7 Uplifting Poems To Read When You Need A Pick-Me-Up

Though you may have spent your fair share of time reading poems that help you feel all the feels, it is important to cherish your good moods — and to remember that reading certain poems might actually make you feel better. (I'm not necessarily talking about bibliotherapy, but if you want to dive down an interesting rabbit hole, Ceridwen Dovey's piece in The New Yorker, "Can Reading Make You Happier" offers some tantalizing possibilities ...)

We all know that reading, in general, is pretty much pastime equivalent of a superfood, something like kale or sauerkraut that's just a few steps away in your very own garden (or, er, fermentation jar). A study by the University of Liverpool's Centre for Research into Reading, Literature, and Society "found that books can have the power to encourage us to make life changing decisions, with 27 per cent of people reporting that a book has inspired them to make a change such as look for a new job, or end a bad relationship."

It stands to reason that if books can facilitate these kinds of empowering choices, poems can do the same, too. Of course, there's nothing wrong with turning to a poem when you just need a smile, a pick-me-up, or a laugh. In fact, these seven should do the trick, regardless.