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 2056
    • Favorited 26
    • Votes 359
    • Rating 4.38
    • 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 1610
    • Favorited 27
    • Votes 338
    • Rating 4.26
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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 1408
    • Favorited 9
    • Votes 266
    • Rating 4.22
    • 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 549
    • Favorited 6
    • Votes 136
    • Rating 3.76
  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 10684
    • Favorited 143
    • Votes 2022
    • Rating 4.59
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    • Poem of the Day
    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 8453
    • Favorited 124
    • Votes 1768
    • 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 3320
    • Favorited 63
    • Votes 1688
    • 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. 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 614
    • Favorited 37
    • Votes 146
    • Rating 4.62
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    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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  11. 9. 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 314
    • Favorited 4
    • Votes 36
    • Rating 4.61
  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 2274
    • Favorited 59
    • Votes 785
    • 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 902
    • Favorited 56
    • Votes 235
    • Rating 4.48
  14. 12. 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 168
    • Favorited 4
    • Votes 51
    • Rating 4.47
  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 207
    • 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 402
    • Favorited 21
    • Votes 82
    • Rating 4.39
    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 139
    • Favorited 8
    • Votes 60
    • Rating 4.32
  18. 16. 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 22
    • Favorited 2
    • Votes 13
    • Rating 4.69
    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

  19. 17. 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 11
    • 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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  20. 18. 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 235
    • Favorited 13
    • Votes 52
    • Rating 4.56
    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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  21. 19. 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 24
    • Favorited 4
    • Votes 18
    • Rating 4.56
  22. 20. 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 1007
    • Favorited 54
    • Votes 473
    • 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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1 - 20 of 30

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