Poems about Daughters (2024)

‘A Prayer for my Daughter’ by William Butler Yeats speaks about the poet’s family. It demonstrates his concern and anxiety over the future wellbeing and prospects of his daughter, Anne.

Yeats concerned and nervous poetic voice captures the essence of so many new parents, all of whom want the best for their precious child but are surrounded by events beyond their control. In the case of this poem, which was written shortly after the birth of Yeats' daughter, Anne, the First World War had recently ended but it would not long until the Irish War of Independence began. The sense of helplessness is matched by the fierce certainty that the speaker will defend his daughter, though he doesn't know who from.

I have walked and prayed for this young child an hour

And heard the sea-wind scream upon the tower,

And under the arches of the bridge, and scream

In the elms above the flooded stream;

‘Missing My Daughter’ by Stephen Spender is a poem about a speaker’s desire to see his daughter and how he feel trapped in a prison of loneliness.

Spender's account of missing his daughter is extremely powerful and emphasises the fact that being separated from one's children is akin to being imprisoned. The imagery of incarceration reflects the speaker's physical and mental separation from his daughter, which has robbed him of his ability to write.

This wall-paper has lines that rise

Upright like bars, and overhead,

The ceiling's patterned with red roses.

On the wall opposite the bed

‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’ uses the metaphor of a child learning to ride a bike to beautifully capture a parent’s mixed emotions of pride and fear as they watch their daughter grow up and gain independence.

The specific focus on a daughter in the poem brings attention to the unique dynamics often present in parent-daughter relationships. It explores the emotional depth of watching a daughter grow and navigate her own path, evoking feelings of both pride and apprehension.

When I taught you

at eight to ride

a bicycle, loping along

beside you

Boland’s ‘The Pomegranate’ links Persephone’s myth to the bond between a mother and daughter, reflecting on growth and legacy.

Boland brilliantly uses the myth of Persephone's abduction by Hades and Demeter's subsequent wrath to contemplate her own relationship with her daughter. The speaker ponders how to explain to her daughter that there are evil forces and people in the world. The evocation of Demeter also serves to illustrate the speaker's love for her daughter, given Demeter's response to losing Persephone was so strong that the ancient Greeks used it to explain the four seasons of the year.

The only legend I have ever loved is

the story of a daughter lost in hell.

And found and rescued there.

Love and blackmail are the gist of it.

‘Fear’ by Gabriela Mistral is a passionate poem about a mother’s hopes for her daughter’s future. It includes three stanzas that contain the speaker’s worries about who her daughter may turn into.

Mistral's poem expertly depicts the conflicted feelings a parent has for their daughter and their fear that she will one day become a stranger to her parent. Mistral identifies several things she does not wish her daughter to become, even though some of them are usually thought to be positive. Ultimately, it is the thought that the daughter will leave the speaker forever that is the source of their fear and anxiety, even though it is likely unfounded.

I don’t want them to turn

my little girl into a swallow.

She would fly far away into the sky

and never fly again to my straw bed,

‘For My Daughter’ by Weldon Kees is an interesting poem about a speaker’s thoughts about having a daughter and considering her death.

Although the daughter in this poem is revealed to be imagined, the poem still explores what it means to have a daughter. Above all, the poem lingers on the fragility of the daughter's life and contends with how awful it would be if anything happened to her. Ultimately, this vulnerability is the reason the speaker has no children, as they would be too afraid of something happening to them.

Looking into my daughter’s eyes I read

Beneath the innocence of morning flesh

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Concealed, hintings of death she does not heed.

Coldest of winds have blown this hair, and mesh

In ‘Mother-in-law,’ Rich’s verses echo with unspoken truths, illuminating the complexities of familial bonds and the longing for genuine understanding.

The poem delves into the intricate dynamics between mothers and daughters-in-law, highlighting the universal theme of maternal relationships. It explores the struggle for understanding and acceptance, emphasizing the daughter-in-law's desire to be seen and heard. Through her candid revelations, the poem underscores the complexities of daughterly bonds, portraying the challenges and yearnings inherent in these relationships across diverse cultural contexts.

Tell me something

you say

Not: What are you working on now, is there anyone special,

how is the job

‘Pain for a Daughter’ by Anne Sexton is about a mother’s internal conversations while witnessing her daughter’s metamorphosis into a young adult.

This poem explores the pain and fear that comes with being a mother. 'Pain for a Daughter' is written from the perspective of a mother who is watching her daughter grow up and face the challenges of life. The mother is filled with love for her daughter, but she is also afraid of what the future holds for her.

Blind with love, my daughter

has cried nightly for horses,

those long-necked marchers and churners

that she has mastered, any and all...

‘Snapshots of a Daughter-In-Law’ is a feminist poem of defiance and activism against the misogynistic constraints of patriarchal society. It is a beautiful, and often satirical, poetic exploration of the position women occupy within a male-dominated world.

The title of the poem suggests that it is a poem all about daughters and mother-in-laws, but it is actually more broadly about the wider struggles all women face. Themes of motherhood and daughterhood do thoroughly weave their way into gendered stereotypes, so daughters are explored as a topic in the poem, just not a primary one.

Your mind now, moldering like wedding-cake,

heavy with useless experience, rich

with suspicion, rumor, fantasy,

crumbling to pieces under the knife-edge

‘Before You Were Mine’ by Carol Ann Duffy is a beautiful and nostalgic poem that features a woman’s contemplations of her mother’s life before the latter gave birth to her.

The speaker is a daughter, presumably Duffy herself. She spends the poem considering her mother, the influence she's had on her life, and how much she cares for and admires her. It's very clear how influential her mother has been.

I’m ten years away from the corner you laugh on

with your pals, Maggie McGeeney and Jean Duff.

The three of you bend from the waist, holding

each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement.

‘Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note’ (1961) is the titular poem of Amiri Baraka’s first collection of poems. This piece introduces a depressed narrator engrossed with the thoughts of dying.

In the poem, the speaker mentions tiptoeing up to their daughter's room, finding her on her knees, and peeking into her clasped hands. This brief moment alludes to the speaker's relationship with their daughter and their relationship.

Lately, I've become accustomed to the way

The ground opens up and envelopes me

Each time I go out to walk the dog.

In ‘Full Moon and Little Frieda,’ Ted Hughes describes his daughter’s observations of the world around her, reflecting on nature and family.

A cool small evening shrunk to a dog bark and the clank of a bucket -

And you listening.

A spider's web, tense for the dew's touch.

‘My Mother’ by Ellen Bryant Voigt explores a speaker’s understanding of her mother and how her mother considered her as she aged.

my mother my mother my mother she

could do anything so she did everything the world

was an unplowed field a dress to be hemmed a scraped knee it needed

a casserole it needed another alto in the choir her motto was apply yourself

‘The Underground Baby Case’ by Jackie Kay conveys the feelings and choices of a woman who lost her own child and stole someone else’s.

There was a couple of things

I wanted to remember