Poems for Mother's Day & Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

May 2023

Mother’s Day is May 14. Celebrate with kid-friendly poems about mothers and motherhood:

“My Mama moved among the days” by Lucille Clifton
like a dreamwalker in a field...

“Dear Mama (4)” by Wanda Coleman
when did we become friends?

“i know the grandmother one had hands” by Jaki Shelton Green
but they were always in bowls...

“The Raincoat” by Ada Limón
When the doctor suggested surgery...

“La suavecita” by Lupe Mendez
We dress my daughter in amarillo, not butter...

“Sleeping in Late with My Mother” by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
She apologizes. It’s not like her. She’s usually up by six...

“How Becoming a Mother is Like Space Travel” by Catherine Pierce
The astronaut told us / he didn’t look out the window...

The Dear Poet 2023 letters are here!

This PDF booklet contains poems and letters from the poets who participated in Dear Poet 2023, followed by students’ letters and the poets’ responses. The Academy is grateful to all the educators who use the program and for each and every student letter we receive.

Read, download, and share the 2023 Dear Poet Booklet.

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. Bring the work of AAPI poets into the classroom and browse lesson plans featuring work by Rabindranath Tagore, Ocean Vuong, Kimiko Hahn and many other classic and contemporary poets.

Prepare for next month: LGBTQ Pride Month: Poems for Kids

Spring: Poems for Kids

Celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month with poems to read and share:

“[I come weary,]” by Matsuo Basho
“I Invite My Parents to a Dinner Party” by Chen Chen
“On How to Use this Book” by Sarah Gambito
“Haikai” by Sadakichi Hartmann
“T he Gift of India” by Sarojini Naidu
“Fire Dragon” by Sage Uʻilani Takehiro
“Kissing in Vietnamese” by Ocean Vuong
“Music from Childhood” by John Yau

Sponsored Content

Join us for the 51st Annual City College of New York (CCNY) Poetry Festival, which will feature a reading by the guest poet of honor Gloria Mindock, as well as readings by elementary and junior high school students and the winners of the high school student poetry contest. Friday, May 12 from 9:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET at the Aaron Davis Hall in the Marian Anderson Theater, 133rd St. and Convent Avenue, New York, NY. Learn more.

Poems for Graduation

On graduation day, friends and family often turn to poetry to express what they would like to pass on to the next generation—a few lines of guidance, a gesture toward possibility. Find poems by Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Joy Harjo, and others:

“When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities” by Chen Chen
“For the Graduation: Bolinas, 1972” by Robert Creeley
“That Everything’s Inevitable” by Katy Lederer
“Next Time Ask More Questions” by Naomi Shihab Nye
“The Future Is Here” by Bianca Stone
“Theories of Time and Space” by Natasha Trethewey

Monday, April 3
Monday, April 10
Monday, April 17
Monday, April 24

“Reflections” by Ameen Rihani
“Cherry blossoms” by Toi Derricotte
“The Creative Drive” by Catherine Barnett
“the poem is a dream telling you its time” by Marwa Helal

Join Texas poet laureate and 2022 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow Cyrus Cassells in honoring the winners of What Juneteenth Means (To Me), a poetry contest for Texas students in grades eight through twelve that encourages exploration of the events that make Juneteenth such a significant holiday. Saturday, May 20, at 10 a.m. CDT at the Neil-Cochran House Museum in Austin, Texas.

The winners of the 2023 contest were chosen by Texas historian Martha Hartzog and Texas-based poets Jennifer Chang, Amanda Johnston, and Roger Reeves. The Texas Observer will feature first place winner Samiyah Green’s poem, “The Pantoum,” in the July/August issue of the magazine.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Thank you for your work bringing poetry into the classroom year-round. We’re happy to be able to offer hundreds of free lesson plans, essays, and other resources, and we wish you and your students health and safety.

The Academy of American Poets

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AsianPacific American Heritage Month

Poems for Mother's Day & Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

Key phrases

Older messages

"I open the dawn of a new world"

"My Life Closed Twice" by Cameron Awkward-Rich

"Amsterdam" by Safia Elhillo

"[A frail hepatica]" by Jun Fujita

"Though from Here I Can’t Smell the Smoke" by Allison Hutchcraft

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