27 Poems About Dreams

Dreams arrive when you’re asleep, and dreams come as a surprise when you’re awake. And in the world of dreams, you can ultimately be free. So let the magic take place as you dream with these 27 poems about dreams.

Poems About Dreams

1. Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

– Langston Hughes

2. A Dream

In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed—
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.

Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past?

That holy dream—that holy dream,
While all the world were chiding,
Hath cheered me as a lovely beam
A lonely spirit guiding.

What though that light, thro’ storm and night,
So trembled from afar—
What could there be more purely bright
In Truth’s day-star?

– Edgar Allan Poe

3. The Dream

Not long ago, in a charming dream,
I saw myself — a king with crown’s treasure;
I was in love with you, it seemed,
And heart was beating with a pleasure.
I sang my passion’s song by your enchanting knees.
Why, dreams, you didn’t prolong my happiness forever?
But gods deprived me not of whole their favor:
I only lost the kingdom of my dreams.

– Alexander Pushkin

4. Dreams in the dusk

DREAMS in the dusk,
Only dreams closing the day
And with the day’s close going back
To the gray things, the dark things,
The far, deep things of dreamland.

Dreams, only dreams in the dusk,
Only the old remembered pictures
Of lost days when the day’s loss
Wrote in tears the heart’s loss.

Tears and loss and broken dreams
May find your heart at dusk.

– Carl Sandburg

Poems About Dreams

5. I Arise From Dreams Of Thee

I arise from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are shining bright
I arise from dreams of thee,
And a spirit in my feet
Has led me — who knows how? —
To thy chamber-window, sweet!

The wandering airs they faint
On the dark, the silent stream, —
The champak odors fall
Like sweet thoughts in a dream,
The nightingale’s complaint,
It dies upon her heart,
As I must die on thine,
O, beloved as thou art!

O, lift me from the grass!
I die, I faint, I fall!
Let thy love in kisses rain
On my lips and eyelids pale,
My cheek is cold and white, alas!
My Heart beats loud and fast
Oh! press it close to thine again,
Where it will break at last!

– Percy Bysshe Shelley

6. Dreams

I had a dream, a dream of dread:
I thought that horror held the house;
A burglar bent above my bed,
He moved as quiet as a mouse.
With hairy hand and naked knife
He poised to plunge a bloody stroke,
Until despairful of my life
I shrieked with terror – and awoke.

I had a dream of weary woes:
In weather that was fit to freeze,
I thought that I had lost my cloths,
And only wore a short chemise.
The wind was wild; so catch a train
I ran, but no advance did make;
My legs were pistoning in vain –
How I was happy to awake!

I had a dream: Upon the stair
I met a maid who kissed my lips;
A nightie was her only wear,
We almost came to loving grips.
And then she opened wide a door,
And pointed to a bonny bed . . .
Oh blast! I wakened up before
I could discover – were we wed?

Alas! Those dreams of broken bliss,
Of wakenings too sadly soon!
With memories of sticky kiss,
And limbs so languidly a-swoon!
Alas those nightmares devil driven!
Those pantless prowlings in Pall Mall!
Oh why should some dreams be like heaven
And others so resemble hell?

– Robert William Service

7. Only Dreams

A maiden sat in teh sunset glow
Of the shadowy, beautiful Long Ago,
That we see through a mist of tears.
She sat and dreamed, with lips apart,
With thoughtful eyes and a beating heart,
Of the mystical future years;
And brighter far than the sunset skies
Was the vision seen by the maiden’s eyes.

There were castles built of the summer air,
And beautiful voices were singing there,
In a soft and floating strain.
There were skies of azure and fields of green,
With never a cloud to come between,
And never a thought of pain;
There was the music, sweet as the silvery notes
That flow from a score of thrushes’ throats.

There were hands to clasp with a loving hold;
There were lips to kiss, and eyes that told
More than the lips could say.
And all the faces she loved were there,
With their snowy brows untouched by care,
And locks that were never grey.
And Love was the melody each heart beat,
And the beautiful vision was all complete.

But the castles built of the summer wind
I have vainly sought. I only find
Shadows, all grim and cold; –
For I was the maiden who thought to see
Into the future years, – Ah, me!
And I am grey and old.
My dream of earth was as fair and bright
As my hope of heaven is to-night.

Dreams are but dreams at the very best,
And the friends I loved lay down to rest
With their faces hid away.
They had furrowed brows and snowy hair,
And they willing laid one day.
A shadow came over my vision scene
As the clouds of sorrow came in between.

The hands that I thought to clasp are crossed,
The lips and the beautiful eyes are lost,
And I seek them all in vain.
The gushes of melody, sweet and clear,
And the floating voices, I do not hear,
But only a sob of pain;
And the beating hearts have paused to rest.
Ah! dreams are but dreams at the very best.

– Ella Wheeler Wilcox

8. Dreams

We slip beneath the pillow’s spell
And drift from heaven and into hell
To lose control of conscious mind
The secrets of our soul to find.

A timeless journey fills our being.
The blind man now becomes all-seeing.
The lonely now becomes the lover.
The childless wife a loving mother.

Reflection of our dormant fears
Once woken may reduce to tears.
With sleep the master free to prey
On untold thought which nightly stray.

– Jane A Beresford

Poems About Dreams

9. Clouded dreams

At dawn I dreamed of wispy clouds,
I had the time to wield and watched
the regimented lines of cirrus racing
from the north by west; elusive
strands of airy ice that spread
up high across the gravid sky.

Each seemed less obsessed than
speeding to a destination far-away,
constrained in ever shifting shapes that lead
somewhere out to sea, an unseen deep
instanced in my mind beyond the lines
of obfuscating hills, off where they belonged,
enthroned in solemn dignity.

This afternoon the clouds are cumulus
for so their shape suggests, dumpy lumps
that hang in sombre clumps descended
from their aerie vastness. A tired cirrhosis
of their former selves, they droop about
the mordant blue and plod their way at very least
in ordered flow from west to east.

Tonight I’ll dream of stratus clouds and gentle rain
to drench the shroud that binds the earth in powdered
dust, rising in asthmatic puffs about our dusty feet;
and sleep I will with cirrus wings to soar above
the earthy things that strive to snare my clouded dreams.

– Ivan Donn Carswell

10. Dream A Little Dream For Me

At night when you think through your day
Think on the things that you did say
When you think through the things that you should be
Dream this little dream for me

Dream of blue skies forever
Dream that we are a worthy endeavor
Dream this one dream so you can see
Dream this little dream for me

The world fades but I’m still here
Still living for you
I’m sitting outside beneath the sky clear
Just enjoying your view

Sleep well until morning comes
Live with the passion of a thousand suns
Tell me all the things that you should be
And dream this little dream for me

Dream of you through my eyes
Dream though it may not be much of a surprise
That while you dream enjoying the view
I’m dreaming a little dream for you.

Yes, dreaming a dream for you!

– Jack Harris

11. Dream Is Dream

My love in dream
I see you thee, hand in hand
strolling beside the silver sea

lying on sand glowing as gold
thou art I feel kneeling by my side
I prayed for sun not to rise
and night to stay a little while

on the glowing silvery night
to me once more thy foot steps tend
following together side by side
I plead with yearn to never end

for far and wide our feet have traveled
leaving the marks on my soul
asif, for dream is dream just lie and bold
to keep the grip on hope and hold

– Asif Baloch

12. Loom Of Dreams

It was a dream delicately woven
Fine threads of silk intricately spun,
Embroidered with hope that made it brighten
Vibrant hues all blending into one.

Under loving care the cherished dream did thrive.
Soon it was time for it to succeed
But to achieve itself the lovely dream had to strive,
The world too busy to pay any heed.

Losing its freshness it fast faded
Unable to resist life’s forces inevitable.
Once exuberant, now old and jaded,
To the arduous trials it had proved susceptible.

A dream nurtured so ardently
Could it wither as easily?
As I wonder thus, I resume silently
To spin one more, just as intricately.

– Meghana Joshi

Poems About Dreams

13. Go To Sleep

Go to sleep.
Close your eyes.
Dream of birds and
Butterflies.
Dream of morning
Blue,
And while I’m asleep,
I’ll dream of
You.

– Katy Elizabeth

14. Dream By Dream

Dream by dream, I felt his presence,
A spirit formed of love and light,
A welcomed guest in my loneliness,
Sweetly whispering in the night

Dream by dream, the truth unfolded,
I’m no longer chained to sorrow,
He slayed the dragon of regret,
His courage is mine to borrow

Dream by dream, I watched the power
Of persuasion fly like a dart,
My will was pierced, then all went numb….
Swiftly, he overtook my heart

Dream by dream, I fought surrender,
Then, he transformed my shattered world,
Bravely, I walked toward my captor,
In my hand, the white flag unfurled

Dream by dream, I was overwhelmed,
Now I still ask how can this be,
But could I live without him now….?
Impossible…. he’s part of me!

– Lora Colon

15. Dreams and Wishes

The blind man dreams that he can see,
the mute that he can talk.
The deaf man dreams that he can hear,
the lame that he can walk.

The young man dreams of what’s to come,
in years that lie ahead.
The old man dreams of yesterday,
and longs for youth, instead.

Most things we have in life are worth
a lot more than they seem.
What is reality for me,
could be your wildest dream.

We wish that we were someone else,
or in some other spot.
We fail to treasure what is ours,
not seeing what we’ve got.

At times, I wish that I were you,
you might wish you were me.
What are those certain traits we have,
that makes an entity?

We wish for what’s beyond our reach,
sometimes beyond the earth.
That which is easy to obtain,
seldom has any worth.

If we never followed a dream,
or wished upon a star,
We’d miss out on the chance to be
much better than we are.

So, always keep those dreams alive,
don’t let them fade away.
It’s possible, one of your dreams
may come true on this day.

– William Tozzi

16. Sweet Dreams

Another day till the sunset bids its goodbye
Hour on the hour, time ticks by
Alone as always since you are gone
Wandering in the sweet memories and our song

You sang so liltingly, my heart captured in Cupid’s arrow
Now I see your face in every full moon’s glow
And your smile in the sunset reflection of our favorite stream
Your warm softness as we cuddled under an umbrella
Our hearts beating, the rain seems afar

Dusk, soft grass and stars, sweet prelude to my dream
My eyes grow heavy, your voice from afar, a melodious breath
As fireflies dance, their never-ending dance of death

– kwai chee low

Poems About Dreams

17. As I Stroll Through A Dream

I just walk through my day as I stroll through a dream
Where all things are as possible as they may seem,
Where the moon rides the daytime, the sun rides the night
For surely this means that both periods are bright,
From the shadows hang silver, from twilight hangs gold
For the beauty we see is to have and to hold,
Even inverted streams that flow through the dawn air
Give us more treasured images we can all share.

I dip my toes in a puddle that rainbows a dream
In soft circlets of colour that ripple and gleam,
And I wash my face gently with life’s whispered breeze
Then I dry it again with the winds of the trees,
There is so much to see in a moment of time
So many silk pages of immortal rhyme
That come back on the echoes of what’s gone before
And quietly tap on each window or door.

I call out to a lark as it sings to the sky
With no need to wonder, no need to ask why
How Heaven can sing in such soft feathered ways
Like the angels we dream of from our childhood days,
There is sometimes a laugh, and yet sometimes a cry
When the roses have bloomed, or the well has ran dry,
Yet my day wanders on in our dream’s blessed calm
With a prayer of contentment that keeps me from harm…

– Keith

18. Once Upon A Dream

My dream felt so real it lead me to wonder
had my soul left my body to slumber,
there whilst I slept during the night
did I really fly, had my soul taken flight.

I seemed to be floating with clouds in the sky
below me the earth I was ever so high,
then suddenly I thought of a place, I was there
on a fantastic Island in its beauty, I share.

I walked on a beach with the sun burning bright
these sights were amazing such a delight,
birds I could hear the flowers were real
all of my senses, I could smell, I could feel.

But then came the shadows that took me away
a voice I heard clearly it beckoned me to stay,
darkness came quickly I woke in my bed
still thoughts of this dream today fill my head.

– Brian Kingsford

19. Reach For Your Dream

Reach for your dream knowing it will come true.
This is possible for me and you.
We must follow God’s command and make a stand.
Stand for what we believe and we are sure to succeed.
God’s plan for us will come to pass and our dreams will come
within our reach.
If you listen, you will learn that God does teach.
He teaches us how to know how to live day by day.
He always makes a way.
Our dreams will surely come true, because we know what to do.
Trust and have faith in God’s grace.
We are guaranteed to see him face to face.

– Andrea Counts

20. Chase The Moon

We will chase the glowing moon,
so no harsh sunlight will
wipe away the romantic light.
So the night of our wildest dreams
will not end too soon.

We will run with our dreams tonight,
till that moment comes
when we can finally stop,
because we lived our dreams.

– Darin Penzera

Poems About Dreams

21. Magical Dreams

I slumber into a Magical Dreams
A castle appears from five magical beans
A kingdom up in the air
I mount a flying horse
That takes me their
Giants are counting golden eggs
Rocking themselves in musical chairs
I own the magical wand
To set a table loaded with all that I want

So excited I think it’s all true
Gods and Goddesses are playing with you
Butterflies of gold are clapping about
Dragons spit fire, don’t burn their mouth
Fish talk and mermaid swim out
Ice queen look dazzling in frozen frocks
A diamond head snake leads me to the hidden golden rock
Money is flying like Autumn leaves they drop
I am Rick in my Magical Dreams
Don’t stop

– Lorna Malla

22. Dreams

There’s a place where I go that no one else knows,
Where mysteries abound and excitement grows.
A place out of reach of any man’s hands,
Safely secluded in a far away land
Beyond the grasp of those who may plunder
The wealth of its power and its life changing wonder.
I go alone to my secret place, never leaving a trace
For someone to follow and discover my space
Where I keep my secrets, my fears, and my regrets
Away from the world and all of its threats.
It’s mine and mine alone!
The only place I can call my own.
I treasure the moments spent in this realm
Where anything is possible and I’m at the helm.
This place I describe is all that it seems …
It’s a magical place I call my dreams.

– John Raines

23. My Dream

I dream of a church on a beach,
Where all go to preach
I think of that beautiful beach,
Which I know is beyond my reach

I dream of a nation
Without any dissension
Where peace and prosperity rules
Over the ocean blues

I dream of taking a risk
Of touching the blazing asterisk
Although it is only a dream
I wish to travel the realm

I have a dream
To eat an icy cream
Which is far more luscious that any treat
In this human world of greed

I dream that I’m Megaman
Soaring the skies like Superman
Yet as sharp as Batman
Mixed with the humor of Spiderman

I know my delusion
Is nothing but a mere illusion
Yet to realize them I’ll try my best
And on God I leave the rest

– Aditya Chattopadyay

24. A Bed Of Clouds

I sleep in the clouds, dream in the sky,
I’ll keep dreaming as life passes me by,
I think my dreams keep me sane,
I dream of happiness, a life without pain,
some people say I’m stuck in this place,
and I’ll never go anywhere,
but in my dreams I’ve already been there,
I know some day I’ll have to wake up,
but I feel the real world is more like a nightmare,
I’m safe in my closed eye wonderland,
this poem goes to all the dreamers that understand,
no matter what they say…
keep your dreams but don’t dream your life away,

– Ashley L. May

Poems About Dreams

25. Dreaming

Close your eyes and spread your wings.
Make a wish and dream good dreams.
Don’t ever say you’ll never tell.
‘Cause life is short and very frail.
Just be still and take a look.
Before you know it, you’ll be hooked.
Then once in a blink of an eye,
You’ll soon realize it was all a lie.
Up you look and there they’re gone.
Why two days feel so long?
What was once there has disappeared.
Now, love is the one thing to fear.
Why say go when it was no?
You open your eyes only to find
What lied there was your sign.
So close your eyes and spread your wings.
Make a good wish and LIVE your dreams!

– Johnitha Anderson

26. The Dream

Dear love, for nothing less than thee
Would I have broke this happy dream;
It was a theme
For reason, much too strong for fantasy,
Therefore thou wak’d’st me wisely; yet
My dream thou brok’st not, but continued’st it.
Thou art so true that thoughts of thee suffice
To make dreams truths, and fables histories;
Enter these arms, for since thou thought’st it best,
Not to dream all my dream, let’s act the rest.

As lightning, or a taper’s light,
Thine eyes, and not thy noise wak’d me;
Yet I thought thee
(For thou lovest truth) an angel, at first sight;
But when I saw thou sawest my heart,
And knew’st my thoughts, beyond an angel’s art,
When thou knew’st what I dreamt, when thou knew’st when
Excess of joy would wake me, and cam’st then,
I must confess, it could not choose but be
Profane, to think thee any thing but thee.

Coming and staying show’d thee, thee,
But rising makes me doubt, that now
Thou art not thou.
That love is weak where fear’s as strong as he;
‘Tis not all spirit, pure and brave,
If mixture it of fear, shame, honour have;
Perchance as torches, which must ready be,
Men light and put out, so thou deal’st with me;
Thou cam’st to kindle, goest to come; then I
Will dream that hope again, but else would die.

– John Donne

27. Houses Of Dreams

You took my empty dreams
And filled them every one
With tenderness and nobleness,
April and the sun.

The old empty dreams
Where my thoughts would throng
Are far too full of happiness
To even hold a song.

Oh, the empty dreams were dim
And the empty dreams were wide,
They were sweet and shadowy houses
Where my thoughts could hide.

But you took my dreams away
And you made them all come true —
My thoughts have no place now to play,
And nothing now to do.

– Sara Teasdale

Leave a Comment