11 Reflective Poems about Losing a Mother

These beautiful poems explore the profound sense of loss when a mother departs. They embrace the nurturing, comforting, unconditional love only a mother can provide.

These verses often become emotional journeys through grief, memories, and the resilience to carry on. They celebrate the maternal bonds that shape individuals and leave behind cherished legacies.

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotions:

Topics:

Form:

Genres:

"> 85/100

Long Distance II

by Tony Harrison

‘Long Distance II’ by Tony Harrison is an elegiac poem that describes a father’s way of grieving the death of his wife and his child’s reaction to his futile actions.

The speaker of this piece declares in the very first line that his mother died two years ago. But he mostly dwells in his father’s hope of his wife’s return. His father disbelieved the fact that she was dead. In contrast, the speaker realistically asserts in the last stanza, “life ends with death.”

Though my mother was already two years dead

Dad kept her slippers warming by the gas,

put hot water bottles her side of the bed

and still went to renew her transport pass.

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotions:

Topics:

Mothers and Daughters

Strong Women

Form:

Free Verse

Genre: Lyric

"> 84/100

Praise Song For My Mother

by Grace Nichols

‘Praise Song For My Mother’ uses nature metaphors to depict her mother’s vital, nurturing presence in a personal ode.

The speaker's repetition of the phrase, "You were," hints at the loss that ebbs beneath the poem. In reality, Nichols wrote this poem not long after the death of her mother, and as a result it should be read as a transcendence of grief through praise. Although her nurturing presence has become simply a memory, it is these impressions that survive and sustain the speaker, who still cherishes them. Rather than focus on the devastation of such loss they instead hold onto all the joy they owe to their love.

You were

water to me

deep and bold and fathoming

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotions:

Topics:

Form:

Genre:

"> 80/100

The White Rose

by Hussain Manawer

‘The White Rose’ by Hussain Manawer is a deeply personal poem that discusses the impact that the death of the poet’s mother had on him.

This poem is all about the loss of the author's mother. The death still has a huge impact on his life, and he discusses the ways in which it affects him. As well as missing her, he talks about the daily effect of her not being around - the small things that have lost meaning as a result of her loss. He also speaks about the afterlife with some hope for what that will mean for her.

You’re the one God took home.

I miss you.

No matter what they say, I miss you.

I’ve never missed anyone the way I miss you.

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotions:

Topics:

Forms:

Genres:

"> 69/100

Graveyard Blues

by Natasha Trethewey

‘Graveyard Blues’ is a journey of grief, the speaker finding solace among the names of the dead, with their mother’s name becoming a comfort.

This poem is clearly centered on the personal experience of losing a mother, and the emotional weight of that loss stays with the speaker throughout. From the funeral to later visits at the grave, every part of the poem reflects that deep connection. While the poem is not widely known, this topic fits the poem perfectly. It captures the personal and lasting nature of this specific kind of grief, which makes it the most accurate choice.

It rained the whole time we were laying her down;

Rained from church to grave when we put her down.

The suck of mud at our feet was a hollow sound.

When the preacher called out I held up my hand;

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotions:

Topics:

Form:

Genre:

"> 60/100

Monument

by Natasha Trethewey

‘Monument’ sees the poet observing some ants and remembering a time at her mother’s grave.

In this poem, the poet discusses the effect that losing her mother has had on her. Something as innocuous as the sight of some ants can remind her of her loss, and then she must deal with her emotions and feelings of regret over what has happened.

Today the ants are busy

beside my front steps, weaving

in and out of the hill they’re building.

I watch them emerge and—

PDF Guide

Nationality:

Themes:

Emotions:

Topics:

Form:

Genre:

"> 55/100

Lullaby

by Fatimah Asghar

In ‘Lullaby,’ Fatimah Asghar recalls a story her sister told after their parents’ death, blending grief and fantasy to imagine their reunion beyond death.

In this poem, the poet is reflecting on the fact that they have lost both of their parents. They miss them, and they fall back into a fantasy wherein they can see them being reunited once again.

When the sadness comes

My sister tells me a story -

A man buried in Pakistan

A woman buried in New York City

PDF Guide

Amethyst Beads

by Eavan Boland

‘Amethyst Beads’ by Eavan Boland alludes to Greek mythology and the suffering of a child, Persephone, after she was separated from her mother, Demeter.

A child crying out in her sleep

Wait for me. Don’t leave me here.

Who will never remember this.

Who will never remember this.

PDF Guide

And Soul

by Eavan Boland

‘And Soul’ by Eavan Boland is a poem about death and a body’s dissolution into the elements it is made up of.

My mother died one summer—

the wettest in the records of the state.

Crops rotted in the west.

Checked tablecloths dissolved in back gardens.

PDF Guide

Plague

by Jackie Kay

‘Plague’ by Jackie Kay is a poem about death, specifically about the plague in London and how a mother is forced to contend with the knowledge that both her sons are going to die.

Our black door has a white X.

#10

PDF Guide

The Forsaken Merman

by Matthew Arnold

‘The Forsaken Merman’ by Matthew Arnold is a melancholy poem in which the speaker, a merman, grieves the loss of his human wife. He’s left alone with their children without the woman he loves.

Come, dear children, let us away;

Down and away below!

Now my brothers call from the bay,

Now the great winds shoreward blow,

#11

PDF Guide

The Way My Mother Speaks

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘The Way My Mother Speaks’ by Carol Ann Duffy describes a speaker’s developing connection to her mother’s way of speaking.

I say her phrases to myself

in my head

or under the shallows of my breath,

restful shapes moving.

The day and ever. The day and ever.

Home » Collection » Poems about Losing a Mother

11 Reflective Poems about Losing a Mother

General

Poetry+

Discover

Useful Links

11 Reflective Poems about Losing a Mother

by Tony Harrison

by Grace Nichols

by Hussain Manawer

by Natasha Trethewey

by Natasha Trethewey

by Fatimah Asghar

Narrow Your Search

We Look Deep into Poetry

General

Poetry+

Discover

Useful Links