Sad Poems | Examples

Premium Member The spark needed

Alone in a dark corner
A fleeting smile was all it took
~ setting the wheels in motion



Wordku: 5-7-5 words

AP: 2nd place 2025
Form: Other

Letting Go

I  No longer look for any contact  
Your memory is fading like the past
Dreams we shared once alive
Dreams now give possibilities 
Values shape our soul endlessly 
Honor yourself and your family and open totally 
Dancing with myself is like singing in the rain
Future I welcome with excitement 
Fear is exempt 
Letting go has saved me 
Dreams are my right you see
Form: Rhyme


Big ol' Big Mac

Big ol’ Big Mac


I’m tired of being tired.
I’m exhausted with exhaustion.
I wish I had the money to retire,
But that is not up for discussion.


I can’t sink my teeth into a big ol’ big mac.
The motivation I lack to go and fetch that.
I’m not too skint and I’m not a skin flint,
I just don’t have the energy of an energy drink.


I’m thinking of food when I know I can’t eat.
I’d love to meet the best version of me,
But he does not exist,
He is lost to the past.
Damn that life was hard,
But we sure did have some laughs.


(C)2025 Aa Harvey. All Rights Reserved.
Form: Rhyme

Premium Member Bears Lose Again Today, 52-21

  
      Proudly I used to sell season's tickets for the Chicago Bears

        ~ These days salesmen sneak down the back stairs
Form: Couplet

Adam’s Ale

Adam’s Ale
—the old name for water, the first drink, the simplest thirst.

Bougainvillea, thorn-armored bloom,
plankton drifting—algae, crustaceans—
a hidden kingdom in an inland basin,
non-oceanic water breathing its own tides.

I splash my face in the reservoir,
Adam’s ale cooling my skin,
while light bends and scatters—
I am refracted,
a prism made of flesh and ache,
splintering into the many rays of sun.

I sit beneath an arboreal sky,
ceiling woven from foliage and verdure,
cathedral of green where shadows
keep their soft liturgy.

Saudade gnaws the marrow of light,
and my sunlit heart caves inward.
I hunger for your presence,
for the echo of your breath in the leaves.

If the day could linger—
just one more turn of the earth—
I would not ask for forever.

But even plankton drift toward dark,
their glow extinguished in the basin’s hush;
so too my heart, without your light.


Premium Member Oh brother

There is no us in that—
in that you’re on your own.
Refusal to walk into your trap
where hate breeds like a disease unknown.

Your thoughts collapse, too slack, too thin,
to prove you ever weighed it all.
I cannot see where your mind has been,
prepared to twist and watch it fall.

You chose the crowd instead of thought,
traded your reason for their disguise.
You bury your hate in borrowed lies,
and march in step with a machine—
telling your heart this path is proud,
that every stride is patriotic ground.

But your path veers far from mine.
It runs against all I know.
Darkness shadows every track—
and I no longer want to know you.

ONLY IN MY HEAD

Voices in my head
Never cheer or praise
Laughter only when they mock me
Highlighting all my inadequacies 
Making me feel only shame.

Voices in my head 
Loudest when my eyes are closed
Never let me rest
Bringing up all my flaws
Making me feel so sad.

Voices in my head 
Causing just pain
Screaming I'm not enough 
Even when I do my best
Making sure I feel unworthy.

Voices in my head 
Picking apart my sanity 
Creating false narrative 
Questioning my memories 
Making me feel insane.

Voices in my head 
I wish to silence
I hope they'll go away
Leaving me alone
Making me feel at peace. 

Voices in my head 
I know is me
Maybe if I went away 
They'll finally go too
No more inadequacies, sadness or shame.

Premium Member Erratic Pecking

I am utterly distracted by the erratic
Pecking of the field mouse
That has found living with me to his advantage.
Still I want to write

That poem
That will make children laugh
Old men roll in the grass with lovers
And young women run in the streets naked

Singing Hallelujah.
I wait to meet you in the midnight of time
To scare the monsters with our passion.

Premium Member I Was Stupid For Loving You

You never cared about me really.
It hurts to finally open my eyes and see.
Now I just feel so stupid and lonely.
I am nothing but a fool to society.
Form: Quatrain

Premium Member Walking Sadly, Slowly

I am suddenly walking so much slower.
Drowning in my deepening sadness,
As the autumn leaves shower
Unto me as I feel life is meaningless.
Form: Quatrain

Premium Member Ugly Gosling

Geese are never all alone.
They live everywhere together.
But I am an ugly gosling always alone.
Meanwhile my family has each other.

Geese are always flying free.
While I live so flightlessly, 
They live their lives and just be.
I am on my own and free, but I'm lonely.
Form: Quatrain

Gambling Game

Having a run, but not in hand,
Excited for I know my prize is grand. 

It’s time to draw, but not from the deck,
I drew too much, now my figure’s a wreck.

Making lines, my soul further in debts,
I add more lines, I like placing bets.

Instead of pounds, I use my own,
A little more cautious, now down to the bones.

A little on edge, for my cover mustn’t be blown,
Acting as stoic as possible,
Expression like stone.

I try and do my best bluff,
But maybe I didn’t try hard enough.

I might tap-out, for luck’s not in my favour,
My turn is overdue, I should’ve signed that waiver.

Knowing if I lose, the cost will be major,
But I’m not too scared,
For my life is something I often wager.
Form: Rhyme

Tracing Outlines

I wake to a ceiling that never changes.
The light spills in like an accusation.
Time is a slow leak,
dripping purpose onto the floor
where my feet no longer rush.

I used to believe in ladders.
Now I just stare at ceilings
and wonder if floors exist.

I measure my days in coffee spoons,
tiny scoops of borrowed energy.
The steam rises, restless and aimless
like thoughts I never finish.
They settle somewhere I can’t reach.

I used to believe in sunrise ,
Now I just pour the day
and ponder if hours dissolve.

I suit up for stray interrogations
pride buttoned up like a carapace.
Sweat trickles and tickles
like suspicion crawling down my spine.
I drape pantomime across hunched shoulders.

I used to believe in conversations,
Now I just nod my head
and surrender to the script.

I tally stones and crumpled bottles
toss them like failed intentions
into the bin of almosts,
where echoes of effort rustle
like mice skittering down rusty footpaths.

I used to believe in plans.
Now I just trace the outlines
and color them in with sighs.

I crawl toward the bed like a deadline I missed.
Even sleep feels like work I am not qualified for.

Premium Member In Hushes

Mind's minute mirage may muffle,
But biding by blinding brings burns.
Severely she'll sunder, so scuffle,
'Til tomorrow, tomorrow turns.

Premium Member A Point of Time

A point of time alone I mark,
And shine it best I may,
And plant brave flowers upon the way,
Before I must embark.
Form: Rhyme

Specific Types of Sad Poems

Read wonderful sad poetry on the following sub-topics: boyfriend, breakup, cry, death, depression, feeling, friends, girlfriend, goodbye, heartbreak, kids, life, rhyme, and more.

Definition | What is Sad in Poetry?

Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter