The Beauty of Nature
Many of Church's poems praise the transcendent beauty of natural creation. Like many poets, he dwells at length on many elements of nature, including the seasons ("Winter," "Spring," "Summer"), flowers ("Wild Roses," "The Flood of Life"), months of the year ("Song – The Late Love," "June's Temptation"), and many others ("The Pond," "The Flood of Life," "The Meadow-blue," etc.). Most of his poems involve imagery of some sort of nature or life.
The Transcendence of Life As Seen Through Nature
Church does not value nature overmuch for its own sake. It's true that he writes odes to seasons and flowers and ponds, but he loves these things because they point to greater truths. For example, in "Wild Roses," he does not praise the flowers simply because they are beautiful but instead because of what they represent: the unstoppable blossoming of hope in the midst of barrenness. He especially notes their posture ("Half opened, as in praise, / Half closed, as in prayer"), making an observation about the proper posture of man in life.
Romantic Love
Many of Church's poems also have to do with love between men and women. Church himself married three times, so this aspect of his life was not a minor one. Accordingly, much of his poetry consists of either warnings about love ("A Goodnight," "Be Frugal") or odes to it ("Anniversary"). He treats it as a wonderful thing, so long as it keeps its place and does not grow larger than it ought.
The Sorrows of Life
Church's poetry, especially his later work, does not shy away from the harsh realities of life; he doesn't live in the same bubble as many of the Romantics. The subjects of some of his poems are stark and depressing, such as "Twentieth Century Psalter," where he likens the constant news about tragedies in the world to "a maniac" living in his ear, and "A Moment's Escape," in which he writes, "A continent on my back, / Heavy with threats of war, / Leaden with tyrannies, / I crept away from man."
