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.

30 Poems For Grieving After The Loss of a Loved One

1 - 20 of 30

  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 2114
    • Favorited 26
    • Votes 368
    • Rating 4.39
    • Poem of the Day
    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 1660
    • Favorited 29
    • Votes 350
    • Rating 4.26
    • 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 1440
    • Favorited 9
    • Votes 274
    • Rating 4.24
    • Poem of the Day
  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 568
    • Favorited 6
    • Votes 142
    • Rating 3.73
    • Poem of the Day
  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 29
    • Shares 10791
    • Favorited 144
    • Votes 2034
    • Rating 4.59
    • Poem of the Week
    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 8539
    • Favorited 126
    • Votes 1790
    • Rating 4.53
    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 3350
    • Favorited 63
    • Votes 1691
    • 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 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 375
    • Favorited 6
    • Votes 41
    • Rating 4.66
  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 10
    • Shares 637
    • Favorited 37
    • Votes 149
    • Rating 4.62
    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 2289
    • Favorited 59
    • Votes 788
    • Rating 4.53
    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. 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 206
    • Favorited 4
    • Votes 54
    • Rating 4.50
  14. 12. 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 911
    • Favorited 56
    • Votes 237
    • Rating 4.48
  15. 13. 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 211
    • Favorited 8
    • Votes 86
    • Rating 4.42
  16. 14. 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 448
    • Favorited 21
    • Votes 83
    • Rating 4.40
    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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  17. 15. 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 145
    • Favorited 8
    • Votes 61
    • Rating 4.33
  18. 16. I Don't Want My Boy To Go

    • By Lisa E. Sheroan
    • Published by Family Friend Poems April 1, 2024 with permission of the Author.

    Deep sadness overcame me
    When I heard the dreadful news
    God, please say it isn't so
    I don't want my boy to go

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 15
    • Favorited 2
    • Votes 23
    • Rating 4.61
    Featured Shared Story

    I empathize with you and most assuredly feel your pain. My dad first got Prostate Cancer, then Esophageal Cancer (was in coma for 31 days) and finally died 2007 of Lung Cancer. Sad, I know...

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  19. 17. Life Without You

    • By Binh L. Herdrick
    • Published by Family Friend Poems October 5, 2024 with permission of the Author.

    I trace the years in each fading frame,
    clutching our smiles,
    as joy and sorrow reclaim.

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 31
    • Favorited 4
    • Votes 20
    • Rating 4.60
  20. 18. The Night Sky

    • By Lisa E. Sheroan
    • Published by Family Friend Poems May 1, 2024 with permission of the Author.

    Looking up at the moonlit sky
    In the quiet of the night
    I found a truth that stilled my soul
    In a tiny speck of light

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    • Stories 1
    • Shares 38
    • Favorited 2
    • Votes 14
    • Rating 4.57
    Featured Shared Story

    I love this poem - it's a bit like one of mine on Family Friends, called 'Among the Stars'. We both obviously share the same sort of feelings inspired by the night sky. Best wishes, Ann

  21. 19. 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 258
    • Favorited 14
    • Votes 58
    • Rating 4.55
    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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  22. 20. 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 252
    • Favorited 13
    • Votes 240
    • Rating 4.48
    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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1 - 20 of 30

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