--- title: National Poetry Month: Six Poems for Presidential Candidates description: Political candidates often borrow from poets. Here are six good poems for the campaign trail this National Poetry Month. canonical: https://time.com/3771653/campaign-poetry/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-07T14:07:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:55.045Z article:section: Politics og:title: 6 Poems 2016 Candidates Should Read og:description: Candidates could learn a lot from poets. og:url: https://time.com/3771653/campaign-poetry/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58a4c35fcfd0a965/698786c1e53aba20914d8694/hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signs the guest book at the Schindler Factory Museum in Krakow, Poland on July 3, 2010. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 6 Poems 2016 Candidates Should Read twitter:description: Candidates could learn a lot from poets. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58a4c35fcfd0a965/698786c1e53aba20914d8694/hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 6 Poems 2016 Candidates Should Read by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Apr 7, 2015 2:07 PM CUT  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signs the guest book at the Schindler Factory Museum in Krakow, Poland on July 3, 2010. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signs the guest book at the Schindler Factory Museum in Krakow, Poland on July 3, 2010.Drew Angerer—AFP/Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Apr 7, 2015 2:07 PM CUT Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo famously said that “you campaign in poetry; you govern in prose” to contrast the difference between the soaring rhetoric of a candidate and the workaday efforts of an elected official. That’s even more true this April, which is both [National Poetry Month](http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/stanza/national-poetry-month-2015 "undefined") and the likely kickoff of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, among others. Here’s a look at six poems the candidates might want to read. [**“I Hear America Singing”**](http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/i-hear-america-singing "undefined")by Walt Whitman _I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,_ _Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe_ _and strong,_ _The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,_ _The mason singing his as he makes ready for work…_ Walt Whitman briefly worked as an editor of the Brooklyn _Eagle_, not too far from where Hillary Clinton’s [campaign headquarters](http://time.com/3770590/hillary-clinton-office-space-brooklyn/ "undefined") will be located. Although not overtly political, his poem “I Hear America Singing” celebrates blue-collar jobs, a staple of campaign rhetoric. Throw in a few clips of Iowa farmers and this could be the voiceover of a positive ad. [**“Next to of course god america i”**](http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/next-course-god-america "undefined")by e.e. cummings _next to of course god america i_ _love you land of the pilgrims’ and so forth oh_ _say can you see by the dawn’s early my_ _country ’tis of centuries come and go…_ On the other end of the spectrum, e.e. cummings’ “Next to of course god america i” is a parody of typical campaign rhetoric, mashing together various patriotic cliches. The sardonic final line — “He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water” — brings to mind Marco Rubio, who famously took a swig of Poland Spring in the middle of [his response to the 2013 State of the Union](http://swampland.time.com/2013/02/13/marco-rubio-responds-to-obamas-state-of-the-union/ "undefined"). [**“Exquisite Candidate”**](http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/exquisite-candidate "undefined")by Denise Duhamel _I can promise you this: food in the White House_ _will change! No more granola, only fried eggs_ _flipped the way we like them. And ham ham ham!_ _Americans need ham! …_ Less bitter than cummings’ take on political rhetoric, Denise Duhamel’s humorous 1961 poem is a nice palate cleanser for voters who are tired of hearing the candidates make false boasts and empty promises. Frankly, whoever can say “I am the only candidate to canoe over Niagara Falls / and live to photograph the Canadian side” gets our vote. [**“Let America Be America Again”**](http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/let-america-be-america-again "undefined")by Langston Hughes _Let America be America again._ _Let it be the dream it used to be._ _Let it be the pioneer on the plain_ _Seeking a home where he himself is free…_ There’s some risk for candidates who borrow a turn of phrase from a poet. Conservatives criticized John Kerry for [using the opening line](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/01/us/in-five-words-by-langston-hughes-kerry-aides-hear-a-campaign-slogan.html "undefined") as an unofficial campaign slogan in 2004, while Rick Santorum [backed away from it](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/04/rick-santorum-backs-away-from-langston-hughes-slogan.html "undefined") during the 2012 campaign, in both cases because of the Communist leanings of poet Langston Hughes. Another line in the poem—”America never was America to me”—also undercuts political use of the poem. [**“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”**](http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171621 "undefined")by Robert Frost _…The woods are lovely, dark and deep,_ _But I have promises to keep,_ _And miles to go before I sleep,_ _And miles to go before I sleep._ At the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Robert Kennedy [cited this Robert Frost poem](http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/RFK-Speeches/Tribute-to-John-F-Kennedy-at-the-Democratic-National-Convention.aspx "undefined") as a favorite of his late brother, President John F. Kennedy, arguing that it “could apply it to the Democratic Party and to all of us as individuals.” It’s also pretty good inspiration for the poor candidate trudging along the campaign trail, making promises to voters. [**“September 1, 1939”**](http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/september-1-1939 "undefined")by W.H. Auden _There is no such thing as the State_ _And no one exists alone;_ _Hunger allows no choice_ _To the citizen or the police;_ _We must love one another or die._ Written during the early days of World War II, W.H. Auden’s dark poem gained new resonance in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. It also played a role in one of the most famous political ads in history, [Lyndon Johnson’s “Daisy,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTBnsqxZ3k "undefined") which ends with a nuclear explosion and a brief excerpt from a speech in which LBJ paraphrases the line: “We must either love each other, or we must die.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3771653/campaign-poetry/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3771653/campaign-poetry/"},"headline":"6 Poems 2016 Candidates Should Read","datePublished":"2015-04-07T14:07:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:55.045Z","description":"It's National Poetry Month and the official start of several 2016 campaigns","url":"https://time.com/3771653/campaign-poetry/","keywords":["2016 Election","Living","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Sen. Marco Rubio","John F. 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