Time travel, a concept that has long fascinated writers, scientists, and dreamers, provides a fertile ground for exploration in literature and poetry. The notion of moving through time—whether to the past, the future, or alternate realities—evokes ideas of memory, possibility, regret, and hope. In this article, we will delve into 12 poems that engage with time travel, each revealing different facets of our relationship with time, whether through literal time-traveling adventures or metaphorical reflections on the passage of time.
12 Poems About Time Travel You Can’t Miss
1. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot’s modernist masterpiece, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” is often interpreted as a reflection on time, both lost and wasted. While it doesn’t describe literal time travel, the poem‘s exploration of temporal anxiety and the idea of delayed action resonates deeply with the concept of time.
Excerpt: “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.”
Here, Eliot explores the way time is fragmented into small, insignificant units. Prufrock’s reflections evoke the feeling of being trapped in an endless loop, stuck in the present while never moving forward. In a sense, the poem invites the reader to reflect on how time itself can feel like a series of small, missed opportunities, echoing the essence of time travel—the idea that one might always be moving, but never truly progressing.
Source: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot, 1915.
2. “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell’s famous poem explores the idea of seizing time, an idea deeply connected to time travel. The speaker argues that if they had all the time in the world, they could indulge in eternal courtship. However, the transient nature of time prevents this fantasy from becoming reality, which leads to a compelling call to embrace the present moment.
Excerpt: “Love you ten years before the Flood,
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.”
The speaker imagines a situation in which time stretches infinitely before them, allowing for grand gestures and romantic flourishes. Yet, he is also acutely aware of time’s brevity and the urgency of acting before it runs out. This could be seen as a form of time travel, where the speaker journeys to the past and future to highlight the impermanence of the present.
Source: To His Coy Mistress, Andrew Marvell, 1681.
3. “The Time Machine” by Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti’s “The Time Machine” is a more literal take on time travel, imagining a machine that can carry the traveler through time. Rossetti reflects on the fleeting nature of human existence and the inevitability of change. The poem suggests that no matter how much one might wish to travel through time, the passage of time itself remains a constant force, indifferent to human desires.
Excerpt: “If I could travel through the skies,
Or wander down the streams,
I would not care for other lands
Or seek for distant dreams.”
In this excerpt, the speaker contemplates the possibility of traveling through time and space. But despite the potential allure of time travel, there is an acknowledgment that time itself is both a gift and a constraint, shaping the human experience in ways that can never be avoided.
Source: The Time Machine, Christina Rossetti, 1893.
4. “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Though not a time travel poem in the traditional sense, “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley reflects on the passage of time and its ability to erode human accomplishments. The poem’s central image is of a ruined statue, once a monument to a powerful king, now a symbol of decay and impermanence. Time, in this case, acts as a form of natural time travel—no matter how grand the achievements, time will inevitably reduce them to dust.
Excerpt: “And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
The irony of this inscription is clear—the statue that once proclaimed the king’s eternal power is now a relic of the past, utterly defeated by time. Through the ruins of Ozymandias’s empire, the poem offers a meditation on how time can both create and destroy, an implicit form of time travel through the rise and fall of civilizations.
Source: Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1818.
5. “Remember” by Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti’s “Remember” contemplates the afterlife, death, and the potential for time travel in the realm of memory. The speaker implores their loved one to remember them after death, but also acknowledges that time will eventually fade those memories.
Excerpt: “Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand.”
The poem reflects on the idea of time as both a barrier and a link between life and death. Through this lens, time becomes a form of time travel—the speaker’s plea for remembrance echoes the human desire to transcend time and leave a lasting impact, even after death.
Source: Remember, Christina Rossetti, 1862.
6. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” explores the idea of choice, destiny, and time in the context of life’s journey. The speaker reflects on a decision they made in the past that shaped their future. In a way, the poem suggests that every choice is a form of time travel—moving one path forward while leaving the other behind.
Excerpt: “I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by.”
The poem uses time in a symbolic way, contemplating how small decisions in the past can reverberate into the future. Each choice creates a new timeline, reflecting the concept of time travel through the lens of personal decisions and their long-term consequences.
Source: The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost, 1916.
7. “A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe
In “A Dream Within a Dream,” Edgar Allan Poe explores the nature of reality and illusion, both of which are central themes in time travel. The poem blurs the line between the present, past, and future, suggesting that our perceptions of time may be no more reliable than a dream.
Excerpt: “Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?”
The poem’s questioning of reality and the transitory nature of existence hints at a time travel motif: the idea that our experiences may not be anchored in time at all. Perhaps, like a dream, time is a construct, fluid and malleable.
Source: A Dream Within a Dream, Edgar Allan Poe, 1849.
8. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger
While this is a prose work rather than a poem, Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife has inspired poetic reflections on the nature of time and relationships. The titular time traveler experiences his life out of order, jumping through time and missing key moments. Poems inspired by the novel often explore the tension between time’s fluidity and the desire for connection.
Excerpt from inspired poetry: “I am here, but I am gone,
Trapped in loops where time is wrong.
You wait, but I am lost to the past,
Will we meet again at last?”
Here, the speaker grapples with the idea of temporal dislocation—the sense of being physically present yet emotionally absent, a theme central to the experience of time travel.
Source: The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger, 2003.
9. “Time” by Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson’s poetry often meditates on the themes of time and eternity. In her poem “Time,” Dickinson contemplates the passage of time as a force beyond human control, an unstoppable current that carries all things forward.
Excerpt: “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.”
In this short, striking metaphor, Dickinson likens time to a stream, something that can be fished but never truly controlled. This poem speaks to the impossibility of escaping time, an idea that resonates with the idea of time travel—no matter how much one wishes to manipulate time, it remains elusive.
Source: Time, Emily Dickinson, 1862.
10. “The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy
“The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy meditates on the changing seasons and the passage of time. The poem is set at the end of the year, and the speaker reflects on the bleakness of the moment, juxtaposed with a fleeting moment of hope.
Excerpt: “At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited.”
In this moment of hope, there is a sense of timelessness. Time is both ending and beginning, suggesting the cyclical nature of life and how time can both trap and liberate us.
Source: The Darkling Thrush, Thomas Hardy, 1900.
11. “The Garden of Proserpine” by Algernon Charles Swinburne
In this poem, Swinburne explores the idea of eternity and the passage of time through the mythological figure of Proserpine. The poem suggests that death is a form of escape from time, and yet, in the garden of Proserpine, time ceases to matter.
Excerpt: “The grass is always green and fair,
But the hours are never slow.”
Through this image, Swinburne presents a timeless space, where the concept of time no longer has meaning, reminiscent of the timeless realms one might encounter in time travel.
Source: The Garden of Proserpine, Algernon Charles Swinburne, 1866.
12. “The Second Coming” by W.B. Yeats
Yeats’s “The Second Coming” envisions a world on the brink of great change, a world that may be on the cusp of a new era or a new cycle of time. The poem’s apocalyptic tone and cyclical view of history hint at the potential for time to move in endless loops, a key theme in time travel literature.
Excerpt: “Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;”
This vision of spiraling time captures the uncertainty of the future and the cyclical nature of history—ideas that align with many time travel narratives, where the past and future intertwine.
Source: The Second Coming, W.B. Yeats, 1919.
Conclusion
Through these 12 poems, we have explored how poets have engaged with the concept of time travel, whether through literal journeys or metaphorical reflections on time’s passage. From T.S. Eliot’s existential musings to the cyclical nature of W.B. Yeats’s apocalyptic vision, these works allow readers to experience time in all its complexities—fluid, elusive, and often out of our control. Time travel, as explored in these poems, is as much about understanding our own place within time as it is about escaping its boundaries. Whether the journey is forward, backward, or inward, the poems remind us that time, like poetry, is a realm for endless exploration.
