101 Poems, Number 33

Favorite Poems Throughout My Life

33: “She Walks in Beauty,” 1813, by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824)

“She walks in beauty, like the night …”—

And so begins these lines—just right.

A poem that in many ways

Is perfect. In my mind it stays

With just a little work each week,

(I know: I’m something of a geek,

The kind who likes to memorize

All kinds of poems—any size!)

But this one’s brief, emotional—

And flows along—is never dull.

Like Byron’s life—oh, far too brief—

An autumn day—a fallen leaf.

Link to poem.