15+ Compelling Poems about Guilt

(15 to start, 125+ to explore)

Poems about guilt delve into the complex emotions surrounding regret, remorse, and self-reproach. The poet explores the gnawing discomfort of guilt, capturing the internal conflict it often engenders.

Using introspective language and vivid imagery, these poems echo with the painful acknowledgment of wrongs done. They invite the reader to confront their own guilt, offering a path towards forgiveness and self-acceptance.

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"> 90/100

Carpet-weavers, Morocco

by Carol Rumens

‘Carpet-weavers, Morocco’ is a challenging poem which explores issues such as child labour as well as examining the myriad origins of beauty.

The poet clearly evokes a sense of guilt in the reader, for more reasons than might be immediately obvious.

The children are at the loom of another world.

Their braids are oiled and black, their dresses bright.

Their assorted heights would make a melodious chime.

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"> 90/100

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.

Guilt is an overarching theme in this piece, The speaker feels unworthy of God's mercy, burdened by their sins and shortcomings. This sense of guilt creates a complex emotional landscape, enhancing the poem's tension and urgency. The speaker can't get away from the feeling that her sins outweigh anything good she has ever done.

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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"> 88/100

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 disabled soldier experiences a sense of remorse and guilt as he reflects on his naive decision to join the war and the life he lost. The contrast between his former vitality and current state not only accentuates the emotional weight of remorse but foregrounds the human cost, moral complexities, and ethical responsibilities associated with the war, transferring the guilt to the readers as we still live in a world where many lives are ruined as soldiers are pushed in meaningless wars determined by people in power.

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,

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"> 85/100

We Lived Happily during the War

by Ilya Kaminsky

‘We Lived Happily during the War’ reflects complex feelings of guilt for US foreign policy decisions through the lens of one individual.

The poem carries a deep sense of guilt, as it reflects on the uneasiness people feel for living comfortably while others face pain caused by their country’s actions. Kaminsky brings out this feeling of regret, showing that even if people protest, they feel it’s not enough to make real change. The poem’s voice captures this quiet, constant sense of guilt and helplessness

And when they bombed other people's houses, we

protested
but not enough, we opposed them but not

enough.

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"> 83/100

Punishment

by Seamus Heaney

‘Punishment’ is featured in “North” – a poetry collection published in 1975. “North” seeks for images and symbols to convey violence and political conflicts.

Guilt is a central emotion in 'Punishment'. Heaney expertly portrays the speaker's conflicted feelings, admitting he "would have cast... the stones of silence." This guilt isn't simple; it's mixed with understanding and even a kind of complicity. The poem makes us feel the weight of guilt not just for direct actions, but for being part of a society that allows such punishments. It's a complex, mature exploration of guilt that goes beyond personal feelings to societal responsibility.

I can feel the tug

of the halter at the nape

of her neck, the wind

on her naked front.

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"> 83/100

Vespers [In your extended absence, you permit me]

by Louise Glück

‘Vespers’ by Louis Glück attempts to determine who or what carries the burden responsibility for the premature death of a life.

One of the primary emotions found in Glück's poem is guilt. The speaker admits they feel heartbroken over the loss of the tomato plants, an emotion they believe is fueled by their fear of death. In contrast, they do not believe that any entity divine or immortal is capable of that level of emotional accountability.

In your extended absence, you permit me

use of earth, anticipating

some return on investment. I must report

failure in my assignment, principally

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"> 82/100

The Man with Night Sweats

by Thom Gunn

Gunn’s ‘The Man with Night Sweats’ contrasts past vitality with present fragility, capturing the intimate pain of AIDS.

In the fifth stanza of the poem, Gunn’s speaker feels guilty for his “cracked” shield that is his body. During his youth, he hurriedly indulged in bodily pleasures. This is the reason behind the catastrophe that he describes by saying, “My flesh reduced and wrecked.”

I wake up cold, I who

Prospered through dreams of heat

Wake to their residue,

Sweat, and a clinging sheet.

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From The Complaints of Poverty

by Nicholas James

‘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.

Writing this poem expressly for a well-educated audience, James wanted his listeners to feel guilty for turning down or scorning poor beggars and hardworking laborers. He really milks that guilt out, taking the listener through the boring and brief, yet completely unbearable and emotionally charged life of a poor man.

MAY poverty, without offence, approach

The splendid equipage, the gilded coach?

May it with freedom all its wants make known?

And will not wealth and pow'r assume a frown?

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"> 80/100

Half-Past Two

by U. A. Fanthorpe

‘Half-Past Two’ utilizes childish vernacular and mismatched capitalization to reflect the stress of a young boy, who in the past was punished for “Something Very Wrong.”

Though guilt is not an emotion that surfaces directly in the poem, it peeks through its bits. For instance, the child somehow feels guilty for not knowing how to read the clock. By the end, the teacher seems to be a bit guilt-ridden by forgetting about the boy whom she has given an order/punishment to obey.

Once upon a schooltime

He did Something Very Wrong

(I forget what it was).

And She said he’d done

#10

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Parrot

by Stevie Smith

Stevie Smith’s ‘Parrot’ is a moving exploration of a parrot’s imprisonment and suffering set against the backdrop of the modern urban world.

The parrot's suffering in captivity serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences of human actions, eliciting a sense of collective guilt for the environmental destruction and cruelty inflicted on other species. The touching imagery of the parrot's helplessness and rage confronts readers with the reality of humans' oppressive behavior. This guilt is intensified as we recognize our role in snatching away natural habitats and degrading the environment, compelling us to reflect on the moral implications of our actions towards other species.

The old sick green parrot

High in a dingy cage

Sick with malevolent rage

Beadily glutted his furious eye

#11

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Scything

by Gillian Clarke

‘Scything’ by Gillian Clarke orchestrates an unexpected encounter with the visceral realities of life and death.

A feeling of guilt hangs over the events described in the poem, created by its sorrowful mood and remorseful tone. Clarke conveys the traumatic suddenness and macabre details of the incident with sincerity. Perhaps the defining image of this sentiment is the one the poem ends with, which pictures an attempted reconciliation between two mothers, one carrying the remains of the other's children.

It is blue May. There is work

to be done. The spring’s eye blind

with algae, the stopped water

silent. The garden fills

#12

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After the Titanic

by Derek Mahon

‘After the Titanic’ offers a unique character study into an important historical figure but also explores how people handle disaster.

Ismay’s survival is seen as a moral failing, and the poem explores his overwhelming guilt. He is tormented by accusations of cowardice, forced into exile, and unable to escape his conscience. Mahon’s use of haunting imagery reinforces his deep sense of remorse.

They said I got away in a boat

And humbled me at the inquiry. I tell you

I sank as far that night as any

Hero. As I sat shivering on the dark water

#13

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A Hymn to God the Father

by John Donne

‘A Hymn to God the Father’ by John Donne is the speaker’s prayer to God that he be forgiven for all his wretched sins.

John Donne's poem evokes the emotion of guilt through the speaker's introspective and confessional tone. The repeated pleas for forgiveness and acknowledgement of personal wrongdoing create a palpable sense of guilt. The poem explores the speaker's deep remorse for past sins and the weight of guilt that accompanies them. Lines like "Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run / And do run still, though still I do deplore?" showcase the ongoing burden of guilt. Through its candid portrayal of guilt, the poem stirs a profound emotional response, capturing the anguish and remorse that accompany a troubled conscience.

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,

Which was my sin, though it were done before?

Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,

And do run still, though still I do deplore?

#14

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Sonnet 129

by William Shakespeare

In ‘Sonnet 129,’ William Shakespeare describes the nature of lust and its effect on an individual’s mind and spirit.

In this sonnet, Shakespeare presents lust in a way that helps readers understand how it works and entangles the mind in its inescapable web. In its pursuit, one becomes restless. After having it, one feels guilty about having the thought of pursuing it.

The expense of spirit in a waste of shame

Is lust in action: and till action, lust

Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame,

Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust,

#15

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Sweet 18

by Sheenagh Pugh

In Sheenagh Pugh’s ‘Sweet 18’, an older woman expresses her desire to regain youth as she battles the temptation to take it from others.

The speaker expresses intense guilt for her desire to corrupt a young man in order to know her youth again. The theme of guilt is most prevalent in a maternal reading of the poem, which features the speaker as a mother reluctant to accept help from her son. She characterises herself as a parasite, sapping away her son's strength. As a result, guilt is the main emotion of the speaker. This is highlighted in the final lines of the poem in which the speaker warns her son to 'stay clear' of her, too consumed by her own guilt to allow her son to take care of her.

You move before me with all the unknown ease

of your age; your face clear of the awareness

that clouds mine. Your only scars; where you tried

to shave, before there was any need.

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15+ Compelling Poems about Guilt

(15 to start, 125+ to explore)

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15+ Compelling Poems about Guilt

(15 to start, 125+ to explore)

by Carol Rumens

by Christina Rossetti

by Wilfred Owen

by Ilya Kaminsky

by Seamus Heaney

by Louise Glück

by Thom Gunn

by Nicholas James

by U. A. Fanthorpe

by Stevie Smith

by Gillian Clarke

by Derek Mahon

by John Donne

by William Shakespeare

by Sheenagh Pugh

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