Poems centered on compassion offer deeply emotive and poignant expressions of empathy and understanding.
They speak to the shared human experience, articulating themes of kindness, love, and caring for others.
The language is tender and warm, stirring the heart with messages of selflessness and altruism. The poet often explores the beauty of compassionate acts, small or large, fostering a profound sense of connection between the reader and the wider tapestry of humanity. These poems invite introspection, gently nudging the reader towards a more empathetic worldview.
‘The Wound-Dresser’ is a powerful poem that weighs the lofty reasons given to wage war with the bloody realities of its cost to human life.
The compassion of the wound dresser is without a doubt the poem's most powerful emotion. Every stanza seems to gush with it, making the sentiment as profuse as the blood that covers everything inside the hospital tent. Apart from their skills as a healer, the speaker clings to this powerfully kindhearted empathy as a personal balm against the terrible things they've seen while working. The last few stanzas communicate those feelings with the most intensity.
An old man bending I come among new faces,
Years looking backward resuming in answer to children,
Come tell us old man, as from young men and maidens that love me,
(Arous’d and angry, I’d thought to beat the alarum, and urge relentless war,
‘The Complaints of Poverty’ by Nicholas James uses rhetorical devices and rhyme to give the rich a good look at how unpleasant it is to be poor. James indirectly challenges the stigmas associated with both wealth and poverty, inviting the rich to treat poor people with compassion, sympathy, and generosity.
This poem is a call for compassion, sympathy, and pity for the poor who need help to put food on the table. By tracing the monotonous, restless days and nights of the poor, the poet reveals how diligent and persevering the poor must be to carry on with their lives day to day.
‘The First Disciple of Buddha’ reveals the transformative effects of human compassion as a path toward spiritual enlightenment.
Compassion is one of the primary emotions expressed and inspired by Bhatt's poem. It is this feeling that radiates from her visual and tactile imagery, which pictures the speaker caring gently but diligently for a complete stranger. This platonic intimacy and affection is what makes the poem so deeply affecting.
‘Songs for the People’ is a poem that espouses a hopeful belief in music’s ability to bring peace both to individuals and the world around them.
One of the primary emotions found in Harper's poem is the feeling of compassion felt by the speaker towards the people they intend to help. That is the purpose of their songs: to create something that will soothe the hearts of troubled individuals and, in doing so, foster a worldwide sense of peace. Each of the images shared serves to illustrate the fruits of their compassion and the power art has to bring people solace.
Colm Keegan confronts the violent deaths of young men in Ireland in ‘Memorial’, rewinding the clock to a time they were happy and free.
'Memorial' embodies compassion as the speaker empathises with a young murder victim and the family he leaves behind. The speaker highlights the suffering felt by the family, as the young man's mother goes alone to the last place he was seen and leaves a 'blessed bouquet' for her son. However, the greatest example of compassion in this poem comes as the speaker seeks to reverse the events which caused the death of the boy. They emphasise that this youthful boy should be happy amongst his friends, not lifeless in a field. They allow the young man to return to his state as he was before in the ultimate act of compassion.
‘How Things Work’ by Gary Soto is a moving poem that envisions an optimistic perception of the way people support one another through financial altruism.
Compassion is one of the more powerful emotions inspired within the poem. Although the speaker acknowledges that they make their purchases out of personal necessity, they also focus on how money might benefit someone else. Of course, this compassion is fueled by the speaker's great reliance on money and sense of poverty. They understand the desperation of stretching what little they have.
Sonnet 130, ‘My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,’ satirizes and subverts traditional love poetry, presenting a new perspective.
When the speaker describes his mistress's physical attributes in a realistic and unidealized manner, he is exhibiting unfaltering compassion instead of debasing her as it may seem initially. He cherishes her with all the flaws, accepting her for who she is rather than conforming to societal beauty ideals. The line 'And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare' displays a deep affection for the mistress, challenging societal conventions.
‘The Lesson’ by Paul Laurence Dunbar hones in on the power of empathy to soothe not just the woes of others but also ourselves.
Compassion is one of the more powerful emotions generated in this poem by Dunbar. The speaker eventually realizes that it is their own compassion for another that helps alleviate their own sorrows. But the poem also comments on the larger effects and purposes of art as a means of transferring our empathy and exchanging healing.
‘The Little Black Boy’ by William Blake is a difficult poem. It delves into topics of race, racism, and slavery from the perspective of an 18th-century poet.
Compassion plays a central role in ‘The Little Black Boy’. The speaker reflects a deep sense of empathy for the white boy, vowing to protect him: “I’ll shade him from the heat till he can bear.” Despite being seen as inferior in society, the black boy exhibits selflessness, offering his love and care to ensure that the white boy will also experience divine comfort and equality.
Milton’s early masterpiece, ‘On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,’ celebrates Jesus’s birth and the poet’s own passage into adulthood.
The newborn Christ's vulnerability and the events of His birth draw attention to feelings of compassion. Through Milton’s representation of a modest location, he inspires understanding of the hardships, both of humanity and spiritual bond through kindness and affection. Such emotions contribute to the thematic substance of the poem and align with the reader’s private reflections and life stories.
‘Any Human to Another’ by Countee Cullen connects humans through the shared experience of sorrow, advocating empathy and compassion.
Compassion towards other humans is an essential emotion required to fulfill the kind of empathy the poem calls for. Thus, like empathy, compassion 'must' be a universal human reaction against others' suffering to foster a loving, supportive, and kind human society where no one is left alone. Moreover, compassion is evident in the responses or expected responses to others' grief as the speaker states, 'My sorrow must be laid / On your head like a crown'; one surely cannot get so deeply involved in alleviating others' suffering without feeling heartfelt compassion.
The ‘Coronation’ by Helen Hunt Jackson can be considered a literary work that represents the topic of power and its instability, the worth of humility, and the desire for self-knowledge.
Compassion is invoked with the words of the beggar in the poem in response to the king’s question. Regardless of the enormous disparity in their social standings, the beggar’s patience, and kind-heartedness towards the king, as portrayed by his pitying response, brings about the humane qualities of pity. This portrayal of real interest and concern in another person’s life speaks to the reader and helps them lead more compassionate lives.
‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ by John Donne is a metaphysical poem exploring the nature of enduring love.
The emotion of compassion is subtly present in the poem as the speaker assures his beloved that his departure won't impact their relationship while reminding her about their enduring love. The speaker compassionately forbids his beloved from mourning their temporary separation, comforting her with lines like 'So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods nor sigh-tempests move' while accentuating their soul's connection.
‘Another Insane Devotion’ by Gerald Stern is about a man reflecting on his life experiences. His memories, while not always easily understood, help him see the value of the choices he has made.
The poem's speaker describes a feral cat essentially attacking him to get at his sandwich. Instead of shooing the cat away or leaving, the man gives the starving animal half his food, and the two eat together. The man remembers petting the cat's head and sharing the space with him. The compassion with which the man treated the cat makes his memory of the experience stand out.
‘Leave him now Quiet by the Way’ by Trumbull Stickney is a complex poem that imparts a deeply devastating revelation about another man’s despair.
Compassion is kindled in both the speaker and the reader for the man. Stickney's poem is fueled by a desire to both understand and express empathy for his current state of affairs. Everything from the poet's diction to their use of imagery is directed at successfully inspiring a similar emotion within the reader.
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