Beautiful Poetry and Quotes about Death and Dying
![Beautiful Poetry and Quotes about Death and Dying](http://healingbrave.com/cdn/shop/articles/poetry_quotes_about_death_Blog_feat._image_800x500.jpg?v=1578851001)
Thinking about death doesn't need to be something we live our lives avoiding. There's such a great fear of dying, but if we talk about it, and listen, we'd hear the truth: that "mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things." (Arthur Schopenhauer)
It's why I found solace in these quotes about death and dying, and hope you will too.
Loss humbles us, shows us how little time we have here, shows us the importance of how we love one another, and ourselves. It's true, that leaving is sometimes the best thing a person could ever teach us.
It hurts, though, to look at death. It's scary, heavy, awkward... but it doesn't have to be. Not always.
If we can move past our fear of death, we might move into a place of overwhelming gratitude. We'd understand that it's our turn to pay attention, to be there for the people who still need us, and to choose life whenever given the choice.
By opening our hearts to each other and to life, we can find a new level of understanding and connection.
By embracing our time here, loving each chance we're given at life, we can look at death through the lens of respect.
We can see that a lifetime of passion and careful attention is the most beautiful thing we can contribute.
By living fully we can leave in overwhelming gratitude, in wonder, curious about what's next.
I hope you find some sort of peace through reading these quotes about death, and in the knowledge that to experience the pain of loss means you had the chance to love, and you took it.
Poetry and Quotes about Death, to Inspire How You Live
1. "Thinking and talking about death need not be morbid; they may be quite the opposite. Ignorance and fear of death overshadow life, while knowing and accepting death erases this shadow." — Lily Pincus
2. "It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
3. “Death is not the opposite of life but an innate part of it. By living our lives we nurture death.” — Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
4. "I have come to know that it [death] is an important thing to keep in mind — not to complain or to make melancholy, but simply because only with the honest knowledge that one day I will die I can ever truly begin to live." — R. A. Salvatore, The Halfling's Gem
5. “To die will be an awfully big adventure.” — J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
6. “When death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades, I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering: what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness? And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood, and I look upon time as no more than an idea, and I consider eternity as another possibility.” — Mary Oliver, When Death Comes
7. "The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and the other begins?" — Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial
8. "It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from sight and afterwards return again." — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: Second Series
9. “The dead never truly die. They simply change form.”— Suzy Kassem
10. “Never. We never lose our loved ones. They accompany us; they don’t disappear from our lives. We are merely in different rooms.”— Paulo Coelho, Aleph
11. “There are some who bring a light so great to the world that even after they have gone, the light remains.” — Unknown
12. “I shall not wholly die, and a great part of me will escape the grave.” — Horace
13. “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
14. “Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time... It tells us to tell each other right now that we love each other.” — Leo Buscaglia
15. “When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
16. “Those we love never truly leave us… There are things that death cannot touch.” — Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
17. “Death is the dropping of the flower that the fruit may swell.” — Henry Ward Beecher
18. “I do not fear death, in view of the fact that I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” – Mark Twain (attributed)
19. “If we really believe what we say we believe - if we really think that home is elsewhere and that this life is a ‘wandering to find home’, why should we not look forward to the arrival. There are, aren't there, only three things we can do about death: to desire it, to fear it, or to ignore it. The third alternative, which is the one the modern world calls ‘healthy’ is surely the most uneasy and precarious of all.” – C. S. Lewis
20. “Dying is a wild night and a new road.” – Emily Dickinson
21. “When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. When it is over, I don’t want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real. I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument. I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.” — Mary Oliver, When Death Comes
22. “Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” — Mary Oliver, The Summer Day
23. “Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.” – Martin Luther
. . .
Tell me:
Which of these quotes about death sparked hope, brought peace, or inspired you to think differently?
Tell me in the comments. I'd love to know what you think!
~ Jen
Comments on this post (7)
I think I’m never going to accept death. 😞 I wish every day that I can and will. I’m a person that would love to just live forever. No, I don’t wish to watch everyone I love die. That’s not what I’m saying. I guess maybe I wish nobody died. But I know it’s going to happen some day to every single one of us. When I think about dying I get so emotional because and grasp my life ending like their is nothing left u just close yours eyes your heart stops and then that’s that? No I wont accept that. I can’t accept that. I like living my life has t been the greatest I’ve been through a lot in my 40 years I’ve been alive. No matter how hard it is no matter the things I’m going through weather they are good or bad, I still want to just live forever. I think I would accept death if I knew exactly where we came from and to why we are here and what is it we are suppose to be doing? I’ve heard that this is what they call hell and it’s up to us to make it to heaven or whatever it is you believe is up their. Ive heard it’s our body that does but not our soul, but then what where does our soul go. Their is just so many things I don’t understand. Their are so many questions I have that I don’t think anybody really knows. That’s the reason I’m so scared to die because nobody knows. Why doesn’t anybody know? Somebody has to somebody somewhere has to know something. I think about dying every single day since I was in my late 20’s it’s made me super sad I mean I believe it could possibly put me in a depression thinking about it. I try my heardest not to go their which I haven’t. Hopefully I won’t. I wish I could think more positive about it. Maybe I would be okay if I didn’t die alone maybe if someone I love dies with me so im not doing the thing called death alone. But that’s not going to happen. I always wonder if other people think of it like I do or as much as I do. And if they do are they scared like I am is it normal for me to be this scared of it?. I need some kind of help to deal with this. About a month ago I wasn’t feeling good all of the sudden I started running out of breath when I did stuff. The first time I noticed I couldn’t really breath was when I was sweeping the kitchen floor. It was super weird and I knew that wasn’t a good thing. Well by the next week it was to the point I couldn’t get out of bed just to walk across the hall to use the bathroom because by time I got their I was out of breath and it was getting harder to control it. By 4 weeks I was sleeping in bed I was unconfortable laying on my left side so I just went to the other side like we all do when we dont want to sleep on that side anymore. When I did switch sides I completely lost my air I couldnt breath AT ALL I started panicing i was crying but realized i was making it worse by crying and i needed to stop so i did i finally got my air back.i couldnt go back to sleep the next day i went to the er told them what was happening they admitted me to the hospital i found out i have heart failure. Man the feeling I had was something I’ve never ever experienced in my entire life. I felt so so sad and I still am, I felt instantly alone even tho I got my sisters. But I still felt/fill alone. Because it’s not them that got the news they their heart is failing. Anyways they wanted to do a CT scan on my heart so they did and the next day the doctor confirmed it was heart failure but also they accidently found a mass on my kidney because on the bottom right had cornor of the CT it shows little bit of my kidney well it was the part where the mass just happen to be growing at. So then not only do I heart failure now I have this mass growing on my kidney. After I got out of the hospital I started seeing all these doctors well. They confirmed the mass on my kidney is cancer. But it’s not. That bad because where it’s at they can just go in their and remove it and I won’t have to go through chemo or any of that which that was really good news. My kidney doctor told me he needed my heart doctor to okay the surgery just cuz they wanna make sure my heart is strong enough for the surgery. So I went to my heart doctor appointment just last week and he happen to tell me I have a severe leakage in my right heart valve so he then sent me to a lung doctor. Well he said a whole lot of stuff it’s just so much to type right now but anyways they took my blood again so they could see the levels of some pressure in my lungs or my valve or something I can’t rly remever everything he was saying but the lung doctor was suppose to call me that next day to tell me the results and if I had to take even more medicine to fix this leakage thing so I can get ny aurgery done but its been 2 days and novody has called me. The point of me telling u all that is because now that I’m sick and have cancer I’m even more closer to death than I was I cannot explain to you how this has affected me and I still feel very alone I dont know what to do i dont want to be sad and scared i think that will make me more sick abd it will make me die even faster then i am now. Does anybody maybe know what I can do to help either to accept the fact that their nothinf i can do and its just going happen so i need to suck it up. Do I need therapy? Am I being immature about this? Is this normal to feel like this? If it is how do I not be so scared about to. Please someone out their help me if I continue to feel this way I know I won’t be alive much longer. That’s all I want is for me to live and to live as long as I can I’m to young right now I’m not rdy to go. 😥 I just turned 40 years old. I wasn’t the best mom to.my kids I feel that I’m being punished for not being their for them as much as I should of been. It wasn’t my kids fault it was mine. They don’t deserve for me to be takin from them forever they need me and I need them even more. 😥 I need help please any body, some body please help me. 😢 My email is kristenjs1129@gmail.com if you could possibly take the time to email me if u think you might be able to help me or give me advise. I just don’t know what to do I’m so lost I don’t know why this is happening to me and why it’s not happening to other people. I hope someone that reads this has a heart and reaches out to me please I need you 😢 everyone I nnow says im going to be fine because I’m a strong person. And a fighter, they have no clue I feel this way they don’t know that what they say about me being strong and fighter is not even close of being true. 😥😥 I feel so empty and know I’m not able to be strong like they think unless I understand or I accept everything. Please whoever is reading please reach out to me please??? I appreciate whoever reads this even if u don’t reach out to me. My name is Kristen if u don’t email me u can always find me on FB under Kristen Spencer my profile picture is me with my boyfriend in the background it’s purple and blue picture I made me and him blend together so it’s look kinda weird probably if its your first time seeing it he is actually flipping. Me off when I took the picture but u can’t really tell unless u look rly close to the picture. Today is Halloween by the way. Thanks for taking the time to read this . Have a good night, Kristen
I’m so desperate for somebody to talk to my I’m really wanting to put my phone number on here I don’t like talking on the phone tho I’m a texter I can text you all day but if u call me it most likely will go to my voice mail. I’m gunna go ahead and leave my number 316-633-5784
— Kristen
As much as I long to believe there is existence after death, my logic tells me the idea “man’s” way of consoling “himself” because “he” doesn’t want to believe “he” is no different from other life forms. When “man” first became became cognizant of “his” mortality & what that meant, “he” didn’t want to accept the fact that “he” was no different from any other form of life. “He” needed to believe that “his” superiority to all other other life forms made “him” special. Superstition & fear lead to the creation of belief systems. Initially, nature was the base of initial religions. Then it became female/moon based because women gave birth & at that time men did not know they were essential to creating a new life. Once they realized they too had a part in the creation of life, belief systems changed to be sun based. Life was perilous & so much still depended upon “the whims of Nature”. Therefore, Nature/the Gods/whatever had to be appeased, which led to sacrifices over gifts. And so on. Christianity says only “man” has a chance at everlasting life & animals were created to serve “man”. Ashes to ashes, Dust to dust. We are only here for a short time; but, unfortunately, “man” has been more a source of the destruction than of having reverence for life & working to preserve it.
— Martha
Acceptance of loosing those we love, feeling left alone, not able to say goodbye.but is saying goodbye necessary. How seldom do we say goodbye to those leaving their physical presence when the spirit lives on. Death the final outcome of the physical being we miss. That human interaction of touch, communication, laughter and the highs and lows of being alive. Death is the guarantee and final debut
— Brenda
Thank you for sharing with me, Elizabeth :)
— Jennifer Williamson
Jim, you are a light.
— Jennifer Williamson
I have the Gift of Curiousity …#3…#8…#13…and, I love adventures that take me into the unknown. Crossing the Rainbow Bridge has to be where I find the Pot of Gold, perhaps, since no one has personally come back to tell me about what is on the other side of Life. I just have to believe it’s worth the trip. Thanks Jennifer for posting these thoughts to share.
— Elizabeth Ressler
Fill your life with love and kindness, compassion and affection and everything good. Enjoy the wonder and magic of it all so when it’s your time to look back that is what you’ll see.
— Jim