Poems about the death of a friend give language to losing someone who shared conversations, ordinary routines, and parts of life that others may never have seen. A familiar place or an unfinished exchange can make the absence suddenly present.
Browse the examples below for expressions of grief, remembrance, and gratitude for a friendship. If you are writing a tribute, consider a memory that captures your friend's particular character. A simple, recognizable detail can honor the person more closely than general words of praise.
Dear A,
“Do you remember John McLean?” you asked
“He died of an overdose this week past,”
If I remember John McLean? I can see
Him in fractured shadows of memory
Edges curled up with whisky and cigarettes
Our midnight quests for sleaze and side-effects;
While we talked of escape and sought new thrills
Beyond the tollgate and home’s confining hills,
When we searched that night so determinedly
For pills in the nervous light of a pharmacy
Perhaps our adolescent raving dimmed
Some destiny already struggling in him?
Like Eve’s fossil footprints pressed in the dune
On mustard shores along Langebaan lagoon,
All our choices leave their trails, faint remains
Of petrified memory through time-hewn veins
And the blue-black susurrus of his blood
Dried up like Eve’s footprint before the flood.
Ending so sudden, abrupt, unforeseen.
But yes, yes, I do remember John McLean.
Yours sincerely
M.
Black fur, bright sun
The superbolide that kept the night away
Green fields, brown eyes
A happy smile that blazed bright
Brighter than the endless blue skies above her
Home safe in familiar grass
Though riddled throughout and stiff of limb
I'll keep the peaceful smile in mind forever
Sleep tight, my love
You've got friends waiting for you
You've fought long enough
And earned a pleasant rest
Of earth and sea 'neath starry sky
She sleeps in spots most favored
Resting in the endless grass
And bathing in the peaceful stream
Drink deep of the mountain sun
And cool off when you're ready
Play with friends until sunset
And rest beside the fire
I wish I could make yesterday last until the sun died
To rub your fuzzy belly whilst you placed your paw on mine
I'll miss you dearly K, so sleep now without worry
And to my own passing day, you'll be warm inside my memory.
I can picture her on her grey carpet floor
in her 11x10 bedroom.
I see her body,
cold to the touch.
She’s in her royal blue silk pajamas.
Her favorite.
She’s laying on her floor,
with a knife in her right hand,
left at a 103 degree angle upside down.
Feet sickled so much that
they could be twisted off in a second.
I see the blood pouring from not only her wounds,
but her scars.
The nails that dug into her thighs
are bruised from so much pressure.
The thighs that were dug by her nails
are now white.
I can picture her parents walking in,
not even looking at her,
but rather the stain she made
on the newly-replaced carpet.
“Why’d she do that?”
Everyone will ask.
because of me.
I think—
no.
i know.
“I don’t know.”
I’ll say instead.
Sweet September morn Fall's freshness Natural normalcy was all around us
Soon something shifted, shalt not
Killing came - Monumental Madness
Hate hit our twin towers.
Pierced Pentagon caused fiery flames
"Let's Roll" rested in farmer's field
America remember in your darkest moment
Murder fell from the sky the nation united
Etched together forever is your united grief
Remember in that single moment the world
In unison the world came together as one
Choosing to stand side by side as a friend
America your darkest day the world came
Loss
Of terror I know but one
The loss of all that are close
Her human condition, still stuck in addiction, being spoon-fed the traumas that led to the murder of her best friend,
wounds that left scars, leaving more than just their mark.
An emptiness that grows, a deep yearning in her heart...
I'm bringing this all to my Father in Heaven to stop this tearing in my heart. Please feel my words, hear my hurt.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
The wind bloweth.......
Bloweth the chaff......
From the grains
The chaff is deserted like the desert
Like the fox in the Maghreb dunes
Deserted like the fig tree in Autumn
That is shedding leaves for winter
They deserted one by one
As they paid their respects
To the departed lying in state
One by one they left as they came
He was left all alone deserted
Death has left its streak of sting
He is a casualty. He is deserted
(Written 11th July, 2015)
stoic expression
though prickly thorns stabbed her breast
silent suffering
lingering sorrow
memories drift unbidden
closure is denied
I waited - but you didn't come
until tomorrows became wishes for yesterday,
when that silly chuckle and knowing brow
made shadows play in
blinding sunsets and
the tired yawns of morning when
you were here...
when - goodbyes then, were only
temporary...but it all
suddenly became forever and
it seems impossible - but
that scratched groove we always
knew - skipped in the exact same place
ta-dum-ta-dum-ta-dum...when
carefree for granteds and
the waking sun would bring... a smile...
It gifts you whatever it gifts you
And it dooms you whenever it dooms you
It hugs whenever it hugs you
And stabs your back whenever it wills to
What is it?
I'm a hollow soul with a needle, no matter if it's herion ice or crack...I don't have a little monkey, I have king Kong hangin on my back... Where's my wife and kids these days, what happened to my job...I haven't brushed my teeth or showered in a week, when did I become a slob....I'm a hollow soul with a needle, my own family will I lie to cheat and steal.... Cause all I care about is getting high, just to change the way I feel...So off to the methadone clinic again, can't shoot herion anymore... cause I can't find anymore veins to hit, and my arms are getting sore...I'm a hollow soul with a needle as I lay here feeling so sick... with restless legs and upset stomach, just craving that hollow little prick...Man that's messed up about Brandon and Randy, both of them dying this year....If I didn't catch hepatitis c shooting up, ide probably drink a little beer....So a hollow soul with a needle kids, is this what you really want to be.... Cause it will take your lives to the darkest hell you're eyes will ever see....
Joints and tendons ache
Water works partly block
Teeth; gums you forsake
In the mix, the odd rock
Nobody prepares you
Suddenly, the decline
Friends not foes, few
You want to only recline
Like yesterday's news
You are now quite stale
Worth very few views
Repeating a woeful tale
Your pals drop dead
On goes the count
Next obit to be read?
As health events mount
When shadows lengthen and the day grows still,
I lean into the quiet, soft and deep,
Just pulling up the blankets for a sleep.
It feels like resting after years of work,
Like sitting down when all the chores are done,
No heavy doubts or fears that try to lurk,
Just watching out the window, the fading sun.
My breathing slows, a simple, steady rhythm,
And all the noise inside begins to clear,
I leave the weight of everyday right with them,
And find a strange, gentle stillness here.
No dramatic exit, no pain to fight or mend,
Just letting go, and letting darkness blend.
Season of death
Told to fear
Before bitter cold
Making everyone scream
For some warmth
And loving touch
Stay in touch
After the death
With some warmth
And no fear
Morbid many scream
Awaiting the cold
Decide embrace cold
With forceful touch
Hear the scream
Proclaiming the death
Eyes express fear
Needing some warmth
Getting the warmth
Fighting the cold
And the fear
With caring touch
Defeating ugly death
That creates a scream
Why a scream?
All filled warmth
Body shell death
Purple silver cold
Ghosts need touch
Soothe the Fear
Dispense the fear
Memories laughing scream
Everyone seems touch
Words igniting warmth
Melting the cold
Celebrating the death
Conquering fear death
Instead scream warmth
When touch cold
Death Of A Friend Categories
Definition | What is Death Of A Friend in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.