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

May 2024

poems to read and share

Mother’s Day is May 12. Celebrate with kid-friendly poems about mothers and motherhood:

“F rom Grandmother’s Garden” by Meena Alexander
I am in another country. On a morning of clear sunlight ...

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

“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 ...

“Signals” by Gloria Muñoz
Every mother stitches her children ...

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

“The courage that my mother had” by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Went with her, and is with her still:...

lesson plans to teach

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

Lesson Plans for Graduation

Spring: Poems for Kids

more poems to share

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

“[I come weary,]” by Matsuo Basho
“My Father. A Tree.” by Tina Chang
“On How to Use this Book” by Sarah Gambito
“From Blossoms” by Li-Young Lee
“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

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:

“Relax” by Ellen Bass
“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
“Aspiration” by Henrietta Cordelia Ray
“The Future Is Here” by Bianca Stone

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teach this poem

Monday, April 1
Monday, April 8

Monday, April 15

Monday, April 22
Monday, April 29

“Eclipse Season” by Tracy Fuad
“I Didn’t Apologize to the Well” by Mahmoud Darwish
“Accepting Heaven at Great Basin” by Nathalie Handal
“Do/Do Not” by Nisha Atalie
“On Joy and Sorrow” by Kahlil Gibran

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

Older messages

"Siri as Mother" by Hala Alyan

"And as we forgot the dark, we forgot even the rain"

"[ode to the water beneath Kapūkakī also known as Red Hill]" by Jake Eduardo Vermaas

"harvest" by Angela Peñaredondo

"First Time Brushing Teeth Next to You" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

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