Death Poems | Examples

Beer Bottles and Lead

Dull endless sights and slow restless nights

Oh the magnitude stifles the eyes 

Parboiled schemes and tar soiled dreams

Soon your rifle attitude replies


Quick Draw McGraw, we know, you've done it all

That means your temper is semper tonight 

You're so quick on the draw, how quickly they fall

When each night in some bar room you fight 


Your throttle's in red, beer bottles and lead

Slinging bullets and bottles of brew

One's quicker with lead, and you find yourself dead

Just a stranger that nobody knew

The Effrontery in Black

Life is so very important, a potent
inhale and exhale; even in the womb;
and who is he who dares to take life…

Who walked on the Galileean sea?
Whose feet felt the deep’s waters,
but stayed atop the rambunctious waves?
After all, who created the sea and
its boundaries? We say His name,

even when we breathe in and out.
So who dares to take out what He
has created - the effrontery in black.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
the conscientious martyrs -
those who hold up the Word of God,
not the coward’s knife, gun, or hate.

Blood mixed with tears on the cross.
*He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace
was on Him* - you know His name.

This was peace made between
God and man; peace that riles up
all of hell. Some embrace this peace.

If you remember anyone’s name,
the martyr, likewise, would have
you recall the name of Jesus Christ.
The martyr closed his eyes and
opened them up to the one who gives life.

*from Holy Bible, book of Isaiah chapter 53

REMEMBERING CHARLIE KIRK

So sorry Charlie, that your gone, my heart tells me you are even stronger now, like the force of light you are shining bright in our heart and mind.
That you are now part of the bigger force of God, that moves all around like the sun and moon. 
That your life was so well done, that God chose you to come home, he put his arms around you and said Well done Charlie. 
Your life was so amazing, you inspired so many for God, you gave love and kindness to all. 
We love and miss you so much, we are praying for all your loved ones. 
I am remembering Jesus’s life and how short it was, yet today we remember him so well, like Jesus we will never forget you, we will honor all of your life’s works. 
Many hated Jesus and killed him, but he lives on, making a path for all of us to follow home. Charlie you did the same, you light a path that is so bright all the world can see the light. 
Death is not the end, as Jesus told us, it is only the beginning of our true life. Charlie you light a path for all the world, and today and forever we will hold all your words close to our heart.
Lifting Prayers to God, today and always.

Paint Pall

Red of blood
Green of puss
Black of veil
Brown of earth
Brush with death

The Pace of Large Prospect in Tea Abbey

A partly cloudy day befalls the stage;
Actors from left to night remain a page.

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.

Death wears blue

Death wears blue
Hollowed eyes
Sleepy grin
Twisted mouth
Smiled at me
As her voice
In my dreams
Between his rattle
And her breath
Silently screams
You're killing me

Guns don't kill, people do

A little girl in her bright red hat.
About five, or something like that.
Runs to her dad, playing cowboy on a horse.
And the skittish horse bucks, of course.
Oh, the little time that tragedy requires.
The just-bought gun accidentally fires.
The little girl falls, grasping her bright red hat.
Imagine that.

withered Moon

a simple Rose, 
so fragrant bloom
each petal glows,
lights up the room

then veils our view,
our withered Moon
for those born new,
are withered soon

No One Can

You'll no more know another man,

for if I can't have you, no one can

Our Claim to Fame

“death approaches but we have no regret ~
when God questions us, we will stand erect”

When Death resolutely comes
With his deadly summons
Tarry not like a galley slave 
But like a courteous host behave. 

Do not waver and do not droop 
As if you are to be hung on a loop
Never dread lying under the dust
Within the narrow vault thrust.

When God questions us, let us stand erect
Our life should be worthy that we won’t have any regret
Obey God’s command and place Him above all
Love your neighbour with all your heart and soul.

If so, when ousted out of terrestrial space 
We will be enfolded into God’s embrace
Know, it is only when seeds rot
That fresh and florid lives sprout 

When death comes and it’s time to go 
Strut like an indomitable foe
With swinging hands and head held high
To be welcomed by angels of the sky.
 
There will be the music of clanging cymbals
 And the rising rhythm of sounding bells
With all claim, into a kingdom, bright and cheerful
We shall enter, that is far radiant and blissful.

this old coat

bear sweet my coat and wear it best
          its arms from me around your chest
               don’t weigh my spirit dark and dead
     I’ll be e’er-woven ‘tween each thread

its bound’ries bind you deep the night
          those shimmered stars your only light
               so when you ache for cold’s reprieves
     my love waits warm within its sleeves

time might have brought a fade or stains
          but years will show that warmth remains
               left o’er from times I’d claimed it’s clutch
     when we’ve shared hugs or just a touch

you’ll know I’m there and haunt it still
          soft scents ‘just mine’ deep in its twill
               to knit your thoughts to our dear start
     like charms have knit you to my heart

our ‘goodbye’ words I’ll make my last
          but hold me midst this frock, and fast
               when mem’ries fail to shape my face
     saves sweet, this coat, our last …

embrace.





Copyright © 2025 Gregory Richard Barden

A Glorious Death

A Glorious Death
~
The light bulb flickers.
Still, I do not move.
I could turn over and look the other way
but there is beauty in death.
I watch from my bed, with curiosity.
I can hear the creaking of the filaments
as they are about to break,
like a wounded animal
crying to the night sky
with the darkness encroaching
and the wolves licking their lips.
It won't be long now.
The intervals between are growing longer.
Soon, the bulb will cease to burn.
The shadows will consume the bathroom
and my eyes will adjust,
becoming those of a night creature,
making out the shapes that
hide under the blanket of night.
A crackle startles me, then a brilliant
buzz of electricity sparks-
a pop signals the bulb's inevitable demise.
The coils recede, blackened and singed.
It is over. It was a glorious death.
The light bulb flickers, no more.
~

BLT

eternity

as i write this
i have two bottles on the bed next to me
filled with tiny hard capsules
they're staring at me
calling me
i've tried to resist their voices
but with each day they grow louder
i already tried two months ago
i've been trying to silence them ever since
it's hard to silence them
when it's the only comfort you get
the comfort of knowing that option is there
there is a way for the pain to stop
the suffering
i have letters written from months ago
i feel like i should've written more 
but it's not like i can get backlash
if they actually read them, there's no way to contact me
not anymore
i fear it won't work
just like it hasn't the last time
or the time before
and the time before that
and then it's just another thing to keep to myself
sometimes i wish somebody knew
but then they'd treat me different
or maybe they wouldn't
i don't know which one is worse
i'm stalling now
hoping maybe someone would text
i want to be gone but
i'd stay if you wanted me to
but you don't
so i've taken them now
it feels freeing in a way
to know the end is so near
i'm not even crying, just numb
i may do a few things
one last time
hopefully

As Death Draws Near

As death draws near, we have reason to reflect.
At God's judgment, will we stand tall, free of defect? 
If we could, would it be just the aftereffect
of a life lived for self, with pride’s introspect?
What did God ordain with the word, resurrect?

There comes to the soul, a day when we subject
our mind to guilt as a sinner, immoral, suspect.
We can put the blame on evil’s misdirect
but our faults we can own in circumspect
bond with the God-head, we no longer reject.

My friend, at the reckoning, in Christian prospect,
we'll all fall on our faces in awe and respect
for the Savior, Christ our Lord, grand Architect
who can redeem, empower, thereby perfect
stark lives that once faced death's dark disconnect.

What did God ordain with the word - resurrect?
Change, redirection from the dead, in effect.
When Jesus’ forgiveness for sin we accept
we bow the knee in service and genuflect
to glorious grace as God’s chosen elect.

Read wonderful death poetry on the following sub-topics: anniversary, brother, cat, child, dog, elegy, eulogy, father, friend, funeral, goodbye, grandfather, grandmonther, grief, in loving memory, loss, lover, memorial, missing you, mother, moving on, pet, rip, sad, sister, suicide, sympathy, and more.

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Poems Related to Death

afterlife, bereavement, darkness, death of a friend, decease, demise, departure, dying, eternal rest, extinction, fatality, grave, grim reaper, heaven, loss, lost love, mortality, paradise, parting, passing, passing over, repose, sleep, the end, tomb