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Survival Poems - Poems about Survival

Life is short
Life is short they say So you better make the most of it But what happens When that's not the case for everyone Where there are some Who are constantly changing freedom Whilst simultaneously hiding in the shadows Hoping to see tomorrow So how can one live life to the fullest When the odds are stacked against you But...

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Categories: survival, anxiety, discrimination, identity, prejudice,
Form: Free verse
My Murder They Call Survival
Three men. Three shadows with human faces, Hands like chains, Voices coated in liquor and cologne — That same cologne still snakes through my chest, Claws at my lungs every time I smell it. They didn’t need chains — They used hands, words, filth. And God? Stood there. Silent. Watched them rip my clothes, Rip the light from my chest, While I begged the sky for mercy That...

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Categories: survival, addiction, courage, crazy, fear,
Form: Free verse



What the Silence Hid
She smiled in rooms that cracked her spine, where beauty bruised and grace meant lie. They called her calm, not knowing this– each breath she took was clenched like fists. The silence praised was not her peace. It was the cage. She found the keys....

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Categories: survival, imagery, inspirational, meaningful, metaphor,
Form: Rhyme
Beyond the Gaze
The world demands identity— a name, a face, a history. But in its grip, you lose your way, and shame is what they make you pay. They drag your truth into the light, then twist it wrong and call it right. They dress you up in guilt and fear, then whisper lies for all to hear. A coin of shadow tempts the soul, Whispers...

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Categories: survival, spiritual,
Form: Free verse
A Quiet Cry
A heart grown weary in silent rain, No roof to shelter, no meal to gain. No gentle voice, no hand to hold— Just aching silence, damp and cold. I left behind what broke my soul, A job that crushed what once was whole. Now I drift with nowhere near, And all I know is ache and fear. I do not seek to shame...

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Categories: survival, spiritual,
Form: Free verse



Born to Rise
"Blackbird" You cannot cage what's born to rise, she blazed beyond their brittle lies. They named her ash, they named her end, but fire learns how not to bend. Her silence cracked the sky in two, she flew where only lightning flew, They heard her cry, not weak–but wise– a battle hymn of "Blackbird" skies....

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Categories: survival, inspirational, meaningful, motivation, poetry,
Form: Lay
Not Ash, But Fire
They mistook her silence for softness. But beneath that stillness, the ground was shifting. She wasn't snow– she was the mountain before it breaks. She held her tongue like a fuse, every word a spark she wasn't ready to let go. Not yet. She didn't scream– she shimmered. Until the heat in her lungs became truth, until the truth was too molten...

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Categories: survival, confidence, meaningful, metaphor, poetry,
Form: Free verse
Survival Mode
I broke away not so long ago, But there are things I want you to know. I survived, yes, but I’m not yet healed— A healthy life still unrevealed. I wake each day often with a start, Worry and wariness still haunt my heart. Pains of the skin are all long gone, But the uncertainty still breathes on. Starting my day, I follow...

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Categories: survival, abuse, anxiety, cry, emotions,
Form: Free verse
Shadow and Fire
I crawled through years where night fell fast, where dawn was a rumor, faint and far. Each day was a climb up a crumbling wall, every step swallowed in shadows, and the weight of the world bore down, pressed hard— its whispers sharp, relentless. Hope would come, a flicker, then fade, a candle swallowed by each unkind wind. I’d chase it like breath,...

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Categories: survival, angst, character, emotions, heartbreak,
Form: Free verse
My Nightmare
I remember the night he tore me from light, From the home of a friend to the jaws of the night. A grip like a vice, no mercy, no grace, My head in a whirl, blood drained from my face. He cursed as he dragged me by handfuls of hair, Shoved me toward steel with a murderous glare. He swore...

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Categories: survival, abuse, evil, god, jealousy,
Form: Free verse
Her Victory Song
Please don’t hate me Don’t debate me And you damn sure won’t underrate me Cause I’m here now Gonna show you how I can rise above What you dish out You call my name Play that blame game But I don’t hear you Cause nuthins now the same You showed your true face Left me in disgrace But I rise above Your endless chase I know I hurt bad I’ve been so...

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Categories: survival, abuse, betrayal, confidence, self,
Form: Rhyme
Up From the Dead
Dead, Dead. Decay and rotten flesh, melting beneath the scorching sun. Worms, maggots, and flies- a parade in time with the vulture's drum. Teasing, tearing, ripping this way and that, dashing, splashing like an artist painting madness. Bumblebee, whisper to me: Am I dead...or just asleep in the scariest dream? No... I can't be dead. I refuse to be dethroned. Oh death, you have no...

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Categories: survival, birth, blessing, celebration, confidence,
Form: Free verse
You
Many years have slipped beneath the tide of time, yet still I remember. I was just a youth, standing high above the world from Ocean Towers in Downtown Kingston, gazing out toward the pier, when my eyes caught sight of her. A woman, moving with eerie calm, made her way down Duke Street. There was something...

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Categories: survival, betrayal, blessing, celebration, confidence,
Form: Free verse
Survival
Sometimes it’s hard Do go on trying– To put my soul into my work, Only to have it torn apart– Discarded at my feet Sometimes it’s hard To go on dreaming Of better things to come When so much of what’s happened now Has left me hurt and hollow Sometimes it’s hard To go on smiling Like everything’s okay, Not knowing if I’ll still be able To feed...

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Categories: survival, sorrow,
Form: Free verse
I Know That Silence
I know that silence you hold in your chest, The scream behind smiles, the ache in your rest. Where love means walking a thin wire line, And his “I’m sorry” feels like a red warning sign. I know all the lies and the secrets you hide— what would they say if the truth got outside? You map every bruise like it’s...

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Categories: survival, abuse, courage, for her,
Form: Rhyme

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Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry