Self Examination Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member The Dark Night of the Soul 'The desert muse only visits the intellectually thirsty'

The skull looks out with those cavernous eyes
My eye fell upon it this dark moonless night
What had it seen in the days when it roamed
Did it count this as home, arrive here at length
Day's sunrise no longer visits to bring it to life
What's passed before it now passes it by
Once counting for all it's now out of sight 
What more can be said of these jaws clenching teeth
No lively tongue placed in that cheek turned to bone
Not a sight for the weak with no word left to say
And what of the rest of the skeleton crew
Who all did their best with what they had left
What separates them now from my contemplation
Is the flesh all that's weak... or is my spirit, too?

Premium Member Fault Lines of a Life

We drift, unaware—
years merge into moments,
promises fall by the wayside, collect dust.

If we could backtrack every decision,
each fault line of our days,
would we discover we really lived
or just shuffled in place?

Hold Yourself Up

i cannot stare too deep
into the game you're playing.
i cannot stand too close
to the dragon you're slaying.

erase the markings of
scars that have haunted
let love rule and flow
as a mighty river of truth


The Tale of Self-Examination

When the voices are silenced
And my mind is void of the tyrants
Only then will I be free
Only then will I able breathe

As for now, I lie awake
Thinking over every mistake
Pondering life and where it ends
Not looking through a rose colored lense

Pessimism tears my fragile being 
The glass neither full nor empty from what I'm seeing
But rather it is shattered
Displaying that nothing really matters

There is not life is truly important to us 
This life is a vessel, like a bus
Used To take us away later in death
Only important after our last breath

For then some "being" decides
Wear it is our soul shall reside
Be it earth, heaven or hell 
Someone else will toll our bell

Premium Member Self Examination

If I knew I’d have but one last day upon this Earth
I’d look to the heavens and examine my life’s worth
Self examination would raise questions aplenty
And poor decisions I'd made, surely there would be many

In 24 hours, would there be time to set things right?
Could I ease my conscience and prepare to reach God’s light?
I’d start by recollecting each wrong that I had done
Each word I’d spoken in anger, every love I’d shunned

Apologies would come, letters from a dying heart
And tender calls to loved ones before I could depart
I’d visit my parents’ graves, lay wreaths at their headstones
Shed a few tears, recalling my happy childhood home

Then I’d visit my church, view Christ hanging on the cross
And offer repentance for opportunities lost
Before retiring, I would sing an uplifting hymn
By God’s “Amazing Grace,” let eternal life begin

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.

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