Purpose: This poetic inquiry investigates second language (L2) learners' experiences of English language learning and examines the role of emotions in the language learning process. Design/methodology: The methodology chosen in the current study is qualitative, case-study research through which 209 English poems written by twenty-one Japanese EFL college students were coded and categorized into several thematic issues. Findings: This study reveals fourteen different thematic issues and twenty-two different emotional responses regarding their English language learning experiences. Poetry illustrated here not only expresses their positive and negative emotions but also represents their challenges, desires, hardship, and failure in their language learning journey. Originality/value: This study also exemplifies how poetry writing as a form of 'meaningful literacy' (Hanauer 2012) can transform the traditional EFL classroom and provide some pedagogical and methodological implications for L2 poetry writing in the EFL context.