90 Betrayal Poems to Ease Heartbroken Feelings
Betrayal is a painful experience that can leave us feeling heartbroken and betrayed by those we trusted the most.
However, poetry can serve as a powerful tool to express and process these emotions.
Research has shown that reading poetry can be therapeutic, reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.
As Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
In this article, we have compiled a selection of betrayal poems to ease heartbroken feelings.
We hope these poems on betrayal provide solace and comfort in times of agony.
Famous Betrayal Poems
In this category, we have compiled some of the most notable and enduring famous poems about betrayal from renowned poets throughout history.
1. Tired
by Derek
Is it so hard to decipher the poorly encrypted code placed on my face?
“I’m tired” “I’m just tired” “I’m fine, I’m just fucking tired”
Is this so believable that you’re left with nothing to inquire?
Or is there something less forming, some lack of desire?
The thoughts in my head are swarming, that no one is caring.
I always get left behind, there’s just me being lonely and alone.
“It’s OK, I’m really fine. It’s just hard to sleep when I’m at home.”
Just a second glance, it’s all that I ask.
I’m at the brink of tears, I need some help before my skin tears.
All my friends are liars, all I need someone who cares.
I really am, just tired.
I’m tired of thinking too much.
I’m tired of drinking too much.
I’m tired of the sun shining too bright
I’m tired of the night sky’s fucking sight
Every detail of my day brings bad memories back to life
And maybe that’s what I’m tired of most; Life
2. A Fallen Leaf
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
A trusting little leaf of green,
A bold audacious frost;
A rendezvous, a kiss or two,
And youth for ever lost.
Ah, me!
The bitter, bitter cost.
A flaunting patch of vivid red,
That quivers in the sun;
A windy gust, a grave of dust,
The little race is run.
Ah, me!
Were that the only one.
3. Betrayed
by John Clare
Dream not of love, to think it like
What waking love may prove to be,
For I dreamed so and broke my heart,
When my false lover slighted me.
Love, like to flowers, is sweet when green;
The rose in bud aye best appears;
And she that loves a handsome man
Should have more wit than she has years.
I put my finger in a bush,
Thinking the sweeter rose to find;
I pricked my finger to the bone,
And left the sweetest rose behind.
I threw a stone into the sea,
And deep it sunk into the sand,
And so did my poor heart in me
When my false lover left the land.
I watched the sun an hour too soon
Set into clouds behind the town;
So my false lover left, and said
“Good night” before the day was down.
I cropt a lily from the stalk,
And in my hand it died away;
So did my joy, so will my heart,
In false love’s cruel grasp decay.
4. Sleep
by John Gould Fletcher
Do you give yourself to me utterly,
Body and no-body, flesh and no-flesh
Not as a fugitive, blindly or bitterly,
But as a child might, with no other wish?
Yes, utterly.
Then I shall bear you down my estuary,
Carry you and ferry you to burial mysteriously,
Take you and receive you,
Consume you, engulf you,
In the huge cave, my belly, lave you
With huger waves continually.
And you shall cling and clamber there
And slumber there, in that dumb chamber,
Beat with my blood’s beat, hear my heart move
Blindly in bones that ride above you,
Delve in my flesh, dissolved and bedded,
Through viewless valves embodied so –
Till daylight, the expulsion and awakening,
The riving and the driving forth,
Life with remorseless forceps beckoning –
Pangs and betrayal of harsh birth.
5. Oh, Oh, You Will be Sorry for That Word
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Oh, oh, you will be sorry for that word!
Give back my book and take my kiss instead.
Was it my enemy or my friend I heard,
“What a big book for such a little head!”
Come, I will show you now my newest hat,
And you may watch me purse my mouth and prink!
Oh, I shall love you still, and all of that.
I never again shall tell you what I think.
I shall be sweet and crafty, soft and sly;
You will not catch me reading any more:
I shall be called a wife to pattern by;
And some day when you knock and push the door,
Some sane day, not too bright and not too stormy,
I shall be gone, and you may whistle for me.
6. Choices
by Rueth More By Rueth
Why did I decide to change the course of my life?
I was impatient and naive that I let people take advantage of me.
My life has turned up side down, and now it is crashing down.
I thought I could find love and hold it, blindly I went for it
And tried to hold on to someone I thought felt the same
But only caused myself heartache and pain.
I gave all that I had, my mind and body and soul.
For what, only to be told that I was not the one he wanted to hold?
That I was just someone he could control.
Said he was ashamed to be seen with me.
You don’t know what that has done to me.
How stupid am I that I cry and cry?
Cry out why? Why?
Then I am reminded of the choices I had made.
Those choices have changed my life completely.
I have done this to myself.
No one is to blame.
I thought if I ignored the pain,
The pain would go away and things would change.
But I was wrong; things have changed.
I do not feel the same.
For what was once love has turned to hate.
And now I must make my escape.
7. Fidelity in Doubt
by Guiraud Le Roux
Come, lady, to my song incline,
The last that shall assail thine ear.
None other cares my strains to hear,
And scarce thou feign’st thyself therewith delighted!
Nor know I well if I am loved or slighted;
But this I know, thou radiant one and sweet,
That, loved or spurned, I die before thy feet!
Yea, I will yield this life of mine
In every deed, if cause appear,
Without another boon to cheer.
Honor it is to be by thee incited
To any deed; and I, when most benighted
By doubt, remind me that times change and fleet,
And brave men still do their occasion meet.
8. Sonnet 138
by William Shakespeare
When my love swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutor’d youth,
Unlearned in the world’s false subtleties.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed:
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
O! love’s best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love, loves not to have years told:
Therefore I lie with her, and she with me,
And in our faults by lies we flatter’d be.
9. To a Portrait
by Arthur Symons
A pensive photograph
Watches me from the shelf—
Ghost of old love, and half
Ghost of myself!
How the dear waiting eyes
Watch me and love me yet—
Sad home of memories,
Her waiting eyes!
Ghost of old love, wronged ghost,
Return: though all the pain
Of all once loved, long lost,
Come back again.
Forget not, but forgive!
Alas, too late I cry.
We are two ghosts that had their chance to live,
And lost it, she and I.
10. Sonnet: With How Sad Steps
by Sir Philip Sidney
With how sad steps, O Moon! thou climb’st the skies,
How silently, and with how wan a face!
What may it be, that even in heavenly place
That busy Archer his sharp arrows tries?
Sure, if that long-with-love-acquainted eyes 5
Can judge of love, thou feel’st a lover’s case;
I read it in thy looks; thy languished grace
To me, that feel the like, thy state descries.
Then, even of fellowship, O Moon, tell me,
Is constant love deemed there but want of wit? 10
Are beauties there as proud as here they be?
Do they above love to be loved, and yet
Those lovers scorn whom that love doth possess?
Do they call virtue there ungratefulness?
Inspirational Betrayal Poems
Inspirational betrayal poems can offer a sense of hope and a reminder that we are not alone in our struggles. These inspirational poems about betrayal can help us find the courage to move forward and heal from the pain of betrayal.
1. Kings of Pain
by Chelsea Rae
You opened up my Pandora’s box
And out sprang forth a geyser of forgotten traumas.
Years of hard work of disassociation,
Wasted.
You yell at me for not loving you better but I was loving you just fine before this and if I didn’t then that’s on you for never speaking up.
Your intimidation isn’t my problem.
You yell and kick and scream
About abandonment
While I’m fighting off the demons
You activated for abandoning yourself and with that, your life.
You don’t get to dictate how I handle the pain YOU opened up.
Idc about your half hearted attempts.
Admit that you’re weak and you fell and you’re knocked out and stop pretending to play confident king.
Delusional men who think they sit on a throne of truth but they sit upon half-truths, broken to pieces by your fractured perceptions.
Just admit it.
You are defeated and I refuse
to lie down and die in your coffin with you.
2. Choose Your Own Adventure
by Anonymous
she’s all addicted
to the controversy of a villain
she made up to please
mommy and daddy
when I hadn’t
even touched a part of her soul
forever ready to rewrite me
drop of the hat
uninvite me
like she invited a wolf
but I’m fighting my own
halfway across
the world
I don’t
have the kind of time she wanted
when she tried to pretend
that I’m haunted
all for the sake of
inviting
herself in to repaint
she saw me she thought
fixer upper
but it’s rougher
to watch me rise
it’s easy to watch
someone suffer
when you think
I’ve got it better
it’ll never
come around
to catch me
surprise
when it turns out
you’re faking
and all of the rules that you’re breaking
and ignoring
are recording
the score while you’re
trying to pin it all on me
leave my name out of your mouth
so mommy and daddy will be proud
the bad man
can’t get you now
3. Lilian Stewart
by Edgar Lee Masters
I was the daughter of Lambert Hutchins,
Born in a cottage near the grist-mill,
Reared in the mansion there on the hill,
With its spires, bay-windows, and roof of slate.
How proud my mother was of the mansion!
How proud of father’s rise in the world!
And how my father loved and watched us,
And guarded our happiness.
But I believe the house was a curse,
For father’s fortune was little beside it;
And when my husband found he had married
A girl who was really poor,
He taunted me with the spires,
And called the house a fraud on the world,
A treacherous lure to young men, raising hopes
Of a dowry not to be had;
And a man while selling his vote
Should get enough from the people’s betrayal
To wall the whole of his family in.
He vexed my life till I went back home
And lived like an old maid till I died,
Keeping house for father.
4. Once Bitten, Twice Shy
by Anonymous
Betrayal cut her like the sharpest of knives
Leaving wounds that take time to heal
The trust she had; now broken
Her heart is left to reel
Rebuilding trust is no easy feat
For once bitten, twice shy she has become
A guarded heart became her shield
She fears letting herself come undone
Although every step forward feels like two steps back
She knows what they have is worth the pain
Side by side they fight for their love
Getting through together is their ultimate gain
5. A Feeling of Betrayal
by Cheyenne Smith
Feelings of betrayal time and time again
All of your hatred & dishonesty is resulting in immense pain
I have thoughts that I can’t detain
You wouldn’t wanna know what’s happening inside of my brain
I gave you heartfelt honesty but then I lost your trust
Our relationship getting buried away until there is a large amount of dust
I felt like I had been stabbed in my back with a razor-sharp knife
How long until I get betrayed another time?
I guess breaking a person’s faith is a way of life
Without the way you’ve played Judas then there wouldn’t be a rhyme
Let me remind you of which line you crossed
How much do manners and respect cost?
6. A Ritual to Read to Each Other
by William Stafford
If you don’t know the kind of person I am
and I don’t know the kind of person you are
a pattern that others made may prevail in the world
and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.
For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,
a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break
sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood
storming out to play through the broken dyke.
And as elephants parade holding each elephant’s tail,
but if one wanders the circus won’t find the park,
I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty
to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.
And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider–
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.
For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give–yes or no, or maybe–
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.
7. Disillusion
by Victoria Mary Sackville-West
I wrote the burning words to you
That meant so much to me.
I sent them speeding straight to you,
To you across the sea;
I waited with sure reckoning
For your reply to me.
I waited, and the counted day
Fruitlessly came and went;
I made excuse for the delay,
Pitiable confident.
I knew to-morrow’s light must bring
The words you must have sent.
And still I stand on that dim verge
And look across the sea;
The waves have changed into a dirge
Their volubility.
And in my disillusioned heart
Is a little grave for me.
But still with shaded eyes I gaze
As mournfully I sing,
And one by one the trailing days,
As they no message bring,
Fall with their slow monotony
As beads fall from a string.
Deep Betrayal Poems
These poems can be cathartic and help us process our feelings, even when no words can adequately describe the pain.
1. Betrayal
by JRC
Trust, the rarest gift of souls-
How can I wrap it once again?
The paper taped and stretched too thin,
Full of tears and revealing holes…
You can’t regift this twice, you see?
Trust once earned, abused, declines
The novelty that stood, resigns,
Distrust alone now hinders me.
But what first caused this change in me?
What once was lost to be regifted –
Privilege earned so easily lifted –
And defines the devil – what could it be?
The lastly words that Caesar spoke
(That William wrote so elegantly)
Now stabs my mind consequently-
Betrayal and distrust are now evoked.
Betrayal which started as a lie
To hide and bury a wrongful act
Broke the very soulful pact-
The rarest gift now left awry!
2. Silent Betrayal
by Emzee
It’s my heart,
Which made her morning so soccery
It’s my eyes
Which she afraid most…her sins are so hidden
It’s my ears
Which trust her words not obviously
It’s my hand ,
,hold her tightly,even don’t knowing she need a rescue
It’s my face
That she feds up …but I didn’t know that
It’s me
Recently victims the silent betrayal
3. Betrayal
by David Badgerow
the answer
is not
opposed to principle
it is not
against wars or
persecution
it will just
go together with
literature
and it can
be influenced by
time
and the heart.
there is no difference between fact and fiction.
all writing is fiction.
and that is the worst betrayal of
the truth.
4. Betrayal Might Be a Two Way Street
by Makenzie Marie
My body betrays me
Every day
But can I complain?
What can I say?
If I’m honest,
I’ve betrayed it myself.
5. Betrayal of the Heart
by Mr. James P Machen
Transmute from lead to gold this crooked soul.
Memories of times old create the whole.
I am unashamed to stand before God.
My spirit naked, covered with dirt and sod.
You did this to me yet I rolled the dice.
Forgot to check the trap – my fatal vice.
Dabbled with the darkened void in your heart.
Should have known it was rotten from the start.
Betrayal makes for a more grounded man.
Locking his emotions into a sealed can.
So I raise my head in bold defiance.
And slay that “God” with cynical science.
6. Betrayal is a Word Never Whispered
by Neva Flores Varga Smith
A beautiful dream rests
where it chooses to.
Far apart from stormy bodies
of gray clouds.
It becomes the comforter
resting, inside
every part of you.
As betrayal
is a word
never whispered
by a heart
that doesn’t know how.
7. Betrayal
by NicoleRuth
The righteous and brave die but one death,
but what if they die for those very reasons?
As cowards stand tall in gleaming armour,
holding treacherous ****** knives in their hands.
8. Treachery
by Walter De La Mare
She had amid her ringlets bound
Green leaves to rival their dark hue;
How could such locks with beauty bound
Dry up their dew,
Wither them through and through?
She had within her dark eyes lit
Sweet fires to burn all doubt away;
Yet did those fires, in darkness lit,
Burn but a day,
Not even till twilight stay.
She had within a dusk of words
A vow in simple splendour set;
How, in the memory of such words,
Could she forget
That vow – the soul of it?
Short Betrayal Poems
These poems use concise language to capture the essence of betrayal and its aftermath. Short poetries about betrayal can be easily memorized and recited, making them a powerful tool for coping with feelings of betrayal.
1. You Say You Are Holy
by Stephen Crane
You say you are holy,
And that
Because I have not seen you sin.
Aye, but there are those
Who see you sin, my friend.
2. The Puppet-Player
by Angelina Weld Grimké
Sometimes it seems as though some puppet-player,
A clenched claw cupping a craggy chin
Sits just beyond the border of our seeing,
Twitching the strings with slow, sardonic grin.
3. The Sick Rose
by William Blake
O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
4. The Taste of Betrayal
by Jayantee Khare
Tasted the betrayal once by chance
The blistered memories still haunt,
But managed to change the way
Now no pain flows through spillway…
Do revisit but for a while,
Recall the good time, smile…
Come back with the lesson right,
Review…revise…and…just write!
Betrayal is hard to forget
But learning the lesson is just apt,
Some cracks beyond repair, it’s true
But the light passes through!
5. To a Young Girl
by William Butler Yeats
My dear, my dear, I know
More than another
What makes your heart beat so;
Not even your own mother
Can know it as I know,
Who broke my heart for her
When the wild thought,
That she denies
And has forgot,
Set all her blood astir
And glittered in her eyes
6. Julia Miller
by Julia Miller
We quarreled that morning,
For he was sixty-five, and I was thirty,
And I was nervous and heavy with the child
Whose birth I dreaded.
I thought over the last letter written me
By that estranged young soul
Whose betrayal of me I had concealed
By marrying the old man.
Then I took morphine and sat down to read.
Across the blackness that came over my eyes
I see the flickering light of these words even now:
“And Jesus said unto him, Verily
I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt
Be with me in paradise.
7. The Shadow Rose
by Robert Cameron Rogers
A Noisette on my garden path
An ever-swaying shadow throws;
But if I pluck it strolling by,
I pluck the shadow with the rose.
Just near enough my heart you stood
To shadow it,—but was it fair
In him, who plucked and bore you off,
To leave your shadow lingering there?
8. The Kiss
by Sara Teasdale
I hoped that he would love me,
And he has kissed my mouth,
But I am like a stricken bird
That cannot reach the south.
For though I know he loves me,
To-night my heart is sad;
His kiss was not so wonderful
As all the dreams I had.
9. Betrayal
by A S J Tessimond
If a man says half himself in the light, adroit
Way a tune shakes into equilibrium,
Or approximates to a note that never comes:
Says half himself in the way two pencil-lines
Flow to each other and softly separate,
In the resolute way plane lifts and leaps from plane:
Who knows what intimacies our eyes may shout,
What evident secrets daily foreheads flaunt,
What panes of glass conceal our beating hearts?
Long Betrayal Poems
These long poetries about betrayal can be immersive and transportive, taking us on a journey through the experience of betrayal and its aftermath.
1. A Woman’s Love
by John Hay
A sentinel angel, sitting high in glory,
Heard this shrill wail ring out from Purgatory:
“Have mercy, mighty angel, hear my story!
“I loved,—and, blind with passionate love, I fell.
Love brought me down to death, and death to Hell;
For God is just, and death for sin is well.
“I do not rage against his high decree,
Nor for myself do ask that grace shall be;
But for my love on earth who mourns for me.
“Great Spirit! Let me see my love again
And comfort him one hour, and I were fain
To pay a thousand years of fire and pain.”
Then said the pitying angel, “Nay, repent
That wild vow! Look, the dial-finger’s bent
Down to the last hour of thy punishment!”
But still she wailed, “I pray thee, let me go!
I cannot rise to peace and leave him so.
O, let me soothe him in his bitter woe!”
The brazen gates ground sullenly ajar,
And upwards, joyous, like a rising star,
She rose and vanished in the ether far.
But soon adown the dying sunset sailing,
And like a wounded bird her pinions trailing,
She fluttered back, with broken-hearted wailing.
She sobbed, “I found him by the summer sea
Reclined, his head upon a maiden’s knee,—
She curled his hair and kissed him. Woe is me!”
She wept, “Now let my punishment begin!
I have been fond and foolish. Let me in
To expiate my sorrow and my sin.”
The angel answered, “Nay, sad soul, go higher!
To be deceived in your true heart’s desire
Was bitterer than a thousand years of fire!”
2. Treachery
by Madison Julius Cawein
I.
Came a spicy smell of showers
On the purple wings of night,
And a pearl-encrusted crescent
On the lake looked still and white,
While a sound of distant singing
From the vales rose sad and light.
II.
Dripped the musk of sodden roses
From their million heavy sprays,
And the nightingales were sobbing
Of the roses amorous praise
Where the raven down of even
Caught the moonlight’s bleaching rays.
III.
And the turrets of the palace,
From its belt of ancient trees,
On the mountain rose romantic
White as foam from troubled seas;
And the murmur of an ocean
Smote the chords of ev’ry breeze.
IV.
Where the moon shone on the terrace
And its fountain’s lisping foam;
Where the bronzen urns of flowers
Breathed faint perfume thro’ the gloam,
By the alabaster Venus
‘Neath the quiet stars we’d roam.
V.
And we stopped beside the statue
Of the marble Venus there
Deeply pedestaled ‘mid roses,
Who their crimson hearts laid bare,
Breathing out their lives in fragrance
At her naked feet and fair.
VI.
And we marked the purple dingles
Where the lazy vapors lolled,
Like thin, fleecy ribs of moonlight
Touched with amethyst and gold;
And we marked the wild deer glimmer
Like dim specters where they strolled….
VII.
But from out those treach’rous roses
Crept a serpent and it stung,
Poisoned him who’d tuned my heart-strings
Till for him alone they sung,
Froze the nerves of hands that only
From its chords a note had wrung.
VIII.
Now the nightingales in anguish
To cold, ashen roses moan;
Now a sound of desolate wailing
In the darkened palace lone
From a harp ëolian quavers
Broken on an empty throne.
3. Agatha
by Alfred Austin
She wanders in the April woods,
That glisten with the fallen shower;
She leans her face against the buds,
She stops, she stoops, she plucks a flower.
She feels the ferment of the hour:
She broodeth when the ringdove broods;
The sun and flying clouds have power
Upon her cheek and changing moods.
She cannot think she is alone,
As over her senses warmly steal
Floods of unrest she fears to own
And almost dreads to feel.
Among the summer woodlands wide
Anew she roams, no more alone;
The joy she feared is at her side,
Spring’s blushing secret now is known.
The primrose and its mates have flown,
The thrush’s ringing note hath died;
But glancing eye and glowing tone
Fall on her from her god, her guide.
She knows not, asks not, what the goal,
She only feels she moves towards bliss,
And yields her pure unquestioning soul
To touch and fondling kiss.
And still she haunts those woodland ways,
Though all fond fancy finds there now
To mind of spring or summer days,
Are sodden trunk and songless bough.
The past sits widowed on her brow,
Homeward she wends with wintry gaze,
To walls that house a hollow vow,
To hearth where love hath ceased to blaze;
Watches the clammy twilight wane,
With grief too fixed for woe or tear;
And, with her forehead ’gainst the pane,
Envies the dying year.
4. Linda to Hafed
by Thomas Moore
“How sweetly,” said the trembling maid,
Of her own gentle voice afraid,
So long had they in silence stood,
Looking upon that moonlight flood,—
“How sweetly does the moonbeam smile
To-night upon yon leafy isle!
Oft in my fancy’s wanderings,
I ’ve wished that little isle had wings,
And we, within its fairy bowers,
Were wafted off to seas unknown,
Where not a pulse should beat but ours,
And we might live, love, die alone!
Far from the cruel and the cold,—
Where the bright eyes of angels only
Should come around us, to behold
A paradise so pure and lonely!
Would this be world enough for thee?”—
Playful she turned, that he might see
The passing smile her cheek put on;
But when she marked how mournfully
His eyes met hers, that smile was gone;
And, bursting into heartfelt tears,
“Yes, yes,” she cried, “my hourly fears,
My dreams, have boded all too right,—
We part—forever part—to-night!
I knew, I knew it could not last,—
’T was bright, ’t was heavenly, but ’t is past!
O, ever thus, from childhood’s hour,
I ’ve seen my fondest hopes decay;
I never loved a tree or flower
But ’t was the first to fade away.
I never nursed a dear gazelle,
To glad me with its soft black eye,
But when it came to know me well,
And love me, it was sure to die!
Now, too, the joy most like divine
Of all I ever dreamt or knew,
To see thee, hear thee, call thee mine,—
O misery! must I lose that too?”
5. The Wind and the Moon
by George Macdonald
Said the Wind to the Moon, “I will blow you out;
You stare
In the air
Like a ghost in a chair,
Always looking what I am about —
I hate to be watched; I’ll blow you out.”
The Wind blew hard, and out went the Moon.
So, deep
On a heap
Of clouds to sleep,
Down lay the Wind, and slumbered soon,
Muttering low, “I’ve done for that Moon.”
He turned in his bed; she was there again!
On high
In the sky,
With her one ghost eye,
The Moon shone white and alive and plain.
Said the Wind, “I will blow you out again.”
The Wind blew hard, and the Moon grew dim.
“With my sledge,
And my wedge,
I have knocked off her edge!
If only I blow right fierce and grim,
The creature will soon be dimmer than dim.”
He blew and he blew, and she thinned to a thread.
“One puff
More’s enough
To blow her to snuff!
One good puff more where the last was bred,
And glimmer, glimmer, glum will go the thread.”
He blew a great blast, and the thread was gone.
In the air
Nowhere
Was a moonbeam bare;
Far off and harmless the shy stars shone —
Sure and certain the Moon was gone!
The Wind he took to his revels once more;
On down,
In town,
Like a merry—mad clown,
He leaped and halloed with whistle and roar —
“What’s that?” The glimmering thread once more!
He flew in a rage — he danced and blew;
But in vain
Was the pain
Of his bursting brain;
For still the broader the Moon—scrap grew,
The broader he swelled his big cheeks and blew.
Slowly she grew — till she filled the night,
And shone
On her throne
In the sky alone,
A matchless, wonderful silvery light,
Radiant and lovely, the queen of the night.
Said the Wind: “What a marvel of power am I!
With my breath,
Good faith!
I blew her to death —
First blew her away right out of the sky —
Then blew her in; what strength have I!
But the Moon she knew nothing about the affair;
For high
In the sky,
With her one white eye,
Motionless, miles above the air,
She had never heard the great Wind blare.
6. Solitude
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air;
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.
Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all,
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life’s gall.
Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.
7. On Pain
by Kahlil Gibran
And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain.
And he said:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.
8. Why Play at Being Real?
by Shannon Michelle Haynes
He blew into my life like a sweet summer breeze,
Stole my heart in an instant, made me weak in the knees…
He seemed so sincere when he’d look in my eyes
And say the things I’ve waited to hear my whole life.
I thought he was different… I thought he was real.
I never thought I could feel the way he made me feel.
I just don’t understand why he wasted the time
When there was nothing to gain on his end or mine.
It was perfectly senseless…not one reason why
He would just disappear without saying goodbye.
He had me floating on air, then let me crash to the ground.
It’s too much to wrap my mind around.
Why play at being real? No one wins in the end.
Someone always gets hurt when the other pretends.
Why say all those things when you don’t mean a word?
It’s mean and it’s cruel…it’s completely absurd.
Now I’m left here to wonder what could’ve gone wrong,
Why he just stopped calling, why he strung me along?
My thoughts, they consume me, like a crop consumes rain.
Another sleepless night just might drive me insane.
I toss and I turn over and over again.
I can’t help but feel like I’ve lost my best friend.
But a friend would be honest, wouldn’t play with your heart.
A friend wouldn’t lie to you right from the start.
A friend would still be there come tomorrow…
A friend would comfort, not cause you sorrow.
I wonder if…. whatever his reasons may be
That surely he knew his actions would hurt me?
And I wonder if from time to time
The thought of me might cross his mind?
Does he think about my “angel” eyes
Filled with tears because he lied?
Does my memory haunt him in his sleep?
For him it’s probably not that deep.
I truly wish him all the best,
Hope he’s okay and finds happiness…
Finds everything he’s looking for….
Good health, true love and so much more.
I miss him, and it breaks my heart,
That it had to end before it got to start.
Betrayal Poems That Rhyme
Betrayal poems that rhyme can be a powerful tool for processing emotions and providing comfort. These poems about betrayal with rhyming words convey the complexity of betrayal in a memorable way.
1. Empty
by Vincent
Feeling down, alone, and empty inside,
Decisions to make but can’t decide.
Hurt from pain of a broken heart.
Days go on as if they are dark.
Looking for happiness, the light to return.
My soul feels empty, deceptive, a burn.
2. Wild May
by Claude McKay
Aleta mentions in her tender letters,
Among a chain of quaint and touching things,
That you are feeble, weighted down with fetters,
And given to strange deeds and mutterings.
No longer without trace or thought of fear,
Do you leap to and ride the rebel roan;
But have become the victim of grim care,
With three brown beauties to support alone.
But none the less will you be in my mind,
Wild May that cantered by the risky ways,
With showy head-cloth flirting in the wind,
From market in the glad December days;
Wild May of whom even other girls could rave
Before sex tamed your spirit, made you slave.
3. Sonnet 151
by William Shakespeare
Love is too young to know what conscience is,
Yet who knows not conscience is born of love?
Then, gentle cheater, urge not my amiss,
Lest guilty of my faults thy sweet self prove:
For, thou betraying me, I do betray
My nobler part to my gross body’s treason;
My soul doth tell my body that he may
Triumph in love; flesh stays no farther reason,
But rising at thy name doth point out thee,
As his triumphant prize. Proud of this pride,
He is contented thy poor drudge to be,
To stand in thy affairs, fall by thy side.
No want of conscience hold it that I call
Her love, for whose dear love I rise and fall.
4. The Banks O’ Doon
by Robert Burns
Ye banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary, fu’ o’ care?
Thou ’lt break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons through the flowering thorn;
Thou minds me o’ departed joys,
Departed—never to return.
Thou ’lt break my heart, thou bonnie bird,
That sings beside thy mate;
For sae I sat, and sae I sang,
And wistna o’ my fate.
Aft hae I roved by bonnie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine;
And ilka bird sang o’ its luve,
And, fondly, sae did I o’ mine.
Wi’ lightsome heart I pou’d a rose,
Fu’ sweet upon its thorny tree;
And my fause luver stole my rose,
But ah! he left the thorn wi’ me.
5. Ashes of Roses
by Ashes of Roses
Soft on the sunset sky
Bright daylight closes,
Leaving, when light doth die,
Pale hues that mingling lie,—
Ashes of roses.
When love’s warm sun is set,
Love’s brightness closes;
Eyes with hot tears are wet,
In hearts there linger yet
Ashes of roses.
6. Betrayal
by MST
Your words a fissure in my heart,
crumbling it apart,
split in two, by you.
Like a giant you stomped your feet,
causing earthquakes in the street,
and I am merely a fearful boy,
who looked up to you,
only to see you destroy.
Now I lie with my dreams dripping out,
in the form of that warm red liquid,
soaking into the seeds of doubt,
all because of what you did.
7. This Door You Might not Open
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
This door you might not open, and you did;
So enter now, and see for what slight thing
You are betrayed… Here is no treasure hid,
No cauldron, no clear crystal mirroring
The sought-for Truth, no heads of women slain
For greed like yours, no writhings of distress;
But only what you see… Look yet again;
An empty room, cobwebbed and comfortless.
Yet this alone out of my life I kept
Unto myself, lest any know me quite;
And you did so profane me when you crept
Unto the threshold of this room tonight
That I must never more behold your face.
This now is yours. I seek another place.
8. Eurydice
by Willa Cather
A bitter doom they did upon her place:
She might not touch his hand nor see his face
The while he led her up from death and dreams
Into his world of bright Arcadian streams.
For all of him she yearned to touch and see,
Only the sweet ghost of his melody;
For all of him she yearned to have and hold,
Only the wraith of song, sweet, sweet and cold.
With only song to stop her ears by day
And hold above her frozen heart always,
And strain within her arms and glad her sight,
With only song to feed her lips by night,
To lay within her bosom only song—
Sweetheart! The way from Hell’s so long, so long!
Betrayal Poems for Children
Betrayal poems for kids can help young readers understand and process their emotions. These poems use accessible language and relatable situations to help children feel seen and understood.
1. Unspoken Words
by Sally Harden
I know you would love to tell me
all the things that you feel
But before you do, you got to decide
what is fake and what is real
Our memories are so distorted
We wonder if they are only dreams
The pain hurts deeper
With no one to hear out screams
There are so many things
That you will have to learn in this life on your own
You see, id like to be there with you
So you are never alone
You are never going to find yourself
If you keep hiding behind your pain
So much could be different
There is so much you would gain
Im not your enemy
I could be your best friend
Id be there if you’d let me
Id be there til the end
Take it how you will
But I speak from my heart
I want you to know that I love you
And I hurt cuz we are apart
2. Betrayal
by Sarah Child
To you I entrusted my heart-my very soul
You were my lifeblood
And the reason my heart continued beating
When all else said it shouldn’t
I said I’d love you for all eternity
Instead you broke that bond-and shattered my heart
All those kind words-every smile
They were all a lie-just a childish illusion
You left my heart in pieces-and my mind in shock
You betrayed me in the worst possible way
I feel nothing-no more tears-no more anything
You stabbed me in the back
And ripped my soul apart
Everything is gone
Except the scars you left on my heart
3. Living in a Toxic Bottle
by Samanta Fuller
black rotten salad shoved in between my lips
It was always the poison or a kick in the hips
I would’ve thrown it away but the witch caught my hand
Took a fork and shoved it in; I still can’t understand
Felt real sick all year with every expired munch
Eleven school years that I never ate my lunch
Curse words and disorders is all she ever named me
Every hour out of school she would always blame me
Underweight from malnutrition—still she body-shamed me
Who was I in the past that caused this life to maim me?
Holidays are days I wish would never exist
Can’t sit for a minute and can’t fix what I missed
Yells over nothing but her words add to the list
Finds me in the bathroom slitting up my wrist
Can’t understand my logic but won’t let me explain
It’s like trying to air-dry towels in the rain
No matter what cliff I climb the scenery’s the same
It’s like having choices you can’t choose in her game
Counselors always callin’ cuz the kids won’t stop snitchin’
And then they didn’t have to cuz the teachers saw it plain
Always told em it’s an accident, some bad fall in the kitchen
But now the anger makes it hard to hide away the pain
black rotten salad shoved in between my lips
First I didn’t swallow but then I felt the kicks
Sister watched by laughing and filming me too
It felt like chewing fungi straight out of the loo
Snot and tears ran down to season the greens
Still to this day I wonder who was I in the past
What did I do to history to be living under these means?
Perhaps my clouds were meant to be overcast.
4. Betrayal
by Anonymous
You said, “I’ll always be here with you” and I believed you
You said you’ll never leave me nor hurt me and I again believed you
You said you’ll not fall for anyone but me and I still believed you
What happened? Why did you break your promise?
I trusted you with all my heart but you betrayed me
You betrayed me.
5. Brother Sister Siblings Parents
by Amanda Pearson
Brothers, Sister, siblings, parents,
It makes me question what they decide,
the thought about having nothing yet full of pride,
Then having everything taken, a loss that’s always been mistaken,
A life full of lies,
Promises unkempt
A selfish demise,
Have your back,
Then stab you instead,
We laid our beds,
Now we lay our heads,
Brother,
The strong, yet anguished and full of hatred,
And sister who can’t feel a thing but sacred,
Disappears like the moon when the sun arises,
Things aren’t the way they should be,
But broken and sedated to the world outside of four walls and a mind that can’t decide the decisions that must be made, we were never taught
Really it’s a shame
To take care of others but when we can’t we take the full blame,
Siblings,
When you have nothing you try to give the world,
Except when the world doesn’t exist, you can only blame
Others around you that hold that same name,
Parents
No one knows of where we came just so many of us yet a stranger with a familiar face.
Brother, sister, siblings, parents
All in all we hate being the same.
6. Hurt
by Aschonta Turner
I’ve made alot of mistakes in my life
but I have no regrets
I’ve second guessed myself over and over
but in the end everything works itself out
I find myself doing everything to make others happy with no regard for my own happiness
I will sacrifice everything for my children and family
sometimes they just don’t appreciate it
as long as I know in my heart
i’m ok with that
Some people say love comes only once in your lifetime
I think if you allow love in your heart it comes as much as you choose
The ones closest to you always hurt you the most
I feel this is true
they know the love you have
7. Betrayal
by Lexi Sully
Feelings and emotions course through me like the cold tears run down my face
My breaths come short and forced as my heart burns with despair
“Do they secretly distrust me?” I cry into the night, for I had truly believed that I had changed for the better
“They must, for why else would they do such a thing as this?”
The darkness absorbs me, surrounds me, and I weep until I weep no more.
8. Wounded Whisper
by Edward Ibeh
Soft sibilance departed a while past now;
lost in family, familiarity,
an indiscretion.
Soulless silence interposes churlish crows.
The weightiness of strangled screams hangs heavy
deafening the two.
Whisper; wounded, slain.
Betrayal Poems for Friends
These poems about betrayal of friendship can offer insight and wisdom for navigating the complex emotions that come with a betrayal between friends.
1. Betrayal of a Friend
by Anonymous
The chilling tile floor,
a place to rest my head.
Your footsteps echo loudly as you pace around the sofa bed.
I feel you grip my feet
as I start to fade away.
You’re sobbing,
“What have I done? Are you okay?”
I think if I lay still enough, you’ll maybe change your mind.
But you think
you’ve already gone to far
and kneel one more time.
“The yard is soft, you’ll like it there. The hole is not too deep.”
You whisper that the knife’s there too—
for me, I think,
to keep.
And then my mouth and nose
are covered by your blood-caked hand.
I lose the air that I had left;
you lose your only friend.
2. Friends
by Breanna Christopher
Friends
You love them
hold them close
loyalty or betrayal!
3. Unthinkable Betrayals, Unthinkable People
by Anonymous
If I could lock this all up in a bottle
Fill it with stones, I’d throw it into the water
And watch it as it drowns
All my sorrows, all the pain
Along with the disasters and too many betrayals;
From those that I loved most,
Or so I thought,
But it turned out they weren’t themselves at all.
It doesn’t sting it just tears
Everything completely apart.
As for the last, I had already learned why not to trust
But still you have to trust someone even though you know not,
Because that’s just the way that the world has to turn.
You still believe a few,
However you believed them all when they were false.
But you have to put faith somewhere so you do,
Yet you’re still terrified these as well aren’t true.
If only it were a foolish boy
Then life would live on and it wouldn’t matter,
Because anyway it’s to be expected:
That guys will break girls hearts.
No, if only, but no
Instead they’re your best friends.
Except they’re not,
Everyone’s just fake now.
There’s no realists anymore.
If I could wash away the deceitfulness they gave,
Maybe someway a wound could heal.
But it can’t ’cause it’s too deep
And infected with grief of those you thought existed;
Instead everyone is just misleading and manipulative.
The worst thing because you could never see it coming,
Until it crushes you to near death.
Betrayal at its best.
Fakers at their worse depth to the innocent.
There is never an end
Just torture.
4. Siblings
by Daydreaming Josi
No one will know the turmoil she causes.
No one will know this pain.
It is an utter betrayal of my heart.
A sibling should be your closest friend, not your mortal enemy.
5. Betrayed by a Friend
by Wolf Heart
I wait for you,
on the bridge at the dawn’s sunset,
when the sky is nearly bright again.
We wait for you here, where you said you would be,
come this time.
Very good, very well,
I see you coming quickly in the distance.
Have you gained some weight?
Or maybe it’s just your shadow.
And another?
I turn, I run,
because it’s not you coming to see me.
And I don’t want to know what you told me to carry,
in the backpack on my back.
I dive down into the garden,
the bushes strip me of my skin.
The big men, more of them now,
are looking for someone who fits my description.
Except I am not dangerous.
I am not armed.
For hours I simply wait
until enough of them are far away.
Then I run, tears running down my face.
What could have done, to make you betray me this way?
6. Betrayal, My Green Eyed Friend!
by Gaynor Brook
Betrayal, my green eyed friend!
You with your sparkling green eyes full of fun
Laughing and dashing our way through the years
We chose each other and owned each other
You were part of my future as I was yours
Your emerald eyes saw me through the mist
My blue ones returned the favour
We knew the inside of each other from long days of melding
As the sun beat down on our white skin we lay dreaming the same dreams
Our words hung silently in the air for our eyes always knew
We didn’t have to bargain for our honesty was intense
But in the end your green eyes lived up to their title and we were lost forever
7. Dagger Called Betrayal
by Orlando Belo
Without warning you stabbed me,
with a dagger called betrayal.
You displayed no signs of emotion
then vanished into the rain and hail.
I was abandoned on an island of sorrow,
lost in a confusion of memories,
that swirled like dust in an hurricane,
which kept replaying your perfidy.
I died several times of heartbreak,
became withered like a cast off leaf.
The memories I couldn’t escape from,
and time didn’t bring relief.
Years later I saw a reflection in a puddle,
it was you as you once were,
but then a voice softly whispered my name,
as if it seemed to care.
Betrayal had done you no favors,
you were burdened by the passage of time.
Your body was bent and decrepit,
and life’s map showed every line.
I was angry with myself for wasting my life,
for not moving on to pastures new.
My book of life was filled with hurt and pain,
based on the betrayal of which I knew.
8. Betray no One
by Pk Tunuri
If someone, you trusted the most betrays you.
People blame you for trusting him “Blindly”
and also quote “Trust No One”.
But have you ever seen anyone pointing their fingers
at the person who betrayed you, looking him in the eye
and asked him why would he do that to you
or how dare he betray you or anyone?
No! right?
I feel, the people, the society encourages this betrayal and the betrayers.
If anything such happens around you,
stop giving free pieces of advice and
stop backing him(the betrayer) up.
You better warn the betrayer not to betray anyone
and also quote “BETRAY NO ONE”
What kinda foolish statement is “Trust no one”?
How can you not trust anyone?
So everything you do is just drama!
Acting like you trust him/her,
that’s where these betrayers come from.
They are you, who sit silently when betrayal happens
You got to trust! Nothing works without trust!
Why is it, not trusting anyone even an option?
Let’s say let’s “Betray no one”
Betrayal Poems about Trust
These poems about betrayal of trust can offer comfort and insight into the nature of trust and how we can heal when it has been broken.
1. Faith
by Frances Anne Kemble
Better trust all and be deceived,
And weep that trust and that deceiving,
Than doubt one heart that, if believed,
Had blessed one’s life with true believing.
O, in this mocking world too fast
The doubting fiend o’ertakes our youth;
Better be cheated to the last
Than lose the blessed hope of truth.
2. Betrayal
by Susan O’Reilly
Betrayal of trust
moment of lust
confess I must
mightn’t see him for dust
I can’t look him in the eyes
the love he can’t disguise
myself I despise
time for no more lies
There’s a baby on the way
I know he’ll say hooray
so I have to tell him today
this game I can’t play
I love him dearly
wasn’t thinking clearly
must clean out debris
forgiveness, hopefully
3. I Have Learned
by Courtney
I have learned…
That trust is a powerful thing.
You have no idea what it may bring.
It can sting your heart
and tear apart your soul.
Or it can warm your heart
and enlighten your soul.
I have learned…
That trust is hard to discover.
It is buried deep down under.
People say it is easy to gain trust.
I agree with them in a way.
For them I have lost all trust.
I have decided to go my own way.
I have learned…
That trust means to lust,
and lust is a must.
Sometimes it can be an illusion,
but it is something you cannot deny.
Therefore, I have come to this conclusion.
Trust everyone but not the devil inside.
4. Betrayal
by Walter De La Mare
She will not die, they say,
She will but put her beauty by
And hie away.
Oh, but her beauty gone, how lonely
Then will seem all reverie,
How black to me!
All things will sad be made
And every hope a memory,
All gladness dead.
Ghosts of the past will know
My weakest hour, and whisper to me,
And coldly go.
And hers in deep of sleep,
Clothed in its mortal beauty I shall see,
And, waking, weep.
Naught will my mind then find
In man’s false Heaven my peace to be:
All blind, and blind.
5. Trust Becomes Doubt
by Jade Kaiser
Life is full of unexpected things,
Luckily, you can be friends with your enemies;
Unfortunately, your friends turn to be your enemies.
See, life is full of surprises.
Funny it may seems, and at the same time,
It will hurt you truly.
I’ve been hurt so many times in my life
That made me trusts less,
And doubt more with the people surrounding me.
If I could only turn back time
To where I was once knew how to trust whole-heartedly.
To the time, I was still little, innocent and loving.
To the picture of scene where I thought it was,
The happiest and wholly part of my existence.
But now that I’m all grown up, I realize it was all lies.
And the scene, where I thought it was the most precious,
Happiest moment of my solitary life;
Behind that was the shedding of tears of my most precious one,
At the back of it, was sorrow and pain,
Anguish and misery, and betrayal;
Of the people I treasured and trusted most.
6. The Last Betrayal
by Edith Nesbit
And I shall lie alone at last,
Clear of the stream that ran so fast,
And feel the flower roots in my hair,
And in my hands the roots of trees;
Myself wrapt in the ungrudging peace
That leaves no pain uncovered anywhere.
What–this hope left? this way not barred?
This last best treasure without guard?
This heaven free–no prayers to pay?
Fool–are the Rulers of men asleep?
Thou knowest what tears They bade thee weep,
But, when peace comes, ’tis thou wilt sleep, not they.
7. May
by Sara Teasdale
The wind is tossing the lilacs,
The new leaves laugh in the sun,
And the petals fall on the orchard wall,
But for me the spring is done.
Beneath the apple blossoms
I go a wintry way,
For love that smiled in April
Is false to me in May.
8. Trust
by Kieno
Your words begin to mean nothing to me,
You continue to lie under your breath.
Had me convinced that you were different,
Yet here I am, with a broken trust.
My heart torn out from the center of my chest,
Ripped into a million pieces.
You promised me over and over
That you would change for the better.
But I soon came to realize
That you’re no different than the first time we met.
Each event replayed itself,
And each time you betrayed me.
Again I am standing here in this empty hole,
Listening to the echoes of your promises fade away.
I really thought you would change for me,
I really believed that you cared for me.
Oh, how wrong I was
To put my trust in the likes of you.
The pain I am feeling now
Is the pain I’ll forever retain.
Over and over again,
I am left with nothing.
No matter what I do,
I always get the blunt end of the stick.
Normally, I would say I’m to blame,
But sadly I do not deserve this claim.
My eyes have reopened
To never again let you gain my trust.
In the world we live in now
Has very little, if any,
Able bodies I can trust.
Is it so that only I can earn this trust?
I don’t believe I’ll ever truly understand the meaning of trust.
I won’t live by this word,
For its meaning is far too easily broken,
And very difficult to fix.
No longer will I allow trust to govern my life,
No longer will I allow your love in my life.
I stand here alone,
With a broken trust.
My last words to whom it may concern,
My trust in you was a privilege.
You continued to break the very string
That held my trust for you.
In the end,
You betrayed me with more than I can say,
Left me
With a broken trust and a broken heart.
9. Trust Me
by Anonymous
Trust me
Because I know the feeling of pain
Of betrayal
Trust me
Because I know how to feels to be lost
With nowhere to run
Trust me
Because I know how it feels
To want the pain to stop
Trust me
Because I know how hard it is to find someone to trust
Love Betrayal Poems
These poems explore the pain and heartbreak that come with being betrayed by a lover. Poems about betrayal of love can be cathartic and offer a way to process the emotions that come with a shattered relationship.
1. Love not
by Caroline Elizabeth Sarah
Love not, love not, ye hapless sons of clay!
Hope’s gayest wreaths are made of earthly flowers,—
Things that are made to fade and fall away
Ere they have blossomed for a few short hours.
Love not!
Love not! the thing ye love may change;
The rosy lip may cease to smile on you,
The kindly-beaming eye grow cold and strange,
The heart still warmly beat, yet not be true.
Love not!
Love not! the thing you love may die,—
May perish from the gay and gladsome earth;
The silent stars, the blue and smiling sky,
Beam o’er its grave, as once upon its birth.
Love not!
Love not! O warning vainly said
In present hours as in years gone by!
Love flings a halo round the dear one’s head,
Faultless, immortal, till they change or die.
Love not!
2. Love Is a Mirror
by Quinn More By Quinn
A sharpened dagger stabbed in his heart,
Ripping in two, ripping apart.
It took only a few words, but her words cut him deep,
Stealing emotions, making him weak.
A two sided mirror true in reflection,
A double edged knife cutting connections,
A place in his heart forever reserved
For the one that he loved but didn’t deserve.
She twisted the dagger; it tore him apart.
She stole what was left; she stole a broken heart.
3. A Heart’s Pain
by Ariel Smith
Scars made on my heart never heal.
This is what a girl should never feel.
You stomped on my soul, ripped my heart.
You took my hope, tore it apart.
You played my heart like it was a game.
Now I know you never felt the same.
You shattered my heart in the times of need
Where it always has to bleed.
My heart, you made slowly stop beating.
The pain you caused quickly began repeating.
You told me you love me, that you’d always be there,
But now those are just words floating in the air.
You stabbed my hope; I quickly stopped dreaming.
Your love for me ceased, my heart began screaming,
Slicing my heart, the heartbreaking rain.
When you broke my heart, I couldn’t stop the pain.
Now I truly, honestly see
That you never actually loved me.
4. Proud of My Broken Heart Since Thou Didst Break It
by Emily Dickinson
Proud of my broken heart since thou didst break it,
Proud of the pain I did not feel till thee,
Proud of my night since thou with moons dost slake it,
Not to partake thy passion, my humility.
5. I Don’t Want to Fall in Love
by Crystal Wolf Tear
I don’t want to fall in love
Not If it’s not true
I don’t want to fall in love
Because I’m only here for you
I don’t want to fall in love
Just keep it all
I don’t want to fall in love
Even if I don’t stand tall
I don’t want to fall in love
Though you make me glow
I don’t want to fall in love
But I won’t let it show
I don’t want to fall in love
The pain would be too real
I don’t want to fall in love
It’s not what I want to feel
I don’t want to fall in love
So I have to stand
I don’t want to fall in love
I hope you understand
6. Ashes of Life
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Love has gone and left me and the days are all alike;
Eat I must, and sleep I will, — and would that night were here!
But ah! — to lie awake and hear the slow hours strike!
Would that it were day again! — with twilight near!
Love has gone and left me and I don’t know what to do;
This or that or what you will is all the same to me;
But all the things that I begin I leave before I’m through, —
There’s little use in anything as far as I can see.
Love has gone and left me, — and the neighbors knock and borrow,
And life goes on forever like the gnawing of a mouse, —
And to-morrow and to-morrow and to-morrow and to-morrow
There’s this little street and this little house.
7. You Lied, But I Still Cared
by Brianna Denise Mcentee
You always said you loved me.
You always said you cared,
that you would always be with me,
that you would always be there.
You told me that you are here for me
through all the pain I feel.
You told me that you are with me
till your very last meal.
But you were never there
through all those endless nights.
You could never stop the crying
after all those fights.
My heart tore,
and you just walked away.
My happiness went up in smoke.
Everything looked gray.
Now after all that’s happened,
all the lies you told,
how could you lie again?
How could you be so bold?
You say it again.
You are here for me
if I’m here for you back.
Sure, I’ll be there,
and I’ll care.
You know that that’s a fact.
But will you be here
for me
till the very end?
Don’t lie again.
You are not my friend.
My heart you could never mend.
I gave you trust;
You told me lies.
I gave you hope;
I can see it in your eyes.
Please don’t lie.
We both know
you could never be there
to wipe my tears
or vanish my fears.
You could never care.
8. Modern Love: XXXVII
by George Meredith
Along the garden terrace, under which
A purple valley (lighted at its edge
By smoky torch-flame on the long cloud-ledge
Whereunder dropped the chariot), glimmers rich,
A quiet company we pace, and wait
The dinner-bell in prae-digestive calm.
So sweet up violet banks the Southern balm
Breathes round, we care not if the bell be late:
Though here and there grey seniors question Time
In irritable coughings. With slow foot
The low rosed moon, the face of Music mute,
Begins among her silent bars to climb.
As in and out, in silvery dusk, we tread,
I hear the laugh of Madam, and discern
My Lady’s heel before me at each turn.
Our tragedy, is it alive or dead?
9. I Thought You Said Forever?
by Ariel Smith
What does forever mean to you?
When you couldn’t even keep it true
You said you’d forever be there,
But were those just words pulled from thin air?
Did you actually love me?
Did you really see the feelings I see?
The truth, the love, the loyal tears,
The betrayal, hate, and the fear.
I thought you felt the same,
That you would cover me in the rain.
I thought forever and always was forever,
But now there’s not an us…never.
You said you’d always be there for me,
But now I truly see
That you never saw the feelings in my soul.
Now you’ve pierced my heart and made a hole,
But my heart has healed.
Now I have friends that are real,
And you’re gone out of my life,
Unable to pierce me with the heartbreaking knives.
I thought forever was forever, not just a word,
But I guess that’s not what I heard…
Betrayal Poems and Loyalty
Betrayal can challenge our sense of loyalty and leave us questioning our own values. Broken trust poems about loyalty and betrayal explore the relationship between trust, loyalty, and betrayal.
1. Betrayal
by Colleen Cavanagh
Can you believe the betrayal we face,
Every day, from the people we trust most;
The people whom we confide in, trusting
That they will stand by us when we need them?
Then they turn away, leaving us alone,
Heartbroken and teary-eyed, beaten down
By the weight of the world left upon us.
Without our closest friends, we are nothing;
The world can trample us with but one step,
Pressing down hard, until we suffocate,
Without anyone to lift the burdens.
Still, we must continue living, wearing
A smile, so that those friends who betrayed us
Will believe we are stronger than we are.
It will defeat those people, and prove that
We can rise above disloyalty, and
Live a better life without those who have
Broken our hearts into many pieces.
That strength is quite admirable, they say,
Though truly, we cry in the dark, alone,
So no one will hear how, really, we are
Weak and broken apart by broken trust.
2. Just Another Score
by Amanda Kay Burke
Knew you had walls guarding your heart
Uncomfortable with the way you look
Girls left you feeling broken, empty,
You try to replace pieces they took.
Flatlined and abandoned
Questions where confidence should be
Gave all my love to you
In return got disloyalty.
Another person to hurt, betray
I never was important to you
Mental acrobatics performed in my mind
The intense thoughts weren’t in yours too.
I told you to be yourself
Had already lost who that was
Held by insecurities
Instead of me chased a buzz
You said I meant everything to you, the world and more
If that’s true why do you treat me like I’m simply yet another score?
3. Clock Work Heart
by Poetic T
My heart was mechanical
Oiled always by love
Cogs moved independently
Springs always moving in rhythm
This was love in my heart
Intricate pieces moving as one
Affection,
Emotion,
Trust,
Was what fuelled this love
It beat strong
Never wearing down
Always would it beat strong
But then betrayal
Disloyalty,
Sorrow,
Neglected
Dirt had entered this heart
Oil contaminated
Springs oxidized
Cogs bent out of shape
Broken parts,
littered the floor of this heart
What once ran smooth,
Started to go cold
Cobwebs,
Vines,
Empty,
Was this damaged heart
Where once movement
Who could mend
This once loved heart,
Then the tinkerer entered her life
Full of friendship
It took Time, for her to let him in
But what once was reclusive
Friendship,
Blew the cobwebs away
Companionship
Cut the vines away
Loyalty
Filled that empty space
Love
Was the catalyst, that started
This clock work heart again,
Some piece, still lay
On the hearts floor,
For if a clock work heart is broken
It will never be as it was before,
The rust faded oiled once more
A clock work heart is a fragile Piece,
Only give it to those who will
Hold it gently in there grasp.
4. Betrayal
by BisWarupa Purkayastha
I keep on staring at the stars,
Thinking about the days I passed!
Fakeness has filled our place,
As if loyalty doesn’t exist.
Rumours has occupied the way,
To make me feel completely lay.
Gobbles up my jovial spirit,
Still a pedestrian gets no merit!
Storms appear to roll me within,
Somehow saved myself from deep drowning.
Flew away even the beam of light,
When in darkness, I searched for thou.
But then from the back held my hand,
The footsteps approaching I heard in my way.
Back I turned to catch the sound,
Another betrayal was waiting around.
I still keep on staring the stars,
Thinking all about the days i passed!
5. Disloyalty
by Harry Roberts
You’re Not Even A Wave In My Ocean,
Had To **** Of Love To Leave Devotion,
Isn’t Apathy Just An Absence Of Emotion.
I Cannot Raise You,
Man You Are Grown,
Words Do Not Phase You,
Your Seeds Have Been Sown.
I Walked Away ‘Cause With You I Was Alone,
I Couldn’t Stay Or Endure While You Moan,
I Am Made Stronger Like A Twice Broken Bone,
All Your Disloyalty Through The Lies Has Shone.
Snakes & Vipers Still In Sight,
Truth Has Shown Betrayals Plight,
In The End I Won’t Fight,
I Can Leave & Wave Good Night.
You Can Have Him
He Can Have You,
Together You’ll Dim
Until Fate Is Through.
I’d Wish You The Best,
Is My Name On Your Chest,
Nights When You’re Lonely,
I Hope You Don’t Phone Me.
6. Have You?
by Neil Pathrick Aman
Have You ever loved someone
But knew they didn’t care?
Have You ever felt like crying
But Knew you’d get no where?
Have you ever looked into their eyes
And said a little prayer?
Have you ever looked into their hearts
And wished that you were there?
Have you ever felt their heartbeat,
When the lights were turned down low?
Have you ever whispered “God, I love You”
But you’ll never let me show?
Love is grand, yet it hurts so much.
The price you pay is high.
If I could choose between Love and Death,
I’d rather choose to die.
So do not fall in love, my friend,
It doesn’t pay a dime.
It only causes broken hearts,
Yet it happens all the time.
So do not fall in love, my friend,
You’ll hurt before it’s through.
I ought to know, my friend
I fell in love with you.
Final Thoughts
Betrayal is a deeply painful experience that has inspired some of the most enduring works of literature throughout history.
From famous betrayal poems to those that offer inspiration, comfort, and insight, poetry can help us process the complex emotions that come with being betrayed.
We encourage you to explore these betrayal poems and share your own experiences in the comments below.
So what did you get from these poems for betrayal?
Your perspective can help others who are struggling with the pain of betrayal.
