Have you ever wondered what inspired some of the most iconic and mysterious poems out there? Well, now you can explore this topic further by reading some of the most enigmatic poems in the world. Whether they’re about love, loss, or tragedy, these mysterious poems will take you on a journey and leave you pondering unanswered questions.
1. A Mysterious Neighbour by Sandra Martyres
Sprightly and very much alive
For someone seventy-five
Wearing her trade mark sunglasses
To hide any trace of wrinkles
Are these accessories
Armour to preserve
Her ever youthful image?
Every gesture
Is carefully choreographed
To leave behind an aura of mystery
No one knows her history
Some think she may have been
A fashion designer or a
Classical dancer of yesteryear
Which she neither confirms nor denies
All this conjecture perhaps
Stems from her own wild imaginings
She drops little hints while talking
Leaving people to conclude
That after an illustrious past
She has settled down
In the vicinity to a more
Peaceful and relaxed existence
Yet no one dares question her
Fearing her sarcasm
With haiku-like concision
While fielding difficult questions
From curious neighbours
So she will continue to be an enigma
Until someone uncovers
Her true story –if there is one
2. A Mysterious Voice by Valsa George
From here and there
I hear him speak
His voice, falling in mild whispers
But he always plays hide n’ seek
At times he speaks loud n’ clear
Sometimes so harsh and stern
How he denies my wild longings
With a stubborn ‘Yes’ or ‘No’
What magic and mystery in him stored
I am at a loss to gauge
Amid the shards of my broken sleep
I often struggle to decipher his mysterious codes
I sought after him ever and ever
Down the nights and through the days
Taking him to be one from the dead
I searched him through avenues dark
Along aisles of the dead lain in rows
And in the hallways of fame
But he eluded me like a mysterious sprite
Prancing around and hiding about
When I give up my search after him
He shouts and whistles amid the din
And I see faint truths suddenly uncoiling
With a clearer perspective of life coming into view
At the end of my incessant search
I chanced to meet him within my own self
Peering into my depths, I saw him, his face veiled
And a balance held obliquely in his hands
Lifting the veil from his countenance
I saw him clear, clear as in a mirror
Someone with such commanding air
And stern with an impassive demeanour
In the still pool of the engulfing silence
I heard him introduce himself
His sound ringing so distinct and clear
Leaving echoes in the hall of stillness
“I am CON- SCI-ENCE, your alter ego
Listen to me, you shall not stray’’!
3. Mysterious Perception. by Sandra Feldman
It may be that,
Poets have a third eye
Hidden, way down
In their prodigious
And prolific
Minds,
That often
Can explain things,
Giving answers
To ‘Why’
And to the mysteries,
That otherwise escape,
The naked eye.
4. The Mysterious Cat by Vachel Lindsay
I saw a proud, mysterious cat,
I saw a proud, mysterious cat
Too proud to catch a mouse or rat—
Mew, mew, mew.
But catnip she would eat, and purr,
But catnip she would eat, and purr.
And goldfish she did much prefer—
Mew, mew, mew.
I saw a cat—’twas but a dream,
I saw a cat—’twas but a dream
Who scorned the slave that brought her cream—
Mew, mew, mew.
Unless the slave were dressed in style,
Unless the slave were dressed in style
And knelt before her all the while—
Mew, mew, mew.
Did you ever hear of a thing like that?
Did you ever hear of a thing like that?
Did you ever hear of a thing like that?
Oh, what a proud mysterious cat.
Oh, what a proud mysterious cat.
Oh, what a proud mysterious cat.
Mew . . . mew . . . mew.
5. This Life Mysterious by William Jackson
This life fragile all too easily shatters.
Three tragedies I will never understand,
Crushing beauty, flowering hate, loss of innocence.
This life sorrowful breaks my heart.
Three states of being I will never comprehend,
Young cruelty, misogyny, willing victims.
This life confounding I cannot easily grasp.
Three failings I will never accept,
Love of ignorance, basking in stupidity, giving up.
And yet,
This Life lovely lives in me immortal.
Three realities I understand. We only seem to die,
Seeds grow, and God is our source.
This Life alive sings to me.
Three things I accept but cannot fully fathom.
God’s patience, God’s goodness, the divine image of man.
This Life resilient feels deeply.
Three truths I hope to manifest.
(Mercy, kindness, gentleness),
The human heart divine.
6. The Mysterious Visitor by Oliver W. Holmes
THERE was a sound of hurrying feet,
A tramp on echoing stairs,
There was a rush along the aisles,–
It was the hour of prayers.
And on, like Ocean’s midnight wave,
The current rolled along,
When, suddenly, a stranger form
Was seen amidst the throng.
He was a dark and swarthy man,
That uninvited guest;
A faded coat of bottle-green
Was buttoned round his breast.
There was not one among them all
Could say from whence he came;
Nor beardless boy, nor ancient man,
Could tell that stranger’s name.
All silent as the sheeted dead,
In spite of sneer and frown,
Fast by a gray-haired senior’s side
He sat him boldly down.
There was a look of horror flashed
From out the tutor’s eyes;
When all around him rose to pray,
The stranger did not rise!
A murmur broke along the crowd,
The prayer was at an end;
With ringing heels and measured tread,
A hundred forms descend.
Through sounding aisle, o’er grating stair,
The long procession poured,
Till all were gathered on the seats
Around the Commons board.
That fearful stranger! down he sat,
Unasked, yet undismayed;
And on his lip a rising smile
Of scorn or pleasure played.
He took his hat and hung it up,
With slow but earnest air;
He stripped his coat from off his back,
And placed it on a chair.
Then from his nearest neighbor’s side
A knife and plate he drew;
And, reaching out his hand again,
He took his teacup too.
How fled the sugar from the bowl
How sunk the azure cream!
They vanished like the shapes that float
Upon a summer’s dream.
A long, long draught,–an outstretched hand,–
And crackers, toast, and tea,
They faded from the stranger’s touch,
Like dew upon the sea.
Then clouds were dark on many a brow,
Fear sat upon their souls,
And, in a bitter agony,
They clasped their buttered rolls.
A whisper trembled through the crowd,
Who could the stranger be?
And some were silent, for they thought
A cannibal was he.
What if the creature should arise,–
For he was stout and tall,–
And swallow down a sophomore,
Coat, crow’s-foot, cap, and all!
All sullenly the stranger rose;
They sat in mute despair;
He took his hat from off the peg,
His coat from off the chair.
Four freshmen fainted on the seat,
Six swooned upon the floor;
Yet on the fearful being passed,
And shut the chapel door.
There is full many a starving man,
That walks in bottle green,
But never more that hungry one
In Commons hall was seen.
Yet often at the sunset hour,
When tolls the evening bell,
The freshman lingers on the steps,
That frightful tale to tell.
7. Mysterious World by David Harris
We live in a mysterious world
with many things yet to be seen.
Everyday new things are discovered,
some from the dawning of time.
Most lay undisturbed in backwaters
where no humans go
and some are thought to be
something else entirely.
As we venture forward,
new things are discovered
about this mysterious world,
this world we call our home.
8. The Mysterious Visitor by Vasily A. Zhukovsky
Spirit, lovely guest, who are you?
Whence have you flown down to us?
Taciturn and without a sound
Why have you abandoned us?
Where are you? Where is your dwelling?
What are you, where did you go?
Why did you appear,
Heavenly, upon the Earth?
Mayhap you are youthful Hope,
Who arrives from time to time
Cloaked in magic
From a land unknown?
Merciless as Hope,
Sweetest joy you show us
For a moment, then
Take it back and fly away.
Was it Love that you enacted
For us all in mystery? . . .
Days of love, when one beloved
Rendered this world beautiful
Ah! then, sighted through the veil
Earth did seem unearthly…
Now the veil has lifted; Love is gone;
Life is empty, joy – a dream.
Was it Thought, enchanting
You embodied for us here?
Far removed from every worry,
With a dreamy finger pointing
To her lips, she sallies forth
Just like you, from time to time,
Ushers us without a sound
Back to bygone days.
Or within you dwells the sacred spirit
Of Dame Poetry? . . .
Just like you, she came from Heaven
Veiling us twofold:
Using azure for the skies,
And clear white for earth;
What lies near is lovely through her;
All that’s distant – known.
Or perhaps ’twas premonition
That descended in your guise
And to us with clarity described
All that’s sacred and divine?
Thus it often happens in this life:
Something brilliant flies to meet us,
Raises up the veil
And then beckons us beyond.
9. Mysterious Ache by Nosheen Irfan
What is this ache?
Feeding on you
Emptying you
It’s not headache
It’s not heartache
It’s not felt in body
But it’s there
Like a microscopic pest
Gnawing away at your
Will to live.
10. Mysterious by M. Asim Nehal
As I went past the mountain, hill,
A voice echoed and said something;
Won’t you follow your dreams?
I stopped for a while to check
Deep valley whispering the song of life
While the hawk hovering above.
11. Love’s Mysterious Attraction by Sandra Feldman
How curious is Love!
That irrepressible,
Attraction
To a perfect stranger,
Of whom, so often
We really, know
Nothing about
Yet becomes,
More important
Than life itself,
And without whom,
It’s impossible,
To be happy
Or even enjoy
Life,
Ever again!
Final thoughts
We hope you enjoyed reading these intriguing and mysterious poems. The impact of mysterious cases can be quite a surprise after reading some of the poetry that we have listed here. If you are looking for more such pieces, then just scroll down as there are many more to explore!
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Thomas Dao is the guy who created Poem Home, a website where people can read about all things poetry related. When he’s not busy working on his next project, you can find him reading a good book or spending time with family and friends.
