Please share your favorite sad poems about grief and loss

[missy]

ETA: Just adding I personally find comfort in sad poetry and started this thread as a resource for others who might also find comfort reading these poems. We have all experienced love and loss and it is never easy. It is always challenging and tragic.

I know we are all different but for me the grief never leaves. It ebbs and flows. There are days I can remember those we have lost with more joy than sadness but there are many other days where grief is front and center and is the ruling emotion.

My dh and I are preparing for loss once again. This time most likely we are losing more than one loved one. It is almost impossible for me to imagine but I am a realist first and foremost and I know the greatest gift we can give a loved one is peace from suffering and pain.

But it doesn't make it any easier to bear.

I am sharing some of my favorites with you in this thread with the hope it can help you deal with great loss when the time comes, I wish none of us would experience loss but this is the way life is. Death is a part of life. Rail against it as I may this is the undeniable fact of life. What is that quote...three things we can count on in life. Death, taxes and learning new things. Something like that.

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

 

[missy]

Last one for now. Not a poem but a few quotes

This one I think was said by Queen Elizabeth II

"Grief is the price we pay for love."

I always (mis)remember it as "the price for great love is deep grief"
Ain't that the TRUTH

​

“for the greater the love the greater the grief, ”​

― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed




“Grief never ends ... But it changes. It's a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack in faith ... It is the price of love.”
Author Unknown.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

This one is so accurate but incredibly painful to read.

The Power of the Dog​

Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie—
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet’s unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find—it’s your own affair—
But… you’ve given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!).
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone—wherever it goes—for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We’ve sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we’ve kept ’em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long—
So why in—Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

 

[missy]

This one is so accurate but incredibly painful to read.

The Power of the Dog​

Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie—
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet’s unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find—it’s your own affair—
But… you’ve given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!).
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone—wherever it goes—for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We’ve sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we’ve kept ’em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long—
So why in—Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

Thank you for sharing this powerful poem.
If I had one wish I would wish our furry babies lived longer.
Why is it that the best of us have such a short time on this earth?

 

[SparklieBug]

@missy This one is prose, yet very poetic. It was a favorite of my father, and was read at his memorial service—it captured his beliefs perfectly. It brought me comfort, even as I had tears...I still have a few tears when I read this one. I don't know the author, and never could find who wrote it.

My Last Trail​

Because my attendance at churches of brick and stone with tinted glass and sculptured wood were so infrequent, there may be those who think and even some who will come right out and say that I could have no faith or belief.

But how could they know how many times, while resting in a sunny glade, or under a big fir tree, or quietly drifting on a placid lake, I have, in my own way, expressed my thanks for the health, strength and such ample opportunity to attend the church of my choice. A church where the decor is ever changing, where the wind in the trees is the organ and the songs of the birds, the choir. A church created by God, not crafted by man.

So, please, my friends, do not grieve for me, for the trail I take now will always be wide and clear and never too steep. It will lead to bright sunny meadows and lush green pastures where larkspur, lupin and Indian paintbrush grow. It will cross a thousand rippling streams, pass through cool dark valleys where spruce and balsam fir sway gently in the breeze. It will follow along quiet deep rivers and shining blue lakes where every bend of the trail brings new sights, new sounds, new adventures, while over every hill, ridge and mountain top that the trail leads, the wind will blow fresh and clean and free.

And so, my friends as each of you in your chosen time leaves your footprints on this same trail, I shall be waiting. And having found the gentlest trails, with the grandest views, it shall be my pride and pleasure to be your guide.

But now I must go, for I think I see where the trail begins. Yes, there it is, just beyond those Ponderosa pines. It is indeed a gentle trail and I shall truly travel easy, until we meet again.

So please scatter my ashes over the lakes and hills, so that I may be forever free, and if in the years to come, while walking a quiet forest trail you should, per chance, think of me, just listen to the rustle of the leaves, for I am there.

 

[Calliecake]

Thank you @SparklieBug. This poem brought me comfort. It’s the anniversary of my dad’s death today. I’ve never read this poem before but know my dad would have loved it. Thank you.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

i cant read these Missy im sorry

but im so sorry you have loved ones who are so sick

 

[finerthings]

Me too @Daisys and Diamonds. @missy I'm sure that there are so many wonderful poems that you and others have posted but I just can't get myself to read them. I'm sorry.

 

[monarch64]

Same as above posters who said they can’t read these. @missy I am so very sorry for whatever you’re going through and will be thinking of you. This was a great idea to start a thread where people could share what gives them comfort. I hope it continues and becomes a good resource. Hugs!

 

[empliau]

@missy - I am sorry that you have this sad time before you. I read this in high school and memorized it - I find it comforting sometimes.