Your Daily Poem

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!

Around the Corner
by
Charles Hanson Towne

Around the corner I have a friend,

In this great city that has no end;

Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,

And before I know it, a year is gone,

And I never see my old friend's face,

For Life is a swift and terrible race.

He knows I like him just as well

As in the days when I rang his bell

And he rang mine. We were younger then,

And now we are busy, tired men:

Tired with playing a foolish game,

Tired with trying to make a name.

"Tomorrow," I say, "I will call on Jim,

Just to show that I'm thinking of him."

But tomorrow comes--and tomorrow goes,

And the distances between us grows and grows.
Around the corner!--yet miles away . . .
"Here's a telegram, sir . . ."

"Jim died today."

And that's what we get, and deserve in the end:

Around the corner, a vanished friend.

This poem is in the public domain.

Charles Hanson Towne (1877-1949) was an author, editor, professor, and poet. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, his family moved to New York City when Charles was just a toddler. By the time he was eleven, Charles was writing and publishing his own magazine; he grew up to edit several of New York's most esteemed periodicals, including Harper’s Bazaar.

Judy:
Well said!
Posted 07/10/2026 10:31 AM

Tom Sharpe:
Am there, do that, buried one one Tuesday.
Posted 07/10/2026 09:25 AM

Darrell Arnold:
When we realize for ourselves what is in this poem, we can do something about it. In the past few years, I have tracked down many of those old friends and have found them again, via telephone or e-mail. We have reconnected, and we now stay in touch. It is a great reward to once again have them in my life. Great poem.
Posted 07/10/2026 08:28 AM

pawa:
Always one of my favorites.
Posted 08/17/2022 01:53 PM

emily9746@aol.com:
This so true we shouldn't let things get in the way and yet we all do.
Posted 09/29/2019 01:04 PM

mayonaise:
this is spooooooo saddddd
Posted 04/30/2019 05:22 PM

Marilyn Barber:
I now live in that season of life and feel the pain, but also the JOY of having known that true friend. The Lord Jesus Christ now comforts me as I take each step! Marilyn Barber 3-5-2019
Posted 03/05/2019 01:18 PM

nadia ibrashi:
Wise and beautiful.
Posted 07/10/2011 03:38 PM

dianapoet:
So true. Grateful for friends.
Posted 07/10/2011 09:11 AM

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