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This site exists for one purpose only: to help dispel the ugly and absolutely untrue myth that poetry is boring. Granted, a lot of poetry is boring, but you won't find it here. At Your Daily Poem, you'll find poetry that is touching, funny, provocative, inspiring, uplifting, and surprising. It may punch you in the gut, it may bring tears to your eyes, it may make you laugh out loud, but it most assuredly will not bore you! Visit our home page every day to see a different poem.

Poetry on YDP—by poets living and long dead, famous to completely unknown--is specially selected for accessibility and appeal. Thanks so much for visiting—and remember: a poem a day keeps the doldrums away!

The Poor Voter on Election Day
by
John Greenleaf Whittier

The proudest now is but my peer,
The highest not more high;
To-day, of all the weary year,
A king of men am I.
To-day, alike are great and small,
The nameless and the known;
My palace is the people's hall,
The ballot-box my throne!
Who serves to-day upon the list
Beside the served shall stand;
Alike the brown and wrinkled fist,
The gloved and dainty hand!
The rich is level with the poor,
The weak is strong to-day;
And sleekest broadcloth counts no more
Than homespun frock of gray.
To-day let pomp and vain pretence
My stubborn right abide;
I set a plain man's common sense
Against the pedant's pride.
To-day shall simple manhood try
The strength of gold and land;
The wide world has not wealth to buy
The power in my right hand!
While there's a grief to seek redress,
Or balance to adjust,
Where weighs our living manhood less
Than Mammon's vilest dust, —
While there's a right to need my vote,
A wrong to sweep away,
Up! clouted knee and ragged coat!
A man's a man to-day!

This poem is in the public domain.

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 - 1892) was one of the "Fireside Poets," called such because their work was popular enough to be read (ostensibly by the fire) in homes all over America. And Whittier was one of those rare poets who actually made a rather comfortable living from the proceeds of his work. Born into a Massachusetts farm family, Whittier was introduced to poetry by one of his school teachers. An avid reader and writer early on, Whittier spent much of his working life as an editor, though he had political aspirations as well. He was a staunch abolitionist, and produced two collections of anti-slavery poems, along with an anti-slavery pamphlet that managed to incur the wrath of both sides and effectively ended any hopes Whittier had of a political career. Critical opinion on the value of Whittier's poetry is mixed. Some dismiss it as overly emotional, while others believe the heartfelt simplicity is precisely its appeal.

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EstherJ:
Great one! Some of the privileges of being able to vote so well put.
Posted 11/08/2026 08:26 AM

Rida Imran:
Today, I am reading this poem on my teacher's recommendation, and I am happy that I am reading it in my twenties. Perhaps, if I had read it earlier, I would not have been able to connect with it so deeply. But now, I understand how the poet uses the repetition of "No time, no time" to emphasize his message. And it is true that we have no time to stand and stare. Why?
Posted 11/08/2026 01:33 AM

Rida Imran:
Today, I am reading this poem on my teacher's recommendation, and I am happy that I am reading it in my twenties. Perhaps, if I had read it earlier, I would not have been able to connect with it so deeply. But now, I understand how the poet uses the repetition of "No time, no time" to emphasize his message. And it is true that we have no time to stand and stare. Why?
Posted 11/08/2026 01:33 AM

phebe.davidson@gmail.com:
I've always had a weakness for Whittier, whose poems I remember in my grandmother's voice. What a good choice this is!
Posted 11/08/2011 07:27 AM

Julianne Carlile:
Yes, I feel that pride when I vote. A wonderful poem.
Posted 11/08/2011 05:36 AM

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