15+ Expressive Poems about Grief

Q: What is the saddest poem ever written?

One of the saddest poems ever written is ‘ Spring and Fall’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins . But, there are many other very tragic poems, including ‘Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe .

(15 to start, 400+ to explore)

Grief-centered poetry is deeply moving, often poignant in its raw depiction of loss and sorrow. Such poems echo with a profound sense of sadness, capturing the universal experience of mourning.

The poet uses evocative language and somber imagery to express the pain of grief, offering the reader a shared space for their own mourning. These verses serve as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of loss, offering solace and empathy in times of sorrow.

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

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Grief

by Barbara Crooker

‘Grief’ by Barbara Crooker explores the process of grieving after a loved one has died. Crooker doesn’t want to let go of their memory.

This is a traditional poem about grief. It explores the process of grieving after a loved one has died. The poem uses the extended metaphor of ‘wading’ through a river to explain the process of grieving. For Crooker, the rushing waters that flow past the poet as she stands in the freezing lake represent grieving – she wallows in the water, enjoying its icy sadness.

is a river you wade in until you get to the other side.

But I am here, stuck in the middle, water parting

around my ankles, moving downstream

over the flat rocks. I'm not able to lift a foot,

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As Imperceptibly as Grief

by Emily Dickinson

‘As imperceptibly as grief’ by Emily Dickinson analyzes grief. The poet compares it to the passing away of the summer.

'As imperceptibly as Grief' is undeniably one of the finest poetic renderings on the subject of grief ever written. The comparison between the subtle changes that occur in nature and the gradual fading of grief is both beautiful and astoundingly accurate. Likewise, Dickinson's decision to use natural imagery to describe grief speaks to the universality of the emotion; we will all grieve at some point, just as we all participate in the natural world.

As imperceptibly as Grief

The Summer lapsed away—

Too imperceptible at last

To seem like Perfidy—

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The Raven

by Edgar Allan Poe

‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe presents an eerie raven who incessantly knocks over the speaker’s door and says only one word – “Nevermore.”

This chilling poem is considered to be Edgar Allan Poe’s poetic masterpiece. It details a harrowing night in the speaker’s life that includes incessant knocking and a talking raven that only says one word–“Nevermore.” Throughout the poem, the poet uses repetition to emphasize the mysterious knocking occurring in the speaker’s home in the middle of a cold December evening. He opens the door and looks into the darkness, wondering if it could be his beloved, Lenore, returned to him.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

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Nationality: English

Themes: Beauty, Nature

Emotions:

Grief

Pain

Topics: Evening, Sky, Suffering

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Dejection: An Ode

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The poem, ‘Dejection’, written on April 4, 1802, is Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s swan song lamenting the decline of creative imagination.

In this poem, Coleridge gives expression to an experience of double consciousness. His sense perceptions are vivid and in part agreeable; his inner state is faint, blurred, and unhappy. He sees but cannot feel.

Well! If the Bard was weather-wise, who made

The grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spence,

This night, so tranquil now, will not go hence

Unroused by winds, that ply a busier trade

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Nationality: English

Theme: Death

Emotions:

Grief

Sadness

Topics: Night, Soul, Wind

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Grief

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

‘Grief’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning tells of the necessary conditions for feeling true grief and the way it transforms one’s body and soul.

This poem tells of the necessary conditions for feeling true grief and the way it transforms one’s body and soul. The poem begins with the speaker stating that those who throw up their arms and wail do not truly grieve. They are without the ability to feel true despair. Rather, it is those who express no passion who are truly hurting. As the poem concludes, the speaker tells the reader that only when one can “weep” will their grief be relieved.

I tell you, hopeless grief is passionless;

That only men incredulous of despair,

Half-taught in anguish, through the midnight air

Beat upward to God’s throne in loud access

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Ceasefire

by Michael Longley

Michael Longley’s ‘Ceasefire’ is a unique and powerful retelling of a classical scene with immense modern significance.

This poem is undoubtedly one of the best and most perceptive portrayals of grief. Perhaps the most impressive thing is Longley's ability to overlook the divisions between Achilles and Priam, representing the different sides of The Troubles, and showcase how grief affects us all, whether we are winning the fight or losing it. He focuses on their shared pain rather than their differences, showing that loss has no sides in war. This makes the poem feel deeply human, reminding us that suffering is universal, no matter where we stand.

Put in mind of his own father and moved to tears

Achilles took him by the hand and pushed the old king

Gently away, but Priam curled up at his feet and

Wept with him until their sadness filled the building.

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Mid-Term Break

by Seamus Heaney

‘Mid-Term Break’ by Seamus Heaney describes the emotional turmoil experienced by a speaker who has lost a loved one in a traumatic way.

This is without doubt one of the most accurate and recognisable portrayals of grief ever recorded in a poem and one cannot ignore Heaney's lived experience when reading it. The ways in which different people react differently and the nuanced rendering of their processes of grieving are strikingly accurate. The poem also captures the terrible truth that, on some level, the grieving process never ends for those closest to a deceased person.

I sat all morning in the college sick bay

Counting bells knelling classes to a close.

At two o'clock our neighbours drove me home.

PDF Guide

Nationality: American

Themes: Death, Disappointment, Failure

Emotions:

Grief

Anxiety, Frustration, Sadness

Topics: Adversity, Conflict, Humanity, Life, Life Lessons, Life Struggles, Loss, Mourning, Sorrow, Suffering

Forms: Ballad, Quatrain

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I measure every Grief I meet

by Emily Dickinson

‘I measure every Grief I meet’ by Emily Dickinson is a dark and depressing poem. The poet explores the nature of grief and how loss is unavoidable.

This is a dark and depressing poem. The poet explores the nature of grief and how loss is unavoidable. It also uses clear diction and syntax, allowing readers to grasp the poet’s content easily and quickly. The poet’s speaker also considers the possibility that some of these people may or may not eventually get a reprieve from their sorrow. The poem ends with an allusion to the crucifixion of Jesus.

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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Memory of My Father

by Patrick Kavanagh

Kavanagh’s poem portrays feelings of grief with startling potency by emphasising the presence of the speaker’s deceased father.

Kavanagh's poem is one of the best portrayals of how grief affects our daily lives. The recurring resemblance of the father in the men the speaker encounters acts as a metaphor for how grief takes over our thoughts and emotions after losing someone dear. This constant presence of loss shows how difficult it can be to move forward, especially in the weeks and months following such a significant absence.

Every old man I see

Reminds me of my father

When he had fallen in love with death

One time when sheaves were gathered.

#10

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English

Theme:

War

Emotions:

Grief

Loving Someone You Can't Have

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Poppies

by Jane Weir

‘Poppies’ captures a mother’s heartache for her war-bound son, weaving symbols of memory with the scars of war’s aftermath.

Grief is at the heart of the poem and Weir presents it as silent, internalised, and enduring force that continues to shape the mother's life long after the death of her son. The speaker’s mourning is not loud but folded into the textures of everyday life, making it feel raw and deeply human.

Three days before Armistice Sunday

and poppies had already been placed

on individual war graves. Before you left,

I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals,

#11

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A Valediction: of Weeping

by John Donne

‘A Valediction: of Weeping’ delves into separation and the emotive force of tears, using metaphysical wit to explore deep questions of love and loss.

‘Valediction of Weeping’ is a powerful poem in which the speaker uses images to talk about a relationship and the two people who are a part of it. The speaker addresses their lover describes their grief and other conflicting emotions.

Let me pour forth

My tears before thy face, whilst I stay here,

For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,

And by this mintage they are something worth,

#12

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Loving Someone You Can't Have

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After

by Philip Bourke Marston

‘After’ by Marston captures the eternal ache of loss, where brief joys transition to lasting sorrow, reflecting on grief’s permanence.

Grief is a powerful emotion present in the text. The full scope of the speaker’s grief can be realized by reading the fifth stanza. In this stanza, the speaker describes how he has to say several things to his beloved that his heart breaks to say. Later, in the next stanza, he says he has a lifetime to comprehend the loss and grieve her death.

A LITTLE time for laughter,

— A little time to sing,

— A little time to kiss and cling,

And no more kissing after.

#13

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Disabled

by Wilfred Owen

‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen explores the suffering, alienation, and traumatic life of a disabled soldier who participated in the Great War.

The emotion of grief unfolds as the soldier grapples with the immense loss he suffered due to his participation in the war while mourning for a life irreversibly altered by his decision. The portrayal of the soldier's shattered life and indifferent societal response to his suffering stirs the readers, making them confront the grief experienced by soldiers who endure the brutal consequences of the war. The soldier's repeated cry of 'Why don't they come?' for people who are supposed to take him inside accentuates the grief as he can't bear the harsh truth of his doomed life.

He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,

And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,

Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park

Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,

#14

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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 deep-seated grief in the father’s heart drives him to do some things that may seem odd to the reader. It may also seem that he has lost his mind. In order to find relief, he has created an illusion of his own. Stanza two of the poem makes things clear and describes how sane he is about his actions.

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.

#15

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Nationality: American

Theme: War

Emotions:

Grief

Pain

Topics: Fighting, Loss, Seasons, Spring

Genre: Lyric

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Spring in War Time

by Sara Teasdale

‘Spring in War Time’ is a lyric poem contemplating war and its strength; as well as its inability to stop the seasons from changing and spring from coming.

This poem contains a series of questions asked by a speaker who is confused about how spring can continue despite the fact that there is a war going on. How, she asks, can beauty continue to exist in the shadow of darkness? She also asks how “daylight” can persist while men fight as well as how grass can grow and wind can blow “over new graves.”

I feel the spring far off, far off,

The faint, far scent of bud and leaf—

Oh, how can spring take heart to come

To a world in grief,

FAQs about Grief

One of the saddest poems ever written is ‘Spring and Fall’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins. But, there are many other very tragic poems, including ‘Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe.

A mourning poem is an elegy. An elegy is written for someone who has recently passed away. It will likely describe their personality and why there were important to the speaker/writer.

Yes, a lament can be a poem. It expresses emotions of sorrow and grief over someone’s loss. Or, it could go into detail about another kind of tragedy.

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