Travel poems breathe wanderlust into words. Here are ten beautiful travel poems for the adventurer in you.
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A Travel Poem For The Girl With Itchy Feet
She lapped
against the shore,
restless like
the sea,
ready
for any adventure,
that blew along her way
– Atticus
A Travel Poem For The One On A Journey. Any Journey.
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading me wherever I choose,
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
– Walt Whitman, from Song of the Open Road
A Travel Poem That Sums Up Adventure In Four Gorgeous Lines
My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing,
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.
– Edna St. Vincent Millay, from Travel
A Travel Poem From Margaret Atwood Because She Never Disappoints
No, they whisper. You own nothing.
You were a visitor, time after time
climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.
We never belong to you.
You never found us.
It was always the other way around.
– Margaret Atwood, from The Moment
This Travel Poem Is Just Everything
You are not a tree. You are not bound
to the ground you walk on. You have
wings and dreams and a heart full of
wonder. So pick up your feet and go.
Spread kindness like a wildflower
wherever you go. Fall in love with the
life you live, and always leave people
better than you found them.
– Drewniverses, from Tumblr
This 19th Century Travel Poem Is Just. So. Good.
Half across the world from me
Lie the lands I’ll never see-
I, whose longing lives and dies
Where a ship has sailed away;
I, that never close my eyes
But to look upon Cathay.
Things I may not know nor tell
Wait, where older waters swell;
Ways that flowered at Sappho’s tread,
Winds that sighed in Homer’s strings,
Vibrant with the singing dead,
Golden with the dust of wings.
Under deeper skies than mine,
Quiet valleys dip and shine.
Where their tender grasses heal
Ancient scars of trench and tomb
I shall never walk: nor kneel
Where the bones of poets bloom.
If I seek a lovelier part,
Where I travel goes my heart;
Where I stray my thought must go;
With me wanders my desire.
Best to sit and watch the snow,
Turn the lock, and poke the fire.
– Dorothy Parker, from Hearthside
If Only I Could Swallow This Modern Travel Poem
be insecure
in peace.
allow yourself lowness.
know that it is
only
a
country
on
the way to who you are.
– Nayyirah Waheed, from Traveling
Then, There’s This Transcendent Travel Poem
my eyes will remember
how to love the world
under changing skies.
when the light changes,
so does the view.
– Lindsay O’Connell
And This One
Somedays, I grow tired of life,
and long, for the next great adventure.
– Atticus
Finally, If You’re Waiting To Pack Your Bags And Go…
Twenty years from now
You’ll be more disappointed
By the things you didn’t do
Than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore.
Dream.
Discover.
– H. Jackson Brown, from P.S. I Love You (well, sort of. It’s a quote from his mother).
Did you enjoy these travel poems? Let me know in the comments below which one of these travel poems was your favorite! Mine is definitely #5, but I love them all!
FOR THOSE WHO LOVE POETRY
PENGUIN CLASSICS
Dorothy Parker’s poem is our favorite on this list. If you loved it as much as we did, here’s a complete collection of her works
APPLEWOOD BOOKS
a hardcover edition of Walt Whitman’s poem about journeying, adventure, and finding yourself
ATRIA BOOKS
for those who devoured Milk & Honey and Pillow Thoughts and want to read Atticus’ contribution to the Insta-popular poetry format
I love Atticus.
How beautiful, Anshula! These are so inspiring.
Dee ~ Vanilla Papers
I love these, thanks. Time to share to my friends on FB!