Famous Death Poems

Famous Death Poems

Famous Grief Poetry

Since the beginning of time, humans have lived their sometimes grand and sometimes ordinary lives, and have thereafter been laid to rest in countless graves and tombs. Death is something that, in a peculiar way, unites people everywhere, regardless of their social status, race, religious beliefs, or country of residence. This curious aspect of human nature inspired countless famous poets to contemplate, and write about, man's mortality. Famous poets like Emily Dickinson, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and Mary Elizabeth Frye all had their own unique ways of viewing death and its effect on the living, views that still impact readers today.

25 Best Poems About Death by Famous Poets

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  1. 1. Death Is Nothing At All

    This poem is often read at funerals. The author, Henry Scott-Holland (1847 - 1918), a priest at St. Paul's Cathedral of London, did not intend it as a poem, it was actually delivered as part of a sermon in 1910. The sermon, titled, "Death the King of Terrors" was preached while the body of King Edward VII was lying in state at Westminster.

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    Death is nothing at all.
    It does not count.
    I have only slipped away into the next room.
    Nothing has happened.

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  3. 2. Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

    "Do not stand at my grave and weep" is the first line and popular title of this bereavement poem of disputed authorship. This extremely famous poem has been read at countless funerals and public occasions. There are in existence many slightly different versions of the poem. Written in the 1930's, it was repopularized during the late 1970s thanks to a reading by John Wayne at a funeral. Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004), a florist from Baltimore, MD claimed to have composed this poem in 1932 in a moment of inspiration to comfort a family friend who had just lost her mother and was unable to even visit her grave. However, the poem was only first formally published in the December 1934 issue of The Gypsy poetry magazine where it was titled "Immortality", with the author as Clare Harner (1909–1977) from Kansas. Several of Harner’s other poems were published and anthologized.
    The poem below is the version published in 1934 in The Gypsy poetry magazine.

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    Do not stand
    By my grave, and weep.
    I am not there,
    I do not sleep-

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    It's what we want to believe. We don't cry because our loved one is dead, we cry because we won't ever see or talk to them again and we will miss them. We are crying for ourselves. Someone...

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  5. 3. A Child Of Mine

    This famous poem by Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959) has been bringing comfort to grief stricken parents for years. Guest himself suffered the loss of two of his children. A Child of Mine is a popular poem to read at funerals of children. To lose a child is one of life's most awful experiences. Focusing on the gift of your few years together can bring a measure of comfort.

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    I will lend you, for a little time,
    A child of mine, He said.
    For you to love the while he lives,
    And mourn for when he's dead.

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    I received this poem anonymously in the mail 5 days after my son was born. This was 41 years ago in 1980. Tragically he passed away at the age of 16 in an auto accident. I remembered the poem...

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  6. 4. But You Didn't

    The excellent use of structure and repetition in this powerful poem contribute to the strong emotional reaction many people feel when reading this poem.
    When a loved one doesn't return from war there will be many unresolved feelings. Don't wait to tell the important people in your life how you feel about them, do it right away. You never know if you'll get the chance again.

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    • By Merrill Glass

    Analysis of Form and Technique

    Remember the time you lent me your car and I dented it?
    I thought you'd kill me...
    But you didn't.

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    This poem truly moved me. I am waiting for my husband to come home from hospital. He has been there for four weeks now and is still in intensive care. He was admitted with sepsis, and so much...

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  7. 5. When Tomorrow Starts Without Me

    When Tomorrow Starts Without Me is a heartfelt poem that aims to comfort and console those who will be left behind after their death. The poet expresses their love and concern for their loved ones, and reassures them that they will be with God in heaven. The poem uses simple and moving language to convey its message of hope and comfort, and the use of rhyme and repetition helps to reinforce the emotional impact of the poem. It serves as a reminder that death is a natural part of life, and that the memories of those we love will always be with us.

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    • By David Romano

    When tomorrow starts without me
    And I’m not here to see
    If the sun should rise and find your eyes
    All filled with tears for me

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  8. 6. When Great Trees Fall

    Maya Angelou (1928-2014) uses symbolism and strong imagery in this poem to show a person’s response to loss. It doesn’t matter how strong or tough you are; when an influential person in your life passes away, you feel the effects. Although this poem does show that we experience regrets with things left unsaid, our lives are made better by that person's influence. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on Maya Angelou’s birthday (April 4) in 1968, and his death deeply affected her. In fact, she stopped celebrating her own birthday for many years.

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    When great trees fall,
    rocks on distant hills shudder,
    lions hunker down
    in tall grasses,

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    I have also lost a son, a baby boy. Back then I was very grieved by that experience. I was told by people that loved me and helped support me to quickly heal and get over the way I felt, even...

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  9. 7. Requiem

    In this short and powerful poem, Robert Louis Stevenson's writes from the perspective of the deceased who calmly faces death with peace and contentment. The poem's message is one of comfort and acceptance, viewing death as a return home. It can serve as a touching tribute and funeral reading for families whose loved one have lived a full and complete life. The poem's use of imagery and metaphor reinforces the theme of death as a journey and offers comfort to those who are grieving.

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    Under the wide and starry sky,
    Dig the grave and let me lie.
    Glad did I live and gladly die,
    And I laid me down with a will.

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  10. 8. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

    This very famous poem, a villanelle, by Dylan Thomas was written as Thomas' father lay on his deathbed. The message that Thomas was conveying to his father was his passionate desire that his father not take death "lying down." He is expressing the feeling that so many have felt as they watched a close friend, parent, or lover slip away. The message to his father is, "Don't Go! Fight! Death is an injustice! Show your passion for life, by not going gentle into that "good" night."

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    Do not go gentle into that good night,
    Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
    Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

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    I like this poem. It reflects the general reaction of the majority of people not wanting their loved ones to go and if so at least they put up a fight, along with being poetically exquisite...

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  11. 9. Time Does Not Bring Relief (Sonnet II)

    Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was considered one of the most skillful writers of sonnets during the 1900s. This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet that follows the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA CDEECD. She writes of the pain experienced from the death of a loved one. Everything reminds her of him, and the passing of time does not ease the immense hurt she is experiencing, even though people said it would. Anyone who has lost someone they’ve loved will be able to relate to the raw emotion in this poem.

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    Time does not bring relief; you all have lied
    Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
    I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
    I want him at the shrinking of the tide;

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    I relate to her deep pain, I lost my precious son Chris a little over 3 years ago, suddenly. Now my heart and my soul are shattered forever on this earth, my life altered. I'm yet in that...

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  12. 10. Remember

    Christina Rossetti was an English poet who lived from 1830-1894. In this poem, she wants her loved one to remember her after death. The word “remember” is shared five times, bringing attention to the importance of holding onto those memories, but the tone changes at the end. She then gives her loved one the permission to move on after her death. She hopes to be remembered, but she doesn’t want those memories to cause sadness to those she leaves behind. The form of Remember is a Petrarchan Sonnet.

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    Remember me when I am gone away,
    Gone far away into the silent land;
    When you can no more hold me by the hand,
    Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

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    In 2022, my 2-year-old cousin passed of covid, and I'm only 13, so it's hard to go through that, so this really hits home.

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  13. 11. We Are Seven

    In this poem, Williams Wordsworth (1770-1850) addresses big questions about life and death. The speaker in the poem is talking with a little girl about her family. Two of the children in her family have died, but she continues to tell the man that she has seven members in her family. The man, however, tries to convince her that her family consists of only five now. She will not change her mind - for her brother and sister will always be a part of her family. This poem is written in the form of a ballad, which is generally narrative and follows the ABAB rhyme scheme.

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    ———A simple Child,
    That lightly draws its breath,
    And feels its life in every limb,
    What should it know of death?

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    I read this poem many, many years ago in a children's poem book. When my youngest brother passed...I was broken. At his funeral, someone said, "There are only 5 of you now." I thought of this...

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  14. 12. A Happy Man

    Edwin Arlington Robinson was an American poet and playwright who lived from 1869-1935. His work won him the Pulitzer Prize three times. In this poem, an old man reflects on the wonderful life he had with his family. He does not want that family to mourn over his death because his life was well-lived, and he had many years of enjoyment.

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    When these graven lines you see,
    Traveller, do not pity me;
    Though I be among the dead,
    Let no mournful word be said.

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  15. 13. Echo

    Christina Rossetti lived from 1830-1894, and many of her poems had religious and melancholy tones. Both are represented in “Echo.” This poem captures the pain of losing a loved one and the longing to feel their presence in any form.

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    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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  16. 14. Song

    In this poem, the narrator urges others not to do the typical things of remembrance when she passes away. Instead, the narrator encourages the reader to endure - just as grass does through droughts and famine. Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) uses alliteration throughout the poem: dead/dearest, sing/sad/songs, and green/grass. She struggled with her physical and mental health and experienced various bouts of depression. Through this poem, it's possible to see the process of working through difficult thoughts and emotions.

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    When I am dead, my dearest,
    Sing no sad songs for me;
    Plant thou no roses at my head,
    Nor shady cypress tree:

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    Christina Rossetti was my main inspiration for taking up poetry in 1972. This poem was a standout to me. I have 3 self-published books of poetry that I put together. The third one, Poetry in...

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  17. 15. The Little White Hearse

    When Ella Wheeler Wilcox was about 28 years of age, she married Robert Wilcox. They had one child, a son, who died shortly after birth. The Rhyme Scheme is ABAAB.

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    Somebody's baby was buried to-day--
    The empty white hearse from the grave rumbled back,
    And the morning somehow seemed less smiling and gay
    As I paused on the walk while it crossed on its way,

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    One cannot relate to the loss of a child unless they have gone through it. One can only feel the same pain of another if they have. This poem beautifully speaks of and shares this pain.

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  18. 16. Dirge Without Music

    A “dirge” is a mournful song, and in this mournful poem, Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) shares the fact of life that everyone must die. It doesn’t matter who they are; the same fate comes to everyone. The repetition of “I am not resigned” shows that she does not approve of the reality that everyone must be placed into the ground.

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    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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  19. 17. O Captain! My Captain!

    "O Captain! My Captain!" was written in honor of President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865, and was published in Whitman's anthology, Leaves of Grass. The poem is a metaphor to the Civil War and the captain of the ship refers to Abraham Lincoln.

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    O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
    The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
    The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
    While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

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    I just like it. First heard the poem when in high school and recently the poem has risen from my deep memory to everyday recollection.

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  20. 18. Because I Could Not Stop For Death

    A poem about death. Dickinson portrays death as her companion in the carriage. She passes her childhood - the school, to her grave. The poem makes heavy use of the literary device of personification, giving death human characteristics.

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    Because I could not stop for Death,
    He kindly stopped for me;
    The carriage held but just ourselves
    And Immortality.

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    Yeah, I agree we don't stop to think that death will come and take us away even when the ones he has taken are staring right at us. My grandma passed away when I was little. I sobbed for hours.

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  21. 19. A Farewell

    Alfred Tennyson (1809 - 1892) was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. In this beautiful poem, Alfred Lord Tennyson compares the short life span of Man to the seemingly eternal lifespan of nature. He expresses a longing to live on for eternity. However, nature lives on forever, while humans live for but a short time. The rivulet moves on to becomes a river and then it merges in to the sea where it stays for eternity. Interestingly, a great poet's work lives on even after their death.

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    Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
    Thy tribute wave deliver:
    No more by thee my steps shall be,
    For ever and for ever.

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  22. 20. Father And I

    Ruby Archer's "Father and I" is a poignant reflection on the enduring bond between a daughter and her father. The poem evokes a sense of idyllic childhood, filled with shared adventures in nature. The speaker recalls a time of innocent joy, exploring the world hand-in-hand with her father. The loss of this companionship is keenly felt in the latter part of the poem, as the speaker's solitary wanderings in the woods are tinged with a profound sense of loneliness. The poem beautifully captures the bittersweet nature of memory and the enduring impact of a loving father-daughter relationship.

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    Father and I were gypsies.―
    We tried to lose our way
    Among the woodland mystery,
    When we'd a holiday.

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