Poem of the Day

One classic poem, every day. Today's pick is chosen by the day of the year from our collection of fourteen public-domain poems.

Today's poem

Sonnet 18

William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Read the full poem page, with biography, themes and reading note

Add ?date=YYYY-MM-DD to this page's URL to read the poem for any past or future date.

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Frequently asked questions

How is the poem of the day chosen?

By the day of the year, modulo fourteen: January 1st always shows the same poem, January 2nd the next, and so on, cycling through all fourteen public-domain poems in our collection. Everyone sees the same poem on the same date.

Can I read the poem for a different date?

Yes. Add ?date=YYYY-MM-DD to this page's URL to see the poem for any past or future date.

Are these poems free to share?

Yes. All fourteen poems are in the public domain. Use the copy button to copy today's poem, then share it anywhere.

Where can I read more about a poem?

Each poem has its own page with the full text, a biography of the poet, themes, and a reading note. Follow the link under today's poem.