Poetry is about much more than rhymes and clever imagery. It's about people.

We read poetry with our eyes, listen to its beauty with our ears, and understand the words with our mind. But good poetry, the best poetry, must always be felt within the human heart. It must be experienced. The best poems use the magic of words only to illuminate a deep understanding of our humanity, to perhaps bring us to a time we once lived or take us to a time we've only dreamed of being.

Over two million people have have culled through the poems published at Passions in Poetry to arrive at the list you are about to peruse. The 100 poems below have touched lives, have encouraged friends and lovers to revisit or discover their hearts, have reminded people again and again of their intrinsic humanity. These 100 poems are about real people.

Let the countdown begin.