24 Famous Death Poems | Popular Poetry about Death

21. Afternoon In February

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Famous Poem

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) wrote a lot of light-hearted poems, but this is one of the more somber ones. This poem contain symbolism: the short days of February are compared to sadness. Both are dark and feel lifeless. Even the short length of each line contributes to the tone of this poem and the connection to the short February days. The Rhyme Scheme is AABC.

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

Through clouds like ashes
The red sun flashes
On village windows
That glimmer red.

The snow recommences;
The buried fences
Mark no longer
The road o'er the plain;

While through the meadows,
Like fearful shadows,
Slowly passes
A funeral train.

The bell is pealing,
And every feeling
Within me responds
To the dismal knell;

Shadows are trailing,
My heart is bewailing
And tolling within
Like a funeral bell.

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22. The Cross Of Snow

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Famous Poem

The Cross of Snow, a Sonnet, is an expression of grief by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow over the tragic death of his wife by fire. The poem was written eighteen years after her death. While trying to save her, Longfellow was burnt on his face. After which he stopped shaving and grew the distinctive beard which he is known by.

In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face — the face of one long dead —
Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died; and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
The legend of a life more benedight.
There is a mountain in the distant West
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes
And seasons, changeless since the day she died.

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23. Requiem

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Famous Poem

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.

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.

This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

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24. Sympathy

By Georgia Douglas Johnson

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"Sympathy" by Georgia Douglas Johnson is a heartfelt poem that beautifully captures the depth of connection between two souls. Through the use of personification and emotional imagery, the poet portrays a profound sense of unity and shared experience. As joy and pain intertwine, the poem highlights the power of empathy, sympathy and the capacity for one person's emotions to resonate deeply with another.

My joy leaps with your ecstasy,
In sympathy divine;
The smiles that wreathe upon your lips,
Find sentinels on mine:

Your lightest sigh I'm echoing,
I tremble with your pain,
And all your tears are falling
In my heart like bitter rain.

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