Grief Poems

Grief Poems

Poems about Grief, Coping and Life After Loss

A family is like a body. When a family loses a loved one, it is as if they have lost one of their limbs. The contribution that was made by the family member that was lost can never be replaced. That person is gone. What that person has brought to the family is gone. Is it important for the family to take time to grieve for this loss. Doing so is a matter of respect for the relative that has passed. It is also a step that the family must take to acknowledge its loss. If we do not take the time to honor the lost relative, it is as if we are saying that they didn't matter to us.

25 Poems For Grieving After The Loss of a Loved One

1 - 20 of 25

  1. 1. I Measure Every Grief I Meet

    Famous Poem

    I measure every Grief I meet
    With narrow, probing, eyes –
    I wonder if It weighs like Mine –
    Or has an Easier size.

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    • Stories 4
    • Shares 1986
    • Favorited 25
    • Votes 347
    • Rating 4.38
    Featured Shared Story

    Penny, you are so right to be honest and tell it like it is for you because that's how I feel as well. It's ok not to be ok. My daughter died on May 23, 2019, of a drug overdose. She had...

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  3. 2. Echo

    Famous Poem

    Come to me in the silence of the night;
    Come in the speaking silence of a dream;
    Come with soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright
    As sunlight on a stream;

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 1540
    • Favorited 25
    • Votes 328
    • Rating 4.28
    • Poem of the Day
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  5. 3. Dirge Without Music

    Famous Poem

    I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
    So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
    Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
    With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 1366
    • Favorited 9
    • Votes 261
    • Rating 4.21
  6. 4. Afternoon In February

    Famous Poem

    The day is ending,
    The night is descending;
    The marsh is frozen,
    The river dead.

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 533
    • Favorited 5
    • Votes 131
    • Rating 3.71
  7. 5. Seasons Of Grief


    • By Belinda Stotler
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2012 with permission of the Author.

    Shall I wither and fall like an autumn leaf,
    From this deep sorrow - from this painful grief?
    How can I go on or find a way to be strong?
    Will I ever again enjoy life's sweet song?

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    • Stories 28
    • Shares 10484
    • Favorited 138
    • Votes 2000
    • Rating 4.59
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    Featured Shared Story

    We, (humanity,) are facing an epidemic of loneliness. It is why there are so many heartbreaking stories of children, being lost to drugs and/or gang violence. When we see someone that we try...

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  8. 6. How We Survive


    • By Mark Rickerby
    • Published by Family Friend Poems August 2008 with permission of the Author.

    If we are fortunate,
    we are given a warning.

    If not,

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    • Stories 24
    • Shares 8285
    • Favorited 120
    • Votes 1755
    • Rating 4.53
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    Very few poems touch me the way this one has. You have managed to put into words the grieving process I went through when I lost my parents...most of all you have shown that there is a light...

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  9. 7. Sometimes


    • By Colleen Ranney
    • Published by Family Friend Poems January 2012 with permission of the Author.

    Sometimes I catch a glimpse,
    In softened waves of blue,
    My child, my heart ...when I see a smile,
    I can't help but think of you.

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    • Stories 36
    • Shares 3252
    • Favorited 58
    • Votes 1678
    • Rating 4.58
    Featured Shared Story

    Dearest Beverly - I just went through losing my beloved partner of 13 years, and my dearest girlfriend sent me a poem that really put things as they really are. I had my own notion of grief....

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  10. 8. Broken


    • By Veronica Mcmickle And Nada Hottinger
    • Published by Family Friend Poems April 19, 2023 with permission of the Author.

    Life, it hurts. It hurts so bad.
    You're supposed to be here, and it makes me mad.
    I know you're not gone because you live in me.
    They say I'm strong, but how dare you leave!

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 183
    • Favorited 2
    • Votes 22
    • Rating 4.64
  11. 9. Heartache


    I wasn't there to say goodbye,
    to reminisce of times gone by.

    I wasn't there to make you smile,

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    • Stories 7
    • Shares 565
    • Favorited 34
    • Votes 140
    • Rating 4.61
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    Six years ago, my mother was in the hospital. She had congestive heart failure. After my dad would get back from the hospital, I would always ask him if she was getting better. One day, he...

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  12. 10. This Basket Of Burdens

    • By Debbie
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2010 with permission of the Author.

    My Basket of burdens
    Is filled with the grief of my loss
    It is so heavy to carry
    Although this road I must cross.

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    • Stories 8
    • Shares 2248
    • Favorited 58
    • Votes 778
    • Rating 4.54
    Featured Shared Story

    I was touched by this poem because I lost 4 of my closest family members in this year due to Covid. My little sister who was about to get married this year passed away due to Covid in April...

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  13. 11. A Call From Heaven

    • By Zeb Edington
    • Published by Family Friend Poems November 2018 with permission of the Author.

    I lie awake long into the night,
    Hoping that maybe you just might
    Give me a call to say you're okay
    And let me know you made it through the day.

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 879
    • Favorited 55
    • Votes 231
    • Rating 4.49
  14. 12. Shore Of Sorrow's Sea

    By the shore of Sorrow's sea,
    waves of tears roll endlessly,

    cries that pierce this misty veil,

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 200
    • Favorited 7
    • Votes 83
    • Rating 4.43
  15. 13. Heavenly Rose

    • By John P. Read
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2019 with permission of the Author.

    I wonder, is there Valentine's Day in heaven?
    For the one I love is there.
    I would love to send her some flowers
    To let her know how much I care.

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 392
    • Favorited 20
    • Votes 80
    • Rating 4.43
    Featured Shared Story

    Brother John,
    That's so, so touching and beautiful.
    I believe there's a Saint Valentine's Day in heaven and that flowers grow there.
    Do not worry, do not despair for roses are abundant in...

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  16. 14. January's Child Of Mine

    January's child of mine,
    sweet miracle of God's design.

    Oh, how I can recall the night.

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 135
    • Favorited 8
    • Votes 56
    • Rating 4.41
  17. 15. In My Mind And My Heart

    Forgive me if I cry
    But there is nothing else to do
    If only God could have warned me
    That my life would be without you

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 110
    • Favorited 2
    • Votes 43
    • Rating 4.40
  18. 16. Without You

    • By Ashley Bahr
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2017 with permission of the Author.

    Why is the world still spinning?
    Doesn't it know you're gone?
    It's an end or some kind of beginning
    But for everyone else life goes on

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    • Stories 1
    • Shares 202
    • Favorited 12
    • Votes 46
    • Rating 4.50
    Featured Shared Story

    You know, I still sit around daily feeling crestfallen and betrayed by God for having taken my very best friend away from me. This above poem describes the way I am feeling now. I lost my...

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  19. 17. My Mask

    • By Ellie Nazza
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2011 with permission of the Author.

    Every morning I wake up and put on a mask.
    The mask makes everything seem all right,
    But they don't know I cry at night.
    The nightmares just won't go away.

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    • Stories 11
    • Shares 1493
    • Favorited 70
    • Votes 677
    • Rating 4.48
    Featured Shared Story

    First, I am profoundly sorry for the loss you've had to endure. Please take comfort in knowing you are not alone. Yours is the only poem that spoke clearly to my heart. So well put. The...

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  20. 18. Grieving For A Loved One

    • By Carolynn F
    • Published by Family Friend Poems May 2013 with permission of the Author.

    I shed a tear, I feel quite numb
    another loss, thoughts of a dearly beloved one.
    They say time heals, give it a while,
    remember all the happy times and smiles,

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    • Stories 3
    • Shares 984
    • Favorited 52
    • Votes 468
    • Rating 4.48
    Featured Shared Story

    I am so sorry to hear of your losses. I wrote this a while ago, and although I can't say you will ever get over them, I have found a way to re-adjust. Since then, my friend lost her husband...

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  21. 19. I'm So Alone After Mom Died

    • By Theola
    • Published by Family Friend Poems December 2007 with permission of the Author.

    I'm so alone, it's so dark...
    When is the sun going to shine again?

    The sky is dark, my world is grey....

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    • Stories 10
    • Shares 240
    • Favorited 13
    • Votes 234
    • Rating 4.47
    Featured Shared Story

    I lost my Mama on August 19, 1994. I can relate to this poem so much. I miss my mother still so much even after all these years. I was an only child, so I was probably even closer to my Mama...

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  22. 20. Angels Cry

    • By Adele Maritz
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2016 with permission of the Author.

    Why must mothers say goodbye?
    Every time children die -
    The angels cry.

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 340
    • Favorited 11
    • Votes 129
    • Rating 4.39

1 - 20 of 25

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