Poem Explorer

Curated reading path

Poems about grief, mourning, and remembrance

Grief poems give private loss a shape that can be spoken, repeated, and shared. Some address the dead directly; others move through memory, faith, anger, silence, or consolation.

This path gathers public-domain poems whose language and discovery tags center mourning, sorrow, death, farewell, and remembrance. The poems do not offer one answer to loss; they preserve several ways of staying with it.

1207 matching poems120 poets160 selected starting points

Poems in this path

  1. 6th April 1651 L'Amitie: To Mrs. M. AwbreyKatherine Philips · 22 lines
  2. A Ballad of the Trees and the MasterSidney Lanier · 16 lines
  3. A Better ResurrectionChristina Rossetti · 24 lines
  4. A Birthday Song. To S. G.Sidney Lanier · 33 lines
  5. A Dead RoseElizabeth Barrett Browning · 32 lines
  6. A DreamHelen Hunt Jackson · 24 lines
  7. A FarewellCharles Kingsley · 10 lines
  8. A FarewellCoventry Patmore · 25 lines
  9. A Farewell to False LoveSir Walter Raleigh · 30 lines
  10. A Farewell to the WorldBen Jonson · 36 lines
  11. A Hymn to the Name and Honour of the Admirable Saint TeresaRichard Crashaw · 140 lines
  12. A Letter from Artemesia in the Town to Chloe in the CountryJohn Wilmot · 266 lines
  13. A poem on divine revelationHugh Henry Brackenridge · 678 lines
  14. A Poem Sacred to the Memory of Sir Isaac NewtonJames Thomson · 209 lines
  15. A poem, on the rising glory of AmericaHugh Henry Brackenridge · 760 lines
  16. A PrayerAmy Levy · 30 lines
  17. A Psalm of LifeHenry Wadsworth Longfellow · 37 lines
  18. A Song to DavidChristopher Smart · 602 lines
  19. A Sweltering Day in AustraliaMark Twain · 49 lines
  20. A Valediction: Forbidding MourningJohn Donne · 36 lines
  21. A ValentineLewis Carroll · 44 lines
  22. A Woman's ShortcomingsElizabeth Barrett Browning · 40 lines
  23. A Word for the HourJohn Greenleaf Whittier · 29 lines
  24. About the Little Girl that Beat Her SisterAnn Taylor · 20 lines
  25. Ali's AnswerMaghreb oral tradition · 71 lines
  26. An Angel in the HouseJames Henry Leigh Hunt · 14 lines
  27. An Elegy on the Death of a Mad DogOliver Goldsmith · 32 lines
  28. An Elegy on the Death of Montgomery TappenMajor Henry Livingston, Jr. · 21 lines
  29. An Epitaph upon a Young Married Couple, Dead and Buried TogetherRichard Crashaw · 16 lines
  30. An Essay on CriticismAlexander Pope · 747 lines
  31. An Exile's FarewellAdam Lindsay Gordon · 56 lines
  32. An Ode to Master Endymion Porter, upon His Brother's DeathRobert Herrick · 28 lines
  33. And ask ye why these sad tears stream?Lord Alfred Tennyson · 26 lines
  34. ApologyJoyce Kilmer · 41 lines
  35. AutumnThomas Hood · 62 lines
  36. Ballade of Dead ActorsWilliam Ernest Henley · 24 lines
  37. Because I could not stop for DeathEmily Dickinson · 20 lines
  38. Before the Birth of One of Her ChildrenAnne Bradstreet · 28 lines
  39. Bill and JoeOliver Wendell Holmes · 60 lines
  40. Brother Jonathan's LamentOliver Wendell Holmes · 36 lines
  41. Child of a DayWalter Savage Landor · 8 lines
  42. ChristabelSamuel Coleridge · 689 lines
  43. Come hither, childEmily Bronte · 32 lines
  44. Comfort to a Youth That Had Lost His LoveRobert Herrick · 24 lines
  45. DeathEmily Bronte · 32 lines
  46. DeathJames Henry Leigh Hunt · 13 lines
  47. DeathJohn Clare · 26 lines
  48. DeathThomas Hood · 14 lines
  49. Death, to the Dead for EvermoreRobert Louis Stevenson · 25 lines
  50. Do not weep, maiden, for war is kindStephen Crane · 26 lines
  51. Double Ballade on the Nothingness of ThingsWilliam Ernest Henley · 72 lines
  52. Doubtful DreamsAdam Lindsay Gordon · 433 lines
  53. DreamsAnne Bronte · 28 lines
  54. EasterGeorge Herbert · 18 lines
  55. Easter WeekJoyce Kilmer · 40 lines
  56. Elegy to the Memory of WerterRobinson · 38 lines
  57. Eloisa to AbelardAlexander Pope · 366 lines
  58. Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, Being the Prologue to the SatiresAlexander Pope · 425 lines
  59. Epitaph on her Son H. P.Katherine Philips · 22 lines
  60. FarewellAnne Bronte · 28 lines
  61. Farewell Address at the Argyle HallWilliam Topaz McGonagall · 28 lines
  62. Farewell Frost, or Welcome the SpringRobert Herrick · 22 lines
  63. Farewell Love and All Thy Laws ForeverSir Thomas Wyatt · 14 lines
  64. Farewell to RavelrigJames Thomson · 16 lines
  65. Farewell to the CourtSir Walter Raleigh · 14 lines
  66. Farewell, Ungrateful Traitor!John Dryden · 24 lines
  67. First AnniversaryAndrew Marvell · 402 lines
  68. For a Naughty Little GirlAnn Taylor · 24 lines
  69. Friendship between Ephelia and ArdeliaAnne Kingsmill Finch · 20 lines
  70. Friendships Mystery, to My Dearest LucasiaKatherine Philips · 30 lines
  71. From the Ladies DefenceLady Mary Chudleigh · 77 lines
  72. Gitanjali 08: The child who is decked with prince’s robes anRabindranath Tagore · 8 lines
  73. Harp of the North, Farewell!Sir Walter Scott · 27 lines
  74. HeavenRupert Brooke · 34 lines
  75. Holy Sonnet X: Death Be Not ProudJohn Donne · 14 lines
  76. HopeEmily Bronte · 20 lines
  77. How still, how happy!Emily Bronte · 32 lines
  78. How we Beat the FavouriteAdam Lindsay Gordon · 367 lines
  79. Human LifeSamuel Coleridge · 29 lines
  80. I Find No PeaceSir Thomas Wyatt · 14 lines
  81. I Have a Rendezvous with DeathAlan Seeger · 24 lines
  82. In Memoriam A.H.H.: 121. Sad Hesper o'er the buried sunLord Alfred Tennyson · 20 lines
  83. In Memoriam A.H.H.: 78. Again at Christmas did we weaveLord Alfred Tennyson · 20 lines
  84. In Memory of F.P.Katherine Philips · 36 lines
  85. In the Black ForestAmy Levy · 20 lines
  86. Influence of Time on GriefWilliam Lisle Bowles · 14 lines
  87. InsensibilityWilfred Owen · 65 lines
  88. Jubilate Agno: Fragment B, Part 4Christopher Smart · 192 lines
  89. Juvenilia, an Ode to Natural BeautyAlan Seeger · 175 lines
  90. La Belle Dame Sans MerciJohn Keats · 48 lines
  91. LifeCharlotte Bronte · 24 lines
  92. LifeRobinson · 39 lines
  93. LifeSir Walter Raleigh · 10 lines
  94. Life's TragedyPaul Laurence Dunbar · 16 lines
  95. Lines to the memory of Richard Boyle, Esq.Robinson · 38 lines
  96. Lines Written in Early SpringWilliam Wordsworth · 24 lines
  97. Lord Ullin's DaughterThomas Campbell · 56 lines
  98. Loss and GainRalph Waldo Emerson · 16 lines
  99. LoveKahlil Gibran · 20 lines
  100. M'Fingal - Canto IIJohn Trumbull · 810 lines
  101. M'Fingal - Canto IIIJohn Trumbull · 662 lines
  102. M'Fingal - Canto IVJohn Trumbull · 1040 lines
  103. Modern Love XXXII: Full Faith I HaveGeorge Meredith · 16 lines
  104. Music: An OdeAlgernon Charles Swinburne · 29 lines
  105. My Last DanceJulia Ward Howe · 48 lines
  106. My MonumentAlexander Pushkin · 22 lines
  107. MycerinusMatthew Arnold · 127 lines
  108. Nature that Washed Her Hands in MilkSir Walter Raleigh · 36 lines
  109. Nay, Lord, not thus! White lilies in the spring,Oscar Wilde · 32 lines
  110. NephelidiaAlgernon Charles Swinburne · 24 lines
  111. O Captain! My Captain!Walt Whitman · 24 lines
  112. Ode IIHafiz · 26 lines
  113. Ode in Memory of the American Volunteers Fallen for FranceAlan Seeger · 104 lines
  114. Ode to a NightingaleJohn Keats · 80 lines
  115. Ode to WinterThomas Campbell · 64 lines
  116. Ode VHafiz · 20 lines
  117. Ode Written on the First of DecemberRobert Southey · 43 lines
  118. Ode Written on the First of JanuaryRobert Southey · 56 lines
  119. Ode XVIHafiz · 26 lines
  120. On a Soldier Fallen in the PhilippinesWilliam Vaughn Moody · 30 lines
  121. On His Deceased WifeJohn Milton · 14 lines
  122. On Joy and SorrowKahlil Gibran · 40 lines
  123. On LoveKahlil Gibran · 78 lines
  124. On the Death of Mr. Robert Levet, a Practiser in PhysicSamuel Johnson · 36 lines
  125. On the Funeral of Charles the FirstWilliam Lisle Bowles · 36 lines
  126. On TimeJohn Milton · 22 lines
  127. PassionCharlotte Bronte · 53 lines
  128. Patriotism 01 InnominatusSir Walter Scott · 16 lines
  129. Patriotism 02 Nelson, Pitt, FoxSir Walter Scott · 143 lines
  130. Pine-Trees and the Sky: EveningRupert Brooke · 20 lines
  131. Poem of Remembrance for a Girl or a BoyWalt Whitman · 33 lines
  132. PrayerRichard Crashaw · 124 lines
  133. PrometheusGeorge Gordon, Lord Byron · 59 lines
  134. Psalm III: My God, How Many Are My FearsIsaac Watts · 32 lines
  135. ReminiscenceAlexander Pushkin · 64 lines
  136. Robin Hood, a ChildJames Henry Leigh Hunt · 133 lines
  137. Rose-MoralsSidney Lanier · 26 lines
  138. Sayd and HyzyyaMaghreb oral tradition · 278 lines
  139. Sohrab and RustumMatthew Arnold · 892 lines
  140. Some timeEugene Field · 24 lines
  141. Song for All Seas, All ShipsWalt Whitman · 27 lines
  142. Song II: Have No Thought for TomorrowWilliam Morris · 30 lines
  143. Song of Fatima[1]Maghreb oral tradition · 123 lines
  144. Song of the Battle EveThomas Moore · 29 lines
  145. Song to a Fair Young Lady Going Out of Town in the SpringJohn Dryden · 24 lines
  146. Song VI: Cherish Life that AbidethWilliam Morris · 19 lines
  147. Song: M’Pherson’s FarewellRobert Burns · 28 lines
  148. Sonnet 75Edmund Spenser · 14 lines
  149. Sonnet III: With how sad stepsSir Philip Sidney · 14 lines
  150. Sonnet LIII: Clear AnkerMichael Drayton · 15 lines
  151. Sonnet XLIV: Press'd by the MoonCharlotte Smith · 14 lines
  152. Sonnet XXVI: I Ever LoveMichael Drayton · 15 lines
  153. Stanzas to the RoseRobinson · 30 lines
  154. Such, Such Is DeathCharles Sorley · 14 lines
  155. SympathyEmily Bronte · 16 lines
  156. Tam o’ Shanter: A TaleRobert Burns · 224 lines
  157. That Nature Is a Heraclitean Fire and of the Comfort of the ResurrectionGerard Manley Hopkins · 24 lines
  158. The Aïssaoua in Paris[a]Maghreb oral tradition · 295 lines
  159. The AutumnElizabeth Barrett Browning · 40 lines
  160. The Ballad of Reading GaolOscar Wilde · 666 lines