Necessary Verse includes 55 poems assembled by Daniel John Meador, a retired University of Virginia law professor. This is a personal collection of his favorite poems, those that he has remembered best and that have been most meaningful to him across the decades because of their inspirational and lyrical qualities. These poems come mainly from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, arranged here in alphabetical order. Some are famous and well-known, while others are obscure. Some are considered to have great literary merit, while others are not notable in that regard. Each, however, has special meaning, making it worthy of preservation. Themes touched on concern family, home, nature, war, death, loss, and love-love of country and love of one human being for another. This poetic literature is published with the hope that, amidst the welter of information from all kinds of media, it will not be lost to future generations.