9 Poems about Reading
Reading opens doors to imagination, wisdom, and peace, offering treasures that enrich every heart.
Updated August 19, 2025, by Catherine Pulsifer
Reading is more than words on a page; it is an invitation to explore new ideas, dream beyond limits, and rest in quiet moments of reflection. Books teach us lessons we may never experience firsthand, and they comfort us when life feels overwhelming. These poems about reading celebrate the gift of stories and knowledge, reminding us that every page turned brings fresh adventure, insight, and joy. May they encourage you to pick up a book, open your heart, and let the power of reading enrich your life.
I Read
I read each day and find pleasure
My books are such a treasure.
I read each day and learn
Knowledge that brings returns.
I read each day and find
That it refreshes my mind.
No Greater Fortune
No greater fortune can befall a child
Than to be born into a home where
The best books are read,
The best music interpreted,
And the best talk enjoyed,
For in these privileges the
Richest educational privileges are supplied.
The poem "No Greater Fortune" by Hamilton Wright Mabie emphasizes the educational experience for a child to be born into a home where the best books are read,
the finest music is appreciated, and engaging conversations are valued. More poems about education
that you may find encouraging.
The Reading Mother
I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
“Blackbirds” stowed in the hold beneath.
I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.
I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.
I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings –
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be –
I had a Mother who read to me.
Reading A Life Story
Read someone's life story told,
Biographies whisper wisdom bold.
From triumphs grand to mistakes made,
Life's lessons unfold, never to fade.
Reading about others' journeys, we learn,
Paths taken and places they turned.
Lessons learned from others' actions
Biographies illuminate their true passion.
Their stories shed light on the wrong and right
We can learn from what they write.
With each page turned a truth we find,
Reading biographies helps us to expand our minds.
Poems About Learning
How it is Done
As step by step the hill we mount,
As one by one we learn to count,
So word by word we learn to spell,
And line by line to read quite well.
Furnish The Mind
Reading furnishes the mind
Only with materials of knowledge;
It is thinking makes what we read ours.
We are of the ruminating kind,
And it is not enough to cram ourselves
With a great load of collections;
Unless we chew them over again,
They will not give us strength and nourishment.
Watch What You Read
Fill your mind with positive things
Reading will always bring
A better perspective on life
It will help you filter out the strife.
Read quotes and books that inspire you
They will refresh your mind that is so true.
Don't focus on negative news
It will only make you blue.
Read poetry that is upbeat
It will give you a mini-retreat.
Enjoy your reading time
Thoughts that can last a lifetime.
Quotes About Reading
Literacy Ignites
Don't miss the opportunity of life's invite,
With the thrill of literacy that ignites.
Reading allows a world to unfold,
Stories and knowledge to be told.
Being literate shines a light,
As we learn to read and write.
Poems About Literacy
History Teaches
Caesar did a few things,
Horace wrote in style,
Good old Plato knew things
Very much worth while.
Famous Aristotle
Had the master's touch;
Blow this in your bottle:
"I am not so much."
Con your history's pages.
Read the tales of Rome,
Then compare the sages'
To your feeble dome.
All the dead ones study
(If you call them such;)
They will teach you. Buddy,
You are not so much.
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Conclusion
One last thought about reading written by an unknown author:
Read continually, only reserving such time for relaxation and the duties of life as your situation may require. Don't sit with your hands folded and mouth open, doing nothing; these are minutes which you are wasting - minutes make hours, hours makes days and weeks, and all combined are swiftly flying towards eternity. Then read! - read everything and anything, except low and trashy subjects; there is no branch of art or science, or of literature, from which, properly perused, you may not get some valuable information.
The difference between the reader and the sluggard, who sits in the easy-chair asleep in the evening, is as great as the contrast between a fool and a sensible person; the former goes about the world, sees, hears, thinks and digests the results of his observation during his travels; he will presently give these reflections to the world in a new and interesting shape, and thus make other readers. But the sluggard is a useless character and not worth the ink to describe him.
Read an almanac, if you cannot get a paper; and he must be poor indeed, as the bard singeth, who cannot
afford a subscription to some journal in this age of the world. At all events, leave no means untried to cultivate and improve the spare hours which you will have during the winter months. If you are waiting somewhere on business, take out your paper and peruse its columns; you will soon find the advantage of the practice.
Time shall overwhelm all things, and render mines useless, gems of no value. The thief may in an hour destroy the labor of a lifetime in accumulating a fortune, but no power, short of a Divine one, can wrest the riches of a well stored mind from its possessor. Again we say
- read!
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