Loss Poems | Examples

The sun will shine

Feeling dead
Nowhere to turn 
Dead beat ex
I'm stuck 
No way of freeing myself 

Finances so intertwined 
Like a tumour
Attached to something vital 
"We can't operate I'm afraid.
Too risky"

How did I let this happen?
So insidious 
So slow 
A parasite. Unseen, leaching, infecting, invading, taking, taking, taking.

Eventually, clarity. The alternative.
So often dismissed now better than the present.

But I must pay for my blindness.
I must pay the price for hope.
I cannot be set free 
Like a prison sentence.

And, by the way, 
Don't bother looking up
Don't pray or ask for divine help.

Help,
If there is any, 
Is ground level.
Friends, family, gestures, kind words, hugs, a sympathetic emoji in a motivational text.
You've got this
You are strong
I believe in you.

No choice.  Hold tight, wait for better days. 
Nothing is permanent.
Lean into the love and the sun will shine again some day.
Categories: loss, angst, change, conflict, courage,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberInconstant Muse

When the muse leaves, his quill runs dry;
     then joyful songs, sweet poetry,
drain from his pen, though write he try,
     as hollow strains lack symmetry. 

How then to woo the Muse once more?
     Her treason robs him of his art.
What offerings, what gifts, might restore
     against the whims of a Muse's heart?

But love is mild, and then patient:
     love waits, with no pose or pretense.
His heart still burns incandescent
     for her. To restore her, no expense

will be spared. And though she feels distant,
     his constant heart will break her whim. 
She'll not remain, forever transient, 
     but turn her radiant face to him.
Categories: loss, bereavement, heart, inspiration, longing,
Form: I do not know?


Blessings

   Charlie I am so happy you loved Mom 
 deeply
   Your heart is rare and Priceless 
  I felt you were mom's Prince and
  to Cherish always
   I never seen her needs and care 
  be first
   The light in both your eyes always 
  Bright
   The smiles you both shard til 
  end of time
   Mom said she had the greatest 
  husband 
   You opened and healed mom's 
  heart
   I'm forever Blessed of you saving 
  our family 
  Thank you deeply for all you do
Categories: appreciation, blessing, happy, loss,
Form: Rhyme

Premium MemberWhen A Light Is Extinguished

(“The Heart of It #2”, 2007, original oil)

When A Light Is Extinguished
(for Charlie)

Today a great light was extinguished
A great soul lost to his family, his friends
His nation, and humanity as a whole.
Shades of MLK Jr.’s assassination,
A shadow of hate swallowing up the light,
Spread out across the nation
Like the Sun eclipsed at noon.
In the dark we cry
Hearts broken open 
By the senseless taking of a life brighter than most,
Reminding us what kindness and brightness 
And generosity of spirit is truly like,
Bright and true
And in its essence deathless eternal.
Rest in peace young man,
Go in peace great soul.

(9/10/25)
Categories: loss, grief, in memoriam, light,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberHostages to Fortune

Before dawn,
the world breathless~
heartbeats 
become tethers
to the whims of fate
and old dreams
flying
out of reach.
Fickle 
fate holding
our fortunes
hostage to power~
meager money eked out
from
minions of despots.
Categories: loss,
Form: Verse


sweet liquid

I feel this wave of rage
why put yourself inside that cage
turing you in sweet liquid
bottled perfume with you in it

they sell you for a lesser price
cross the counter to lesser wives
even when they smell like you 
there better lies will shine through

and I’m left in this room
with an empty bottle of perfume
still your stuck in my nose
in my mind and in my clothes
Categories: loss, beauty, farewell, girl, jealousy,
Form: Rhyme

Premium MemberBackwards

The wind blasts from the sea, a paper cup falls down
I’m gazing at the sand beneath my feet
Why should I listen to these noises on the background
Is there another small cafe around to sit
Time heals but it remains unclear what 
The pain subsides, then it evolves into the new
And that new pain is just exactly like the old
Time’s not a goodwill paramedic in my view 
Self-deprecation is a healer free of charge
A tunnel vision tunes the optics of the heart 
Troubles diminish, and small pleasures look enlarged
The view clears up and there we are, never apart
Sometimes I’m able to perceive the memories
As if I’m living backwards, sit and wait 
Just yesterday, I smelled your roses in the breeze
You said you’d called me, but I called you back too late.
Categories: introspection, loss, love,
Form: Rhyme

Premium MemberWildfires

the fire spreads quickly
     nothing can stand in its way
          firemen are coming
Categories: death, fire, loss, nature,
Form: Senryu
Categories: loss,
Form: Lyric

The Perfume Bottle

On my dresser rests a bottle of glass
its angle still holding the light like water.
The stopper breathe when raised
and the air loads with her absence.

A breath of jasmine, faint but faithful,
returns me to the nights I waited
for the sound of her heels on the stair
her perfume arriving before her voice.

Now the bottle is nearly empty
yet one drop carries whole worlds:
laughter folded into nightfall rooms,
a touch that lingers longer than flesh.

Brittle as yesterday, constant as devotion
it reveals how a soul can remain
in the echo of fragrance alone
resting quietly where light cannot fade...
Categories: family, loss, love, memory,
Form: Free verse

On day's like this

On days like this, I'd lie down
And watch as life drains out of me
But today I woke up
Wanting to get better

Cause for the first time in a long time
I've got something to live for
Something to hold onto
And I ain't going to relax my grip on it

Yes I'm slipping through the cracks
And all I can see are flashes zooming past me
And even though I was just yesterday I was willing to go
Today I want to keep on, face some more

So in between the flashes, I close my eyes
So that I can wake up from it all
To see past my past
Cause in there lies the future

On days like this, I'd lie down
But I'm fighting like hell 
Cause I've never gone out with a fight 
And if this will be my last, it's gonna be the greatest fight ever

The PO£T
Categories: loss, adventure, appreciation, encouraging, endurance,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberBlue

I never really noticed your blue;
hidden under transparent shields
screaming to be noticed... or something.

Just came across as angry or sad,
wanting to forget some bad...
but not blue, never that.

Not the kind to bind a knot;
throw their lot in with chance's whim
to test if fate says sink or swim

and lose...
Categories: absence, bereavement, family, loss,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberDeserted

Deserted; you have left me 
wandering alone, only my mind 
to accompany my sad song. 
I sing it to an audience of one; 
myself. 

Confused; I remain lost, 
you say you love me, 
yet you refuse to speak 
the language of both 
our hearts. 

Waiting; my passion pleads 
to be expressed in its fullness, 
with no bounds, no limitations, 
even beyond our own 
expectations. 

Unrequited; I will not settle 
for one such as this; who fathoms less, 
who is unable to measure up 
to her own promises which 
I once accepted as reality.
Categories: heartbroken, loneliness, loss, lost
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberAutumn Wind

As the sun sets down beyond my sight,
while leaves turn from green to red
and all is dark save for the light
shining from stars overhead;
whose light now just barely shows.
The leaves that fall from the trees,
and all the while cold autumn wind blows
from the forests to the seas.

And as the wind now passes by,
whispering without a sound;
it carries the leaves up to the sky
and then they fall and hit the ground.
They lie there now where nothing grows
and as they lie they rot and freeze.
But all the while cold autumn wind blows
through the forests to the seas.

It has a voice as of its own,
this passing wind that is heard.
Blowing through trees all alone
it speaks it’s voice without a word.
Speaking more, the more it goes,
above the ground, through the trees
yet all the while the cold autumn wind blows
out of the forests to the seas.

Its voice speaks of all of time,
and now it speaks of great despair,
of terrible sorrow and hideous crime
from its long journeys everywhere.
Now it cries because it knows
the world is dying, so are the trees,
that's why cold autumn wind blows
from the forests to the seas.
Categories: loss, nature, remember, sad,
Form: Rhyme

Entity Key Codes dialogue with 1600

Health and human services of Ventura county
Labor dispute 
Has refused key access to governor newsom 
In orders legislated
Denied rights of homekey assignment 
And resigned account

The total loss of life is significant

Occupation of excess in Union
Against better
Refuse bettered man

Consort of treason
Record in account held as quieted palms

Sacrifice 
Order to report otherwise

Internal review
Of publicly provided access

interpretations end
As corrected 


Thank you for sharing your thoughts with
 President Donald J. Trump.


 

 	

We have received your email.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts with President Donald J. Trump.

The willingness of the American people to stay informed is essential to our enduring democracy.  Please know that President Trump will never stop fighting for the citizens of our great Nation!

For additional information about President Trump’s policy initiatives or current events at the White House, please visit
Categories: loss, america,
Form: Free verse

Specific Types of Loss Poems

Read wonderful loss poetry on the following sub-topics: baby, brother, brother in law, cat, child, dog, father, friend, horse, mother, pet, stepfather and more.

Definition | What is Loss in Poetry?

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