Poems by Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln wasn't just an intelligent person or President, he was also a writer. President Lincoln first began writing poetry when he was around fifteen years-old. Like many school children, Abe day-dreamed during school hours; however, he didn't just doodle in books. He wrote poetry.

In Lincoln's arithmetic book, he wrote this short poem:

Abraham Lincoln is my nam[e]
And with my pen I wrote the same
I wrote in both hast and speed
and left it here for fools to read

But that wasn't all he wrote. During Lincoln's later teen-years and early twenties, he wrote what many that age often do, crude and satirical verses. He joined a poetical society and submitted many poems, but hardly any survive today. Nonetheless, Lincoln left many of his neighbors telling stories of his poems long after. One poem in particular, "on Seduction", has this little stanza as recalled by James Matheny:

Whatever Spiteful fools may Say --
Each jealous, ranting yelper --
No woman ever played the whore
Unless She had a man to help her.

Another neighbor, Joseph C. Richardson, claims Lincoln wrote a poem based upon a revenge-prank he pulled on a family, the Grigsbys, who were neighbors of the Lincolns. The feud started when Abe's sister, Sarah who was married to Aaron Grigsby, died during childbirth. Later, when two of Aaron Grigby's brothers held a double-marriage, Abe wasn't invited. With Abe being Abe, he arranged for the brothers to be brought to the wrong bedrooms after the ceremony, where their brother's new wives awaited. The incident became known as the "Chronicles of Reuben", named after one of the brothers.

In later years, Lincoln's correspondence with Andrew Johnston resulted in his best poems. "My Childhood-Home I See Again" and "The Bear Hunt" are seen as two of his most prominent works.

In subsequent years, Lincoln continued to write poetry, but none were as substantial as before. The last documented poem came in July 19, 1863 after the North's victory in the Battle of Gettysburg:

Gen. Lees invasion of the North written by himself—
	In eighteen sixty three, with pomp,
		and mighty swell,
	Me and Jeff's Confederacy, went
		forth to sack Phil-del,
	The Yankees they got arter us, and
		giv us particular hell,
	And we skedaddled back again,
		And didn't sack Phil-del.

Lincoln loved both reading and writing poetry. Sadly, most of his poems were discarded or destroyed over the years. Luckily, the few poems we still have are being read more than ever before. He may be best remembered as President of the United States, but to poets he is remembered for his mastery of words.