19 uplifting & comforting poems about lost loved ones

If you have ever lost a loved one, you know the pain that comes with it. The emptiness. The feeling of being lost yourself.

It can be hard to express those feelings in words, but these poems do an incredible job of capturing the sorrow and heartache of losing someone close to you.

These poems about death and loss will make you feel understood, help you remember, and maybe even help you find some closure.

A Song of Living

Amelia Josephine Burr, American poet, 1878 – 1968

A song of living is about living a life full of love, friendship and accomplishment that leaves you with no regrets at the end of your time.

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

I have sent up my gladness on wings, to be lost in the blue of the sky.

I have run and leaped with the rain, I have taken the wind to my breast.

My cheeks like a drowsy child to the face of the earth I have pressed.

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

I have kissed young love on the lips, I have heard his song to the end,

I have struck my hand like a seal in the loyal hand of a friend.

I have known the peace of heaven, the comfort of work done well.

I have longed for death in the darkness and risen alive out of hell.

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

I gave a share of my soul to the world, when and where my course is run.

I know that another shall finish the task I surely must leave undone.

I know that no flower, nor flint was in vain on the path I trod.

As one looks on a face through a window, through life I have looked on God,

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

Turn Again To Life

Mary Lee Hall, American lawyer, 1843 – 1927

Turn again to life is about dealing with the grief of a lost loved one and embracing the joy of life again.

If I should die and leave you here a while,

be not like others sore undone,

who keep long vigil by the silent dust.

For my sake turn again to life and smile,

nerving thy heart and trembling hand

to do something to comfort other hearts than mine.

Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine

and I perchance may therein comfort you.

Inside Our Dreams

Jeanne Willis, English author, 1959 – Present

Inside our dreams is a whimsical passage that reminds us that the people we have loved and lost will always remain in our dreams and memories.

Where do people go to when they die?

Somewhere down below or in the sky?

‘I can’t be sure,’ said Grandad, ‘but it seems

They simply set up home inside our dreams.’

Peace My Heart

Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet, 1861 – 1941

Peace my heart uses vivid images of animals and nature to describe the natural process of death. It’s a gentle reminder that death isn’t something to be feared.

Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.

Let it not be a death but completeness.

Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.

Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest.

Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.

Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence.

I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light your way.

Death Is Nothing at All

Harry Scott-Holland, English academic, 1847 – 1918

The 6 stanzas of ‘Death is nothing at all’ suggests that everything will stay the same after you die. It’s a poem designed to bring a lot of comfort to those who believe in the afterlife.

Death is nothing at all.

It does not count.

I have only slipped away into the next room.

Nothing has happened.

Everything remains exactly as it was.

I am I, and you are you,

and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.

Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.

Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was.

There is absolute and unbroken continuity.

What is this death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you, for an interval,

somewhere very near,

just round the corner.

All is well.

Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.

One brief moment and all will be as it was before.

How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

You’ll Never Walk Alone

Oscar Hammerstein II, American theater producer, 1895 – 1960

You’ll never walk alone is a powerful song designed to bring comfort to anyone facing an uphill battle. It’s often used as an anthem to support those who have died in tragic circumstances.

When you walk through the storm

Hold your head up high,

And don’t be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm

Is a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,

Walk on through the rain,

Though your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart

And you’ll never walk alone.

You’ll never walk alone.

When I’m Gone

Mosiah Lyman Hancock, American religious figure, 1843 – 1907

This wonderful poem is about celebrating all the achievements and positivity that the deceased brought into the world. It also hopes that we’ll forgive them for the mistakes they made.

When I come to the end of my journey

And I travel my last weary mile

Just forget if you can, that I ever frowned

And remember only the smile

Forget unkind words I have spoken

Remember some good I have done

Forget that I ever had heartache

And remember I’ve had loads of fun

Forget that I’ve stumbled and blundered

And sometimes fell by the way

Remember I have fought some hard battles

And won, ere the close of the day

Then forget to grieve for my going

I would not have you sad for a day

But in summer just gather some flowers

And remember the place where I lay

And come in the shade of evening

When the sun paints the sky in the west

Stand for a few moments beside me

And remember only my best

Farewell

Anne Bronte, English poet, 1820 – 1849

This poem is about saying farewell to someone you’ve lost and promising to always keep them alive in your thoughts.

Farewell to Thee! But not farewell

To all my fondest thoughts of Thee;

Within my heart they still shall dwell

And they shall cheer and comfort me.

Life seems more sweet that Thou didst live

And men more true Thou wert one;

Nothing is lost that Thou didst give,

Nothing destroyed that Thou hast done.

Crossing The Bar

Alfred Tennyson, English poet, 1809 – 1892

Crossing the bar is about accepting death and hoping for a peaceful transitioning into the afterlife.

Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar.

There Is No Night Without A Dawning

Helen Steiner Rice, American writer, 1900 – 1981

There is no light is about moving past the grief of losing a loved one an taking comfort in the idea that they are at peace.

There is no night without a dawning

No winter without a spring

And beyond the dark horizon

Our hearts will once more sing…

For those who leave us for a while

Have only gone away

Out of a restless, care worn world

Into a brighter day.

A Parting Guest

James Whitcomb Riley, American author, 1849 – 1916

A parting guest is about experiencing a life of joy and love and being satisfied when your time to pass finally comes.

What delightful guests are they

Life and Love!

Lingering I turn away,

This late hour, yet glad enough

They have not witheld from me

Their high hospitality.

So with face lit with delight

And all gratitude, I stay

Yet to press their hands and say,

“Thanks. So fine a time! Goodnight.

I Will Love Death

Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, Indian religious figure, 1931 – 2007

This powerful death poem speaks to the idea that death is also God’s creation and you will live on in the afterlife when you die.

I know I will love death.

Why?

Because death too

Is God’s creation

And because death reminds me

Of the existence of her sister:

Infinity’s Life immortal.

I Fall Asleep

Samuel Butler, English writer, 1835 – 1902

This passage comes from Butler’s novel Erehon Revisited (1901). It suggests that there is no afterlife, but the dead will remain alive in the thoughts and deeds of those they loved.

I fall asleep in the full and certain hope

That my slumber shall not be broken;

And that though I be all-forgetting,

Yet shall I not be forgotten,

But continue that life in the thoughts and deeds

of those I loved.

Sonnet 71

William Shakespeare, English playwright, 1564 – 1616

Sonnet 71 is about the inescapable reality of aging and eventual death. It’s a reminder not too mourn someone you’ve lost for too long and move on with your life.

No longer mourn for me when I am dead

Then you shall hear the surly sullen bell

Give warning to the world that I am fled

From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell:

Nay, if you read this line, remember not

The hand that writ it; for I love you so

That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot

If thinking on me then should make you woe.

O, if, I say, you look upon this verse

When I perhaps compounded am with clay,

Do not so much as my poor name rehearse.

But let your love even with my life decay,

Lest the wise world should look into your moan

And mock you with me after I am gone.

The Letter

Thomas Bailey Aldrich, American writer, 1836 – 1907

The letter is a truly amazing poem that talks about how the deceased can continue to speak to the living and teach them through the words they leave behind.

I held his letter in my hand,

And even while I read

The lightning flashed across the land

The word that he was dead.

How strange it seemed! His living voice

Was speaking from the page

Those courteous phrases, tersely choice,

Light-hearted, witty, sage.

I wondered what it was that died!

The man himself was here,

His modesty, his scholar’s pride,

His soul serene and clear.

These neither death nor time shall dim,

Still this sad thing must be–

Henceforth I may not speak to him,

Though he can speak to me!

The Bustle in a House

Emily Dickinson, American poet, 1830 – 1886

The bustle in a house is a sad and poignant reminder of the emotional work required to recover and move on with life after losing someone you love.

The bustle in a house

The morning after death

Is solemnest of industries

Enacted upon earth.

The sweeping up the heart

And putting love away

We shall not want to use again

Until eternity.

If I Should Go

Joyce Grenfell, English singer, 1910 – 1979

This wonderful poem brings tears to my eyes. It’s a reminder to keep on living and embracing life after you lose a loved one.

If I should go before the rest of you

Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone

Nor when I’m gone speak in a Sunday voice

But be the usual selves that I have known

Weep if you must

Parting is hell

But life goes on

So sing as well.

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

Mary Elizabeth Frye, American poet, 1905 – 2004

This poem brings comfort to those mourning a loved one by suggesting that death isn’t the end and the spirit lives on all around us in nature.

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

Gone From My Sight

Henry Van Dyke, American author, 1852 – 1933

Gone from sight is a beautiful metaphor for losing someone you love and believing they will transition to the next life. They may be gone form your sight, but someone else is waiting for them on the other side.

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,

spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts

for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.

I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck

of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.”

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,

hull and spar as she was when she left my side.

And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me — not in her.

And, just at the moment when someone says, “There, she is gone,”

there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices

ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”

And that is dying…

You may also enjoy:

Why am I so unhappy? 24 reasons (and how to change)

13 reasons you feel like you don’t belong anywhere

How to get your life together: 37 practical tips

Are you bored of life? 16 ways to stop feeling empty