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Poems About the Truth

Suggested Poems About Truth

Famous Poems About Truth

  1. I died for beauty, but was scarce by Emily Dickinson

Short Poems About Truth

  1. Speak the Truth by Anonymous
  2. Truth and Falsehood by James A. DeMoss
  3. I died for beauty, but was scarce by Emily Dickinson
  4. Sincerity by Kate Louise Wheeler
  5. Truth by Benjamin Hine

Poems About Truth for Kids

  1. Speak the Truth by Anonymous
  2. Be True, Boys by Henry Downton


There’s nothing so kingly as kindness,
And nothing so royal as truth.

– Alice Cary
Nobility
  1. Speak the Truth

    by Anonymous

    Speak the truth!
    Speak it boldly, never fear;
    Speak it so that all may hear;
    In the end it shall appear
    Truth is best in age and youth.
    Speak the truth.

    Speak the truth!
    Truth is beautiful and brave,
    Strong to bless and strong to save
    Falsehood is a coward knave;
    From it turn thy steps in youth—
    Follow truth!

  2. Truth

    Frail man abjures thee,
    His eyes too weak to bear thy light...
    He hides himself in error's night,—

    – Benjamin Hine
    Truth
    by Benjamin Hine

    Truth, I see thy hallowed features,
    Circled round with glory bright,
    Too bright to dwell with sinful creatures,
    Heaven, not earth, is thy delight.

    There, from the eternal ages,
    Thou in honour hast abode,
    Loved and revered by highest angels,
    A darling attribute of God.

    Not so on earth; frail man abjures thee,
    His eyes too weak to bear thy light,
    To shun the blaze of thy effulgence,
    He hides himself in error's night,—
    Darkness befits him.


    True value, and true glory,
    His word will then unfold;
    This is no transient story,
    But truth confirm'd of old.

    – Eliza Wolcott
    Happiness Is To Be Found In God Alone

  3. The Goal

    There is one thing nobly worth while...
    And that's to hold the truth!
    To abide with justice and right,

    – Amos Russel Wells
    The Goal
    by Amos Russel Wells

    There is one thing nobly worth while,
    Though the parrots chatter and scream,
    Though the critics howl and the cynics smile,
    And life seems a mocking dream.

    There is one thing that grandly counts,
    In the face of the tempting glare,
    In the tempests of doubt on the lonely mounts,
    In the thickets of thorny care.

    And that's to hold the truth!
    To abide with justice and right,
    To be a man in genuine sooth,
    With heaven's invincible might.

    There are bowers of beauty and love,
    There are trumpets of lordly fame,
    There are pleasures below and blessings above
    That flash with a lifting flame.

    Let them flaunt their allurements high,
    Let them beckon and call and cajole;
    There is only one worth in the earth and the sky,
    And that is an honest soul.

  4. Peace

    by Bliss Carman

    The sleeping tarn is dark
    Below the wooded hill.
    Save for its homing sounds,
    The twilit world grows still.

    And I am left to muse
    In grave-eyed mystery,
    And watch the stars come out
    As sandalled dusk goes by.

    And now the light is gone,
    The drowsy murmurs cease,
    And through the still unknown
    I wonder whence comes peace.

    Then softly falls the word
    Of one beyond a name,
    "Peace only comes to him
    Who guards his life from shame, —

    "Who gives his heart to love,
    And holding truth for guide,
    Girds him with fearless strength,
    That freedom may abide."

  5. I died for beauty, but was scarce

    by Emily Dickinson

    I died for beauty, but was scarce
    Adjusted in the tomb,
    When one who died for truth was lain
    In an adjoining room.

    He questioned softly why I failed?
    "For beauty," I replied.
    "And I for truth, — the two are one;
    We brethren are," he said.

    And so, as kinsmen met a night,
    We talked between the rooms,
    Until the moss had reached our lips,
    And covered up our names.


    "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
    Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

    – John Keats
    Ode on a Grecian Urn
  6. Beauty and Truth

    by Ruby Archer

    I walk in stately mansions
    The great are kind to me
    They find perhaps within my verse
    A tang of novelty

    If beauty gilds my rhyming,
    How quickly they applaud;
    But when the iron clamps my line,
    Their thoughts are all abroad.

    Ah! Beauty—I adore it,
    And hold it ardently;
    Yet beauty is a bloom that dies—
    The truth is more to me.

    How oft the truth refuses
    To bend in singing smooth;
    For thoughts uprooted from the soul
    Come rugged and uncouth.


    The lamp of truth is lighted,
    To guide our doubtful way;
    And we are now invited,
    To wait the sun's bright ray.

    – Eliza Wolcott
    Grief And Hope, Compared To The Rainbow After A Shower

  7. Echo

    "Here, while snares and pit-falls lie
    Round on every part,
    One is calling from on high,
    "Son, give me thy heart!"
    He will ne'er deceive nor mock,
    Fly to Him, the LIVING ROCK!"

    – Hannah Flagg Gould
    Echo
    by Hannah Flagg Gould

    "Father! father! come with me
    Down among the rocks!
    Softly! for I long to see
    Who it is that mocks.
    When I laugh, or sing, or call,
    Some one there repeats it all."

    "Ah! my child, thou dost not know
    All that 's dear and true,
    In this world of noise and show,
    Has its semblance too.
    E'en a sound with joy in it
    Will draw forth its counterfeit.

    "Mid the dissonance of earth
    We so oft must hear,
    Sweet the voice of infant mirth
    Falls upon the ear.
    Mingled innocence and joy!
    Blessed harmony, my boy.

    "And, in heartless mockery,
    Echo now has caught
    Tones of gladness sent from thee;
    While herself is nought
    But the shadow of a sound,
    Thrown from rocks and hills around.

    "Be thou cautioned from to-day;
    For thou yet must meet,
    Here and there on life's rude way,
    Many a fair deceit.
    No illusion seek to trace
    To her seeming dwelling place.

    "Here, while snares and pit-falls lie
    Round on every part,
    One is calling from on high,
    "Son, give me thy heart!"
    He will ne'er deceive nor mock,
    Fly to Him, the LIVING ROCK!"

  8. The Soldier

    by J. G. Adams

    A soldier! a soldier! I'm longing to be:
    The name and the life of a soldier for me!
    I would not be living at ease and at play;
    True honor and glory I'd win in my day.

    A soldier! a soldier! in armor arrayed;
    My weapons in hand, of no contest afraid;
    I'd ever be ready to strike the first blow,
    And to fight my way through the ranks of the foe.

    But then, let me tell you, no blood would I shed,
    No victory seek o'er the dying and dead;
    A far braver soldier than this would I be;
    A warrior of Truth, in the ranks of the free.

    A soldier! a soldier! Oh, then, let me be!
    My friends, I invite you, enlist now with me.
    Truth's bands shall be mustered, love's foes shall give way!
    Let's up, and be clad in our battle array!

  9. Truth Will Triumph

    by Colfax Burgoyne Harman

    When gossips' talk and traitor's scheming,
    And jealous fiends on evil bent,
    With basest vices unredeeming,
    Brand the names of the innocent;

    When hope's bright sun seems nearly setting,
    The future dim and cloudy lies,
    And you more tired of life are getting,
    And tears of sorrow dim the eyes;

    Cheer up, take courage, do not falter,
    Truth will triumph by and by,
    Time all evil things will alter,
    Vice and wickedness must die.

    **********

    Some men are not unlike the owl
    That base, wild-eyed, nocturnal fowl,
    That slays his victims in the night,
    And brings his deeds not unto light.

  10. Truth and Falsehood

    by James A. DeMoss

    Justice gives no rewards
    To prosecute her claims;
    While treason offers gold,
    And by it often gains.

    Truth stands unfortified,
    Bared to the storms of life;
    While falsehood always hides
    Shielded from open strife.

    While right and justice gives
    Fair play to all mankind
    Falsehood and treason push
    In night their mad designs.

    If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.

    – Mark Twain
  11. Sincerity

    by Kate Louise Wheeler

    To self and to God be loyal and true,
    Fear not what others may say or may do,
    But what at best you appear;
    Gird on your armor and stand for the right,
    Honest in purpose and earnest in might,
    Then shall your soul be sincere.

    Banish each doubt and deception and dream,
    Be the real saint that to others you seem,
    Dare to face tempters alone;
    Lift up your banner and fear not the foe,
    Valiant in service wherever you go,
    Sincerity claimeth her own.

  12. Be True, Boys

    by Henry Downton

    Whatever you are, be brave, boys!
    The liar’s a coward and slave, boys!
    Though clever at ruses
    And sharp at excuses,
    He’s a sneaking and pitiful knave, boys!

    Whatever you are, be frank, boys!
    ’Tis better than money and rank, boys!
    Still cleave to the right,
    Be lovers of light;
    Be open, aboveboard, and frank, boys!

    Whatever you are, be kind, boys!
    Be gentle in manners and mind, boys!
    The man gentle in mien,
    Words, and temper, I ween,
    Is the gentleman truly refined, boys!

    But, whatever you are, be true, boys!
    Be visible through and through, boys;
    Leave to others the shamming,
    The “greening” and "cramming"
    In fun and in earnest, be true, boys!

  13. Courage Forever

    by John Bodwell Wood

    What we do, let's do with boldness;
    What we know, let's speak for aye!
    And respect naught for its oldness
    If it be not right to-day.

    What is right, with will is power;
    Truth is truth, and must prevail;
    And true courage for an hour
    Often is of great avail.

    Naught is gained by coward groaning
    Under each mishap and ill;
    Give us men not always moaning—
    Men of nerve and iron will.

    Firmly stand to Freedom's calling,
    Battling to defend the right—
    Fainting not though scenes appalling
    Startle others timid sight.

    Truth is a lonely warrior.

  14. Roots and Earth

    by Ruby Archer

    Poor, pitiful race of unthinkers!
    We shrink from the roots of things,
    Fearing defilement of lingers,
    Meeting the earth where it clings.

    We go through life always plucking
    Visible blossoms of words,—
    Careless of what lies beneath them
    As the honey-bees or the birds.

    We want the flowers for garlands.
    If truth of the dust be espied,
    And the roots of thought follow our plucking,—
    Disdainful, we fling all aside.

    A plant cannot bloom without rootlets,
    And roots cannot live without earth;
    No more can our words be enduring,
    If thoughts have not truth for their birth.

  15. Sincerity

    by Ruby Archer

    Oh, weariness of people
    With smiling, empty face!
    The savage in my heart rebels,
    And feels all out of place.

    Away with formal parlance
    In farce of courtesy!
    Let word of heart come unrestrained
    In frank simplicity.

    Oh, fie on fair words veiling
    Hypocrisy and strife!
    The very soul is worn by mere
    Machinery of life.

    Give me the forest rather,
    At one with creatures wild;
    To walk in kindly Nature's halls,
    And be her simple child.

    For what I hear in silence
    Is better far than words;
    No fret of what availeth not
    Among the leaves and birds.

    To see with clearer vision,
    To feel with quickened sense,
    To know that God-ward all is well,—
    Behold my recompense!

  16. Let us be True

    by J. R. Eastwood

    Let us be true, the young and strong,
    And, waging battle with the wrong,
    Stand, clear of darkness, in the light,
    And brave the world, and do the right.

    From day to day, from year to year,
    Let conscience speak, and reason hear,
    And action seal—though pain and grief
    Oppress the heart beyond relief.

    Though we should die for it—the truth
    Is brighter on the brows of youth
    Than crowns of gold that glitter fair
    With crime and falsehood written there.

    And void of gloom the days shall be
    When age and weakness muse and see
    The days of strength that shine afar
    Where truth was like a guiding star!

  17. Great Truths are portions of the soul

    by James Russell Lowell

    Great Truths are portions of the soul of man;
    Great souls are portions of Eternity;
    Each drop of blood that e'er through true heart ran
    With lofty message, ran for thee and me;
    For God's law, since the starry song began,
    Hath been, and still for evermore must be,
    That every deed which shall out last Time's span
    Must goad the soul to be erect and free;
    Slave is no word of deathless line age sprung,—
    Too many noble souls have thought and died,
    Too many mighty poets lived and sung,
    And our good Saxon, from lips purified
    With martyr-fire, throughout the world hath rung
    Too long to have God's holy cause denied.

  18. Justice

    by Paul Laurence Dunbar

    Enthroned upon the mighty truth,
    Within the confines of the laws,
    True Justice seeth not the man,
    But only hears his cause.

    Unconscious of his creed or race,
    She cannot see, but only weighs;
    For Justice with unbandaged eyes
    Would be oppression in disguise.

  19. Truth

    by Sam Walter Foss

    There's a hand on the rudder that will not flinch,
    There's no fear in the Pilot's face
    As he guides the worlds, like boats in a storm,
    Through the rocking seas of space.
    And whether they make the harbor at last,
    Beyond the shoals and the swell,
    Or sail forever a shore less sea,
    I know that all is well.
    And I learn these things from the heart of the wood,
    From the solemn soul of the sea;
    For never a bird in a wire-bound cage
    Told all these things to me.

    And the soul of man is a sunward bird,
    With wings that are made for flight,
    To pierce to the fount of the shining day,
    And float through the depth of night.
    And I read these thing in that Bible of God,
    Whose leaves are the spreading sky,
    And the legible face of the dark green sea,
    With the eye behind the eye.
    For truth is not closed in the lids of a book,
    For its chain less soul is free;
    And never a bird in a wire-bound cage
    Told all these things to me.

    For truth surges into the open heart,
    And into the willing eye,
    And streams from the breath of the steaming earth,
    And drops from the bending sky;
    · 'Tis not shut in a book, in a church, or a school,
    Nor cramped in the chains of a creed,
    But lives in the open air and the light
    For all men in their need!
    But the fish that swims in a goldfish vase,
    Knows not of the salted sea;
    And never a bird in a wire-bound cage
    Told all these things to me.

    'Tis the Voice that comes from the gilded peaks,
    From the hills that shoulder the sky,
    Through the topless heights of a man's own dreams
    This Voice goes wandering by;
    And who roams the earth with an open heart.
    With an ear attuned to hear,
    Will catch some broken chord of the sound
    Whenever the Voice comes near.
    But not past the prison of custom or creed
    'Will the Voice or the Vision flee;
    And never a bird in a wire-bound cage
    Told all these things to me.

  20. Truth

    by E. F. Hayward

    The highest pinnacle that man can reach,
    And the greatest gospel that he may preach,
    Is to love the truth, and to hate a lie;
    Without this virtue, our honor would die.
    For Truth is the essence of all that's good,
    The real foundation of Brotherhood;
    It comes from the heart that is clean and pure,
    And makes our pledges of honor secure;
    It conquers selfishness, greed and deceit,
    Expels from the mind any impulse to cheat;
    Puts into prayer the force of the Soul,
    Brings us results, for it reaches the goal.
    Promise, without truth, is hollow and dead,—
    We base our hope on the promise ahead.
    Teach it, and preach it, instill it in youth,
    Then practice it daily; telling the truth.

  21. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

    by Martin Luther, F. H. Hedge, tr.

    A mighty fortress is our God,
    A bulwark never failing;
    Our Helper he, amid the flood
    Of mortal ills prevailing.
    For still our ancient foe
    Doth seek to work us woe;
    His craft and power are great,
    And armed with cruel hate,
    On earth is not his equal.

    Did we in our own strength confide,
    Our striving would be losing;
    Were not the right Man on our side,
    The Man of God's own choosing.
    You ask who that may be?
    Christ Jesus, it is he;
    Lord Sabaoth his name,
    From age to age the same,
    And he must win the battle.

    And though this world, with devils filled,
    Should threaten to undo us;
    We will not fear, for God has willed
    His truth to triumph through us.
    The prince of darkness grim,—
    We tremble not for him;
    His rage we can endure,
    For lo! his doom is sure;—
    One little word shall fell him!

    That Word above all earthly powers—
    No thanks to them—abideth;
    The Spirit and the gifts are ours
    Through him who with us sideth.
    Let goods and kindred go,
    This mortal life also;
    The body they may kill:
    God's truth abideth still,
    His kingdom is forever.

  22. Conscience

    by John Boyle O'Reilly

    I care not for the outer voice
    That deals out praise or blame;
    I could not with the world rejoice
    Nor bear its doom of shame—
    But when the Voice within me speaks
    The truth to me is known;
    He sees himself who inward seeks—
    The riches are his own.


Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

– 1 Corinthians 13:6
NIV

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