15+ Insightful Poems about Life Struggles

(15 to start, 400+ to explore)

Poems about life struggles delve into the trials and tribulations that define the human experience. These verses capture the resilience and strength of individuals navigating through difficult circumstances, offering solace and understanding to those facing hardships.

Poets may express empathy and compassion, acknowledging the universality of struggles and the courage required to overcome adversity. Through poignant language, these poems remind readers that struggles can be transformative, leading to growth, self-awareness, and the forging of unbreakable spirits.

Poems about Life Struggles Visual Representation

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You Can Have It

by Philip Levine

‘You Can Have It’ is a poem about a man’s loss of enthusiasm towards life and his desire to regain the things and people that made it more colorful. The poem conveys this message through the persona’s narrative, set in Detroit in the year 1948.

Though Levine wrote about his work life from a neutral point of view, one cannot deny there were days full of painful struggles. By extension, they depict life struggles. Many who have or have had similar work experiences can easily see this relatable topic as the highlight of the poem.

My brother comes home from work

and climbs the stairs to our room.

I can hear the bed groan and his shoes drop

one by one. You can have it, he says.

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Hope

by Joseph Addison

‘Hope’ by Joseph Addison shares the lofty, optimistic belief that periods of sorrow are outlasted by renewals of happiness.

The poem's hopeful message makes it an appropriate, if not helpful, piece of literature for moments of when life feels like one endless struggle. One that advocates not just the necessity and benefits of staying optimistic through such periods but also the notion that such reversals of fortune are inevitable. Addison's poem insists that beneath the obscuring shadow of "present woes" is a beatific happiness awaiting one's acknowledgment. Taken to heart with the sincerity that guides it the poem is a touchingly simple reminder to endure through adversity and pain.

Our lives, discoloured with our present woes,

May still grow white and shine with happier hours.

So the pure limped stream, when foul with stains

Of rushing torrents and descending rains,

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Not Waving but Drowning

by Stevie Smith

Stevie Smith’s ‘Not Waving but Drowning’ is a tragic account of a dead man whose cry for help is mistakenly regarded as a mere greeting.

The drowning man in this poem can be anyone. A person who is going through a tough phase in their life can be compared to the dead/drowning man. The imagery of water swallowing the person is a metaphor for problems. In this way, Smith tries to show how people are all alone in their times of need.

Nobody heard him, the dead man,

But still he lay moaning:

I was much further out than you thought

And not waving but drowning.

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Out of the Deep

by Christina Rossetti

‘Out of the Deep’ by Christina Rossetti features a speaker’s plea to God for mercy and grace. They’re struggling to deal with the challenges and uncertainties of life.

The poem portrays life as a "tedious desert path long trod," encapsulating the hardships and tribulations the speaker faces. The struggles are not merely physical or situational but deeply emotional and spiritual, making life itself a significant antagonist in the poem.

Have mercy, Thou my God; mercy, my God;

For I can hardly bear life day by day:

Be I here or there I fret myself away:

Lo for Thy staff I have but felt Thy rod

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Tractor

by Ted Hughes

‘Tractor’ by Ted Hughes is a powerful poem that represents and narrates the fight and victory of machinery with rich assertion and proper lexical equipment used.

Life struggle is seen through the speaker's constant attempt to begin the tractor. It represents the troubles and trials, which are faced in life. Hughes portrays the fighters and their weariness, and the audiences are forced to think about one’s battle in life and what it takes to win everything that life throws at a person.

The tractor stands frozen - an agony

To think of. All night

Snow packed its open entrails. Now a head-pincering gale,

A spill of molten ice, smoking snow

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Failing and Flying

by Jack Gilbert

‘Failing and Flying’ by Jack Gilbert explores the idea that although something may ultimately fail, the process of arriving at that point may be a triumph.

The poem suggests that everyone experiences struggles and failures in life, whether in love or other aspects, and that these challenges can lead to growth and self-discovery.

Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew.

It's the same when love comes to an end,

or the marriage fails and people say

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We are Adrift

by Sujata Bhatt

‘We are Adrift’ expresses an intense uncertainty as the speaker becomes unmoored during their observations of a darkling sea.

In reading Bhatt's poem, you will find yourself struck by the earnest ease with which the poet captures an elusive emotion, one hard to identify and harder still to admit. It is a kind of directionless angst, a feeling that you have no control over your life, that you're only a passenger at the mercy of more powerful forces. In the case of the poem, this takes the form of the tide and the night/fog, and the resulting poem attempts to offer some expression of this struggle.

At night

our sunroom is closer

to the water —

we are adrift with the moon.

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The Rose That Grew From Concrete

by Tupac Shakur

‘The Rose That Grew From Concrete’ is a moving celebration of personal resolve against the backdrop of oppressive forces.

The extended metaphors of the rose and the concrete present the struggles, perseverance, and resilience of individuals, likely from oppressed and disadvantaged sections, who rise above the harsh life struggles and change their lives. The rose's life is self-made with its determination and hard work in its dreams, and it never got any outside support while battling the barrenness of concrete, symbolically systematic impediments like social injustice, poverty, and lack of resources and opportunities. Tupac's parents were activists, and he grew up seeing and living the challenging life of an African American closely.

Did you hear about the rose that grew

from a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature's law is wrong it

learned to walk with out having feet.

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Carpe Diem

by Robert Frost

‘Carpe Diem’ by Robert Frost is a poem that encourages the reader to live in the present and comments on people’s tendency to focus on the past and the future instead.

‘Carpe Diem’ touches on the struggle to live in the present despite life’s overwhelming nature. The poem acknowledges the difficulty of truly appreciating happiness in the moment, highlighting the human condition’s inherent struggles with time, awareness, and fulfillment.

Age saw two quiet children

Go loving by at twilight,

He knew not whether homeward,

Or outward from the village,

#10

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Childhood

by Frances Cornford

‘Childhood’ explores the transitory moment when a child becomes aware of the passing of time, and the process of growing old.

The process of aging brings with it a number of challenges that are ironically part and parcel of life. The longer children remain ignorant of the fact their innocence prevails.

I used to think that grown-up people chose

To have stiff backs and wrinkles round their nose,

And veins like small fat snakes on either hand,

On purpose to be grand.

#11

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Rabbi Ben Ezra

by Robert Browning

In ‘Rabbi Ben Ezra’ by Robert Browning, aging wisdom urges surrender to divine plan, embracing life’s imperfections for spiritual refinement.

This poem delves into life struggles through the protagonist's introspective journey. The poem navigates themes of resilience, perseverance, and acceptance amidst life's trials and tribulations. Browning portrays struggle as integral to spiritual growth and personal development, emphasizing the importance of facing challenges with courage and trust in the divine plan. Through the protagonist's reflections, the poem offers insights into overcoming adversity and finding meaning in life's struggles.

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

#12

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The Ballad of Reading Gaol

by Oscar Wilde

‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ is a scathing critique of the penal system and an exploration of complex human emotions.

He did not wear his scarlet coat,

For blood and wine are red,

And blood and wine were on his hands

When they found him with the dead,

#13

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To be, or not to be from Hamlet

by William Shakespeare

“To be, or not to be,” the opening line of Hamlet’s mindful soliloquy, is one of the most thought-provoking quotes of all time. The monologue features the important theme of existential crisis.

The poem shows Hamlet’s inner battle with the heavy struggles of life, torn between enduring suffering or finding an escape. His words reveal how overwhelming life can feel when burdened by disappointment, betrayal, and doubt. Hamlet’s conflict highlights how these struggles affect him deeply, leading him to question whether facing life’s hardships is worth the emotional toll or if peace lies elsewhere.

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

#14

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A Birthday Present

by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath’s ‘A Birthday Present’ reflects on death, longing, and life’s struggles with raw emotion and powerful symbols.

Life struggles are at the heart of this poem, with the speaker describing how tiring and repetitive her daily life feels. She talks about following endless rules and completing tasks that leave her feeling empty. It’s clear she’s worn down by everything, as if life is nothing but a series of challenges she’s expected to handle. The exhaustion from it all is unmistakable in her words.

What is this, behind this veil, is it ugly, is it beautiful?

It is shimmering, has it breasts, has it edges?

I am sure it is unique, I am sure it is what I want.

When I am quiet at my cooking I feel it looking, I feel it thinking

#15

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Cross

by Langston Hughes

‘Cross’ by Langston Hughes uses a stereotypical image of a biracial man to explore identity and the inequalites one might encounter.

In ‘Cross,’ Langston Hughes addresses the speaker’s struggles with his biracial identity in a racially divided society. The speaker reflects on the difficulties of belonging to both the white and Black communities, as his father was white and his mother Black. These life struggles highlight his uncertainty about his place in the world.

My old man’s a white old man

And my old mother’s black.

If ever I cursed my white old man

I take my curses back.

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15+ Insightful Poems about Life Struggles

(15 to start, 400+ to explore)

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15+ Insightful Poems about Life Struggles

(15 to start, 400+ to explore)

by Philip Levine

by Joseph Addison

by Stevie Smith

by Christina Rossetti

by Ted Hughes

by Jack Gilbert

by Sujata Bhatt

by Tupac Shakur

by Robert Frost

by Frances Cornford

by Robert Browning

by Oscar Wilde

by William Shakespeare

by Sylvia Plath

by Langston Hughes

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