless blueย ย ย
Pour of tor and distances.
Godโs lioness,ย ย ย
How one we grow,
Pivot of heels and knees!โThe furrow
Splits and passes, sister toย ย ย
The brown arc
Of the neck I cannot catch,
Nigger-eyeย ย ย
Berries cast darkย ย ย
Hooksโ
Black sweet blood mouthfuls,ย ย ย
Shadows.
Something else
Hauls me through airโ
Thighs, hair;
Flakes from my heels.
White
Godiva, I unpeelโ
Dead hands, dead stringencies.
And now I
Foam to wheat, a glitter of seas.ย ย ย
The childโs cry
Melts in the wall.ย ย ย
And I
Am the arrow,
The dew that flies
Suicidal, at one with the driveย ย ย
Into the red
Eye, the cauldron of morning.
