4 Short Poems about Grief: The Same Love, but Different
Grief has taught me that loving is pretty similar to living: maybe, two lines in the same poem. Read these poems about grief to remember that death is part of the circle of life. That without an end, something couldn’t begin. And maybe circles don’t really have endings or beginnings, just continuations.
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“Where there is love, there is life.” – Mahatma Gandhi
4 Poems about Grief
1. We walk home, some of us make it there first.
Your death has left
a homesickness in me.
“Love is an engraved invitation to Grief.” — Sunshine O’Donnell
2. When in the dark, open a window. Let the moon speak.
“Your body is away from me
but there is a window open
from my heart to yours.
From this window, like the moon
I keep sending news secretly.”
– Rumi
3. Grief is still love – it is just… different.
Grief:
maybe not love with
nowhere to go;
maybe love that
looks different than
what you thought you knew.
“Grief is isolating, but it never leaves you alone. In the moments we wake up crying, the car rides with tears streaming, grief is our companion. When everyone moves on, forgetting our loss, #grief remembers.” — Laura Coward
4. Grief is a conversation of hearts.
I have not heard your voice in years,
but my heart has conversations
with you every day.
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“There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.” — Henry Wordsworth
. . .
Tell me:
Which of these poems did you need to read today?
Tell me in the comments. I read every single one, and I'd love to know.
With love,
Jen
P.S. Need more light today? See what else I've written about loss and possibility. You might find exactly what you need.
Comments on this post (16)
I just got home from having dinner with my in-laws. My mother-in-law always makes dinner on this day. It has now been 4 years since my husband has passed.
I needed to read all of this tonight. These poems for 3 & 4 resonated with me the most.
— Seiry
All of these poems touched my heart ., I lost my husband 13 months ago .. very very sudden .. he was a true hero fire fighter .. taught ems classes 11 years after he retired from the fire dept .. mentored not only thousands of students but our 6 kids and 2 grand babies .. a perfect man my true soul mate a love story that ended way too soon … I am in the deepest state of pain and grief I had ever imagined .. but it’s my journey and I can cry, feel sad, feel empty , grieve .. I have him tucked deep in my heart and I’m so proud to have been his wife .. and I know I will see him again!
— Maureen
Grief is a conversation of hearts…
I really needed to see this poem because it is how I feel about my grandaddy everyday since he I felt he left me, I am his oldest granddaughter and I took it really hard…..Grieving takes time! It has only been 4 years since he passed, I am still healing…
— Tameka
Marienne, my heart goes out to you. May you continue to feel their love and the light that they were to you, right here in the moment you’re standing in.
— Jennifer Williamson
I lost my 14 year old son 13 years ago and my father
( my rock) 6 years ago. I converse with them everyday in some way. I hear them – just as they were. It’s hard not to live in the past, when that’s where they are. I find myself between 2 times – before and after.
Trying to live in the now.
— Marienne Andersson
Thank you for these poems. I’ve lost my twelve year old son last year and the grieve can tear me apart at moments. I feel homesick ever since and thought it was a bit strange to say so. Reading your poem made me feel less awkward about it.
— Eva-Katrien Schröder
sia, may your words be heard… i think they always are x
— Jennifer Williamson
thank you for these poems. i lost one of my best friends, mackenzie, in march this year. she was fifteen and she had so much laughter and love to give to the world. i’ve never met someone as funny and special and loving as you, mack. thank you for giving me so much joy when you were alive. we could have had such a long and beautiful friendship and as much as i grieve for you i grieve for that love we shared. i fear for when years have passed from this moment, because i know that i still will not have heard your voice since february 18th, 2020. it feels surreal to know that you are gone, forever. i wish i could talk to you, even for a moment. i wish i could tell you how much you gave me and how much i loved you. i didn’t tell you enough. when we meet again, i know that i’m getting the biggest, warmest hug. i miss you so much. i love you always and always.
— sia
German, I’m so very grateful these words can speak to your experience and help you express your sorrow and love. I’m deeply sorry for your loss… no matter how long it’s been, it stays with us. Wishing you love and peace this season <3
— Jennifer Williamson
I have not heard your voice in years, but my heart has conversations with you every day. This has been the best message I have seen to express how I feel. We lost our 9yr old 12 years ago and these words are perfect. Thank you!
— German Amezcua
Malinda, I think that kind of regret, that feeling, is something so many of us experience. Of course it can wake us up to the people who are still here, to our own lives and the beauty of being here at all, but carrying around that regret is a hard thing to move through. xx
— Jennifer Williamson
Beautiful words.
There are not many feelings worse than the grief that comes with the loss of a loved one but this; the regrets that follow that loss, regrets of missed opportunities to love on that one, because you took for granted their life and your life together on this earth.
This kind of regret leaves a huge scar.
Scars don’t heal.
— malinda
Julia, losing people you love is the hardest thing, the thing that reveals your strength… I still wish it was easier, but I love this one too because I think it’s true: the love keeps us together. Thanks for sharing with me <3 Jen
— Jennifer Williamson
The conversation. It’s just perfectly said. My biggest fear is not being able to hear Mom and Dad’s voices any longer.
— Julia
Me too, Lesley… me too <3 ~ Jen
— Jennifer Williamson
I have not heard your voice in years… oh how I wish I could.
— Lesley