Poems with Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the words 'like' or 'as,' highlighting a shared quality between them.
Simile is poetry's most accessible comparison tool. By explicitly connecting two different things — 'my love is like a red, red rose' — it invites the reader to see one thing through the lens of another while maintaining awareness of both. The space between the two compared things is where meaning lives. A simile works best when the comparison is surprising yet instantly recognizable: 'quiet as a held breath,' 'memories scattered like seeds.' Unlike metaphor's bold assertion of identity, simile's gentler 'like' allows for nuance and doubt, making it perfect for capturing the approximate nature of emotional truth.
Examples of Simile
- 1My love is like a red, red rose (Burns — love compared to a rose using 'like')
- 2Life is like a box of chocolates (comparison using 'like')
- 3Her smile was as bright as the morning sun (comparison using 'as')
Poems Using Simile
First Morning
FeaturedI woke before you and did nothing about it. The radiator ticked. Your shoulder rose and fell.
What the Body Remembers
My hands still set the table for two. Not every night—just Thursdays, when my hands forget
The Chair by the Window
My father's chair still faces the window where he watched the street as if expecting a delivery
The Workshop
My father's workshop smelled of pine and something electrical— the ozone ghost of a drill
Portrait with Bobby Pins
She does this thing with bobby pins— holds three between her lips like small dark fish
Sonnet for the Sleepless
The house at three a.m. becomes a throat that hums with all the things we didn't say, and I lie still as someone in a boat
Psalm for the Doubters
Blessed are those who aren't sure. Blessed are those who came to church for the singing, stayed for the quiet,
August, and Everything After
August is a thief who comes dressed as a gift: the peach at its most golden