Poems about Sadness

Poems about Sadness

Poems about Being Sad

Feeling sad is no crime although the world might wish you to think so. All the feelings in the world never did anybody any harm. It is our feelings that make us human and connect us to the rest of humanity. When you feel sad, it is important to give yourself permission to feel the sadness. Share your feelings with someone who has the sensitivity to give you the space to let the feeling fully be felt. Only then can you begin to let go.

28 Poems that Capture the Pain and Suffering of Sadness

1 - 20 of 28

  1. 1. Tulips

    Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) wrote “Tulips” while she was in the hospital. It reveals the struggle she had with her mental state. Sylvia wants to die at that moment, but the bright red tulips make her think about life and living. She almost feels as though the flowers are taunting her. “Tulips” was written in 1961 but wasn’t published until 1965 - a couple of years after her death.

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    The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here.
    Look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in.
    I am learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly
    As the light lies on these white walls, this bed, these hands.

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  3. 2. The Flower That Smiles To-day

    The poem "The Flower That Smiles Today" talks about how happiness and good times don't last forever. It compares happiness to a flower that blooms one day but withers away the next. The poet reflects on how things we hope will stay often end up leaving us disappointed when they disappear. The poem mentions how fragile things like being good, having friends, and feeling love can be. Even though they may seem strong, they can easily lead to sadness and despair. Despite this, the poem suggests that we can survive these ups and downs. It tells us to enjoy happy moments while they last, but also reminds us that sadness is a part of life too.

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    The flower that smiles to-day
    To-morrow dies;
    All that we wish to stay
    Tempts and then flies.

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  5. 3. The Lesson

    In the poem "The Lesson" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, the speaker reflects on his own sadness and loneliness as he sits by his window, listening to the passionate song of a mockingbird in the cypress grove. The poet uses imagery to convey the deep emotions, describing his life as a "cold winter that knew no spring" and his mind as "weary and sick and wild." However, as he listens to the bird's song, a transformative thought enters his heart, inspiring him to use his own art to bring comfort to others. The poet employs metaphor, comparing the songs that emerge from the darkness of hearts to the joyous songs of the mockingbird in the cypress grove. Through his simple art of singing a lay, the speaker finds solace and realizes the power of comforting others to heal his own wounds

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    My cot was down by a cypress grove,
    And I sat by my window the whole night long,
    And heard well up from the deep dark wood
    A mocking-bird's passionate song.

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  6. 4. The Rainy Day

    "The Rainy Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a melancholic poem about the feelings of sadness. The poem uses imagery and metaphor to depict the bleakness of a rainy day. The wind and rain symbolize the constant struggles and difficulties in life, and the fallen leaves represent lost hopes and dreams. The poet tries to find comfort in the idea that everyone experiences hardships in life, but the sadness still lingers. The rhyme scheme used in the poem is ABAAB. The message is that life can be dark and difficult, but one must keep hope and find the sunshine behind the clouds.

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    The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
    It rains, and the wind is never weary;
    The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
    But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

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  7. 5. We Wear The Mask

    Both of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s parents were slaves, and he was born less than a decade after slavery became illegal. “We Wear the Mask” was published in 1896. Dunbar wrote about what it was like to be African American during the late 1800s and the pain experienced by the black community. In this poem, he writes about how the truth is not always what it appears to be when a mask is used. In addition to applying to race and society, this poem can be applied to any situation where someone uses a mask to hide the truth.

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    We wear the mask that grins and lies,
    It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
    This debt we pay to human guile;
    With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

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    A wonderful poem Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote many years ago, after slavery was abolished.
    How it must have hurt to know his parents had been slaves...

    Imagine the pain that slavery...

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  8. 6. I Sit And Look Out

    “I Sit and Look Out” captures the corruption of the world. Walt Whitman, an influential American poet, lived in the 1800s, a time that saw things like political slander, Trail of Tears, slavery, and the Civil War. In this poem, the speaker is merely an onlooker, not someone to get involved in all these negative affairs of society. However, readers might be inspired to do their part to create a positive influence on the world that will lessen the destruction.

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    I SIT and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all
            oppression and shame;
    I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men, at anguish with
            themselves, remorseful after deeds done;

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  9. 7. The Ballad Of The Harp Weaver

    Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet who lived from 1892-1950. This poem is about maternal love and self-sacrifice. Edna St. Vincent Millay's own mother was very sacrificial. She divorced her husband and worked as a nurse to support her children. Even though they were poor, Edna's mother was an incredible support and encouragement. She made sure her children had access to a variety of reading materials and music. This poem won Edna St. Vincent Millay the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1923. At the time, she was only the third woman to receive this honor.

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    "Son," said my mother,
    When I was knee-high,
    "you've need of clothes to cover you,
    and not a rag have I.

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    The poem is a short, sweet, and precise journey of a great son-mother relationship. It takes one through the sacred and holy shares of time given by a mother in dedication to her child. The...

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  10. 8. Aerialist

    Sylvia Plath lived in both the United States and England during her life. Most of the poems written by Plath were crafted in the last months of her life. This poem was written on her 30th birthday, just a few months before her death in 1963.

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    Each night, this adroit young lady
    Lies among sheets
    Shredded fine as snowflakes
    Until dream takes her body

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  11. 9. Disappointment

    • By Coral Leffew
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2009 with permission of the Author.

    No one always tells the truth,
    Everyone likes better to lie,
    No one keeps their promises,
    That they would keep me alive,

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  12. 10. Sometimes I Get Lonely

    I am always the one waiting for the phone to ring.

    • By Emily B
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2015 with permission of the Author.

    Sometimes I get lonely
    Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
    Always connecting but not connected

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    Before Covid hit, I was very happy living my 11-year-old life, but when it did, well I felt very lonely. I relate to this poem so much because everything described (and more) is exactly how I...

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  13. 11. Skeletons

    A child sexual abuse survivor looks at where she is at in life. Lots of Metaphors in this sad poem about skeletons left locked away in a closet.

    • By Debbie Grenier
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2011 with permission of the Author.

    The welcome mat outside my door
    is dusty, old & worn
    'cuz people have been entering in
    since the day that I was born

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  14. 12. My Feelings To You

    A daughter writes about how she feels towards her mom, who abandoned her when she was little.

    • By Katarina Alexa Arruda
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2007 with permission of the Author.

    Behind your shadow,
    I stand and fall.
    It's a tough battle,
    In which I feel so small.

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    My mom abandoned my brother and me. When I was only 11 and my brother was only 10, I took care of him and my little niece and nephew when my mom went out and did her drugs. She'd tell me...

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  15. 13. Forgotten Dreams

    My wife, Ann, passed away at age 63, two years before we were both ready to retire from work. All our plans and dreams for a happy retirement were destroyed in that one moment.

    • By John P. Read
    • Published by Family Friend Poems January 2021 with permission of the Author.

    In a silent world of forgotten dreams,
    Where disappointments and heartaches lie.
    A world where hopes and dreams have died
    And bid their last goodbye.

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  16. 14. Falling From Darkness

    The inspiration behind this poem revolves around a time in one of my personal relationships. At the time, things were really stressful, and I was really unhappy. I felt I had no one to turn to or could escape from the hell I was in.

    • By Anne Powers
    • Published by Family Friend Poems January 2011 with permission of the Author.

    Falling from darkness
    To a place I don't know,
    Everything's moving with no place to go.
    I feel so alone and scared.

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    I can really relate to this poem. I have depression, and there will be days where I just don't want to get out of bed. I'll just cry for no reason sometimes. There is also days where...

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  17. 15. I Wish, I Dream

    I am 11 years old and I have two best friends. Although they are funny and great, I just feel like they don't understand me. I keep all of my sadness inside, and it's killing me. I can't help dreaming of something I'll never have. I have a very heavy heart and sometimes I just cry and cry and cry...

    • By Isabel S.
    • Published by Family Friend Poems April 2015 with permission of the Author.

    I wish I could stop crying,
    I wish I didn't have to try.
    On the outside I'm smiling,
    But inside I'm dying,

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    My smile is fake...
    I feel like dying through the darkness...
    I try to be brave, but no...
    I need friends...but I don't...
    I always walk alone...in school and anywhere...
    I feel like an...

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  18. 16. The Girl I Used To Be

    I just made so many mistakes in my life that I wish I could take back, but I know I can't. Even though I made many mistakes, I wrote out my true feelings. This poem helped me so much.

    • By Laura
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2009 with permission of the Author.

    I tell myself that everything's going to be ok,
    that there is no reason for all this pain.
    The time it took to change, the time it took to
    see all those mistakes.

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    You are right. My parents say that I’m a loser. My sister says I am very bad. Nobody in my family likes me because I’m not so good with studies and I’m not as beautiful as everyone, but I...

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  19. 17. The Face In The Mirror

    I went through a tough stage in my life, and I started writing bits and pieces down, and eventually my feelings and emotion turned to words on a page. I want to share this with others so that maybe they could relate and I could know that I'm not the only person who feels this way...

    • By Catherine S. Liebenberg
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2019 with permission of the Author.

    What do you see when you look into a mirror?
    Do you see a face of grace
    or the belief of grief?
    Do you see a blessing of success

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  20. 18. The Comfort Of Pain

    As a poet, I’ve grown used to embracing pain; to treating it as the fuel I need to create. These days I hold sadness to my chest like it’s another organ, something I’m terrified to be without. This doesn’t mean I’m always depressed or continually sad, but it does mean that I’ve learned to rely on pain I’ve already experienced. Sometimes, I wonder if I’ve begun to seek it out, to find new ways to shatter this thing behind my ribs.

    Live this way long enough and, eventually, the heartbreak begins to feel comforting; like an old friend. If I’m honest, i can’t help thinking it’s the only thing I can rely on not to leave. It’s the closest thing I have to home.

    • By Blake Auden
    • Published by Family Friend Poems April 2021 with permission of the Author.

    Live with it
    long enough
    and pain begins
    to feel familiar,

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  21. 19. Stress Affects Life

    How stress takes over with all life's ups and downs.

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

    Stress is eating at me every minute and second of the day.
    How do I cope with the horrible effects and make it go away?

    I feel so tired and run down and I don't sleep.

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    Hi everyone! My name is Tanya Joshi and I live in Almora, Uttrakhand. I am in class 11 and I am much obliged with the fact that stress effects life. However, to some extent I think it can be...

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  22. 20. Who Am I?

    Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) writes this poem in the form of a free verse riddle. It follows no specific structure or rhyme scheme. When we find out the answer to the riddle, we see that this poem uses personification to describe it. Carl Sandburg’s interest in President Abraham Lincoln (“Honest Abe”) led him to write two multi-volume biographies. These biographies brought Sandburg the honor of the 1939 Pulitzer Prize in History.

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    My head knocks against the stars.
    My feet are on the hilltops.
    My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
    Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.

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