94 Poems about Dying to Say Goodbye in a Beautiful Way

The inevitability of death is a universal truth, and it is a natural part of the cycle of life.

Although it is a difficult topic to discuss, it is also a source of inspiration for poets, who have been creating beautiful and heartfelt verses about dying for centuries.

Whether it is to express one’s own thoughts and feelings about death or to offer comfort to those who are grieving, poetry can provide a powerful medium for conveying emotions and experiences related to this final journey.

In this article, we will explore various types of poems about dying, that celebrate peaceful passing and mourn the loss of loved ones.

So let’s read these dying poems!

Famous Poems about Dying

Throughout history, many poets have grappled with the theme of death, producing some of the most famous dying poems of literature. So let’s read them.

1. A Dying Candle

       by Meghan H.

The way a candle dies amazes me
A strong tier of wax
Simple
With only a string within it
Dies slowly
As it gives off light
Melting wax
Drips and drips
Until all that’s left is a puddle
It amazes me how
Something that gave off so much light
In times of darkness
Ended up finding itself
Sitting in the same darkness
It had tried so hard to enlighten.

2. O Captain! My Captain!

       by Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths — for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

3. The Clock of Life is Wound but Once

       by Robert H Smith

The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.
To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed
To lose one’s health is more,
To lose one’s soul is such a loss
That no man can restore.
The present is our own,
So live love, toil with a will
Place no faith in “tomorrow,”
For the clock may then be still.

4. Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night

       by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

5. Let Me Die a Youngman’s Death

       by Roger McGough

Let me die a youngman’s death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

When I’m 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party

Or when I’m 91
with silver hair
and sitting in a barber’s chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I’m 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one

Let me die a youngman’s death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
‘what a nice way to go’ death

6. Death Be not Proud

       by John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

7. Life

       by Charlotte Bronte

Life, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall? Rapidly, merrily
Life’s sunny hours’ flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly! What though Death at times steps in
And calls our best away?
What though sorrow seems to win,
O’er hope, a heavy sway?
Yet hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell;
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell fear!

8. Sonnet 71

       by William Shakespeare

No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Then you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell:
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it; for I love you so
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot
If thinking on me then should make you woe.
O, if, I say, you look upon this verse
When I perhaps compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse.
But let your love even with my life decay,
Lest the wise world should look into your moan
And mock you with me after I am gone.

10. Death is Nothing at All

       by Canon Henry Scott-Holland

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still
Call me by my own familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no difference into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind
Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Beautiful Poems about Dying

These beautiful poems celebrate the beauty and wonder of life even as they acknowledge its transience, leaving readers with a sense of peace and wonder.

1. A Dying Swan

       by Chloé Meghan

I see a dying swan
Resting on the marshes of the bank
Her feathers white as snow
Her wings like that of a silk

I hear a dying swan
whispering softly to the river
While she rests and sleeps
the river answers back with a song

A song of life and death
Graping onto her graceful neck
breath took her away
And now she sleeps and never comes back

I know a dying swan
she’s like a mother
and the river a home
though her eyes told me no story anymore
I still believe her, that dying swan

2. If I Should Die

       by Emily Dickinson

If I should die,
And you should live,
And time should gurgle on,
And morn should beam,
And noon should burn,
As it has usual done;
If birds should build as early,
And bees as bustling go,—
One might depart at option
From enterprise below!
’T is sweet to know that stocks will stand
When we with daisies lie,
That commerce will continue,
And trades as briskly fly.
It makes the parting tranquil
And keeps the soul serene,
That gentlemen so sprightly
Conduct the pleasing scene!

3. God Saw You Getting Tired

       by Anonymous

When God saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be
He put his arms around you
And whispered come to me
He didn’t like what you went through
And he gave you rest
His garden must be beautiful
He only takes the best
And when we saw you sleeping
So peaceful and free from pain
We wouldn’t wish you back
To suffer that again
Today we say goodbye
And as you take your final rest
That garden must be beautiful
Because you are one of the best.

4. A Song of Living

       by Amelia Josephine Burr

Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.

I have sent up my gladness on wings,
to be lost in the blue of the sky.

I have run and leaped with the rain,
I have taken the wind to my breast.

My cheek like a drowsy child
to the face of the earth I have pressed.

Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.

5. There is no Death

       by Anonymous

There is a plan far greater than the plan you know;
There is a landscape broader than the one you see.
There is a haven where storm-tossed souls may go —
You call it death — we, immortality.

You call it death — this seemingly endless sleep;
We call it birth — the soul at last set free.
‘Tis hampered not by time or space — you weep.
Why weep at death? ‘Tis immortality.

Farewell, dear Voyageur — ’twill not be long.
Your work is done — now may peace rest with thee.
Your kindly thoughts and deeds — they will live on.
This is not death — ’tis immortality.

Farewell, dear voyageur — the river winds and turns;
The cadence of your song wafts near to me,
And now you know the thing that all men learn:
There is no death — there’s immortality.

6. So Go and Run Free

       by Anonymous

So go and run free with the angels
Dance around the golden clouds
For the lord has chosen you to be with him
And we should feel nothing but proud
Although he has taken you from us
And our pain a lifetime will last
Your memory will never escape us
But make us glad for the time we did have
Your face will always be hidden
Deep inside our hearts
Each precious moment you gave us
Shall never, ever depart
So go and run free with the angels
As they sing so tenderly
And please be sure to tell them
To take good care of you for me

7. I’ll Wait for You…

       by Stephen O’Brien

I will wait for you…
Though we never had a chance to say goodbye,
Remember me…
When winter snows are falling through a quiet sky
I’ll remember you
When, in our darkest hour,
You held my hand and prayed I wouldn’t go,
But a silent voice called out to me;
My time had come, and I had to travel Home…

Since then, I know your life has never been the same,
For I visit you each day:
So many times I’ve felt your pain:
I’ve watched you cry:
And I’ve heard you call my name…

But now, further along life’s road I stand
In a timeless world, just beyond your sight,
Waiting for the day when I can take your hand and bring you across
to this land of Golden Light…

Till then, remember me, you understand — and try not to cry.
But if you do:
Let your tears fall
For the happiness and joy we knew,
And for the special love we shared,
For love can never die.

8. You’ll Never Walk Alone

       by Oscar Hammerstein

When you walk through the storm
Hold your head up high,
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone.
You’ll never walk alone.

9. Because I Have Loved Life

       by Amelia Burr

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.
I have sent up my gladness on wings, to be lost in the blue of the sky.
I have run and leaped with the rain, I have taken the wind to my breast.
My cheeks like a drowsy child to the face of the earth I have pressed.
Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

I have kissed young love on the lips, I have heard his song to the end,
I have struck my hand like a seal in the loyal hand of a friend.
I have known the peace of heaven, the comfort of work done well.
I have longed for death in the darkness and risen alive out of hell.
Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

I gave a share of my soul to the world, when and where my course is run.
I know that another shall finish the task I surely must leave undone.
I know that no flower, nor flint was in vain on the path I trod.
As one looks on a face through a window, through life I have looked on God,
Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

Short Poems about Dying

Sometimes a few simple words can express more than an entire volume of prose. These short poetries about dying are impactful and convey deep emotions in just a few lines.

1. A Parting Guest

       by James Whitcomb Riley

What delightful guests are they
Life and Love!
Lingering I turn away,
This late hour, yet glad enough
They have not witheld from me
Their high hospitality.
So with face lit with delight
And all gratitude, I stay
Yet to press their hands and say,
“Thanks. So fine a time! Goodnight.

2. How Wonderful is Death

       by Percy Byssche Shelley

How wonderful is Death,
Death, and his brother Sleep!
One, pale as yonder waning moon
With lips of lurid blue;
The other, rosy as the morn
When throned on ocean’s wave
It blushes o’er the world;
Yet both so passing wonderful!

3. Death

       by Rainer Maria Rilke

Before us great Death stands
Our fate held close within his quiet hands.
When with proud joy we lift Life’s red wine
To drink deep of the mystic shining cup
And ecstasy through all our being leaps —
Death bows his head and weeps.

4. If I Should Go

       by Joyce Grenfell

If I should go before the rest of you
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone
Nor when I’m gone speak in a Sunday voice
But be the usual selves that I have known
Weep if you must
Parting is hell
But life goes on
So sing as well.

5. Turn Again to Life

       by Mary Lee Hall

If I should die and leave you here a while,
be not like others sore undone,
who keep long vigil by the silent dust.
For my sake turn again to life and smile,
nerving thy heart and trembling hand
to do something to comfort other hearts than mine.
Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine
and I perchance may therein comfort you.

6. Inside Our Dreams

       by Jeanne Willis

Where do people go to when they die?
Somewhere down below or in the sky?
‘I can’t be sure,’ said Grandad, ‘but it seems
They simply set up home inside our dreams.’

7. Farewell

       by Anne Bronte

Farewell to Thee! But not farewell
To all my fondest thoughts of Thee;
Within my heart they still shall dwell
And they shall cheer and comfort me.
Life seems more sweet that Thou didst live
And men more true Thou wert one;
Nothing is lost that Thou didst give,
Nothing destroyed that Thou hast done.

8. All Nature Has a Feeling

       by John Clare

All nature has a feeling: woods, fields, brooks
Are life eternal: and in silence they
Speak happiness beyond the reach of books;
There’s nothing mortal in them; their decay
Is the green life of change; to pass away
And come again in blooms revivified.
Its birth was heaven, eternal it its stay,
And with the sun and moon shall still abide
Beneath their day and night and heaven wide.

9. If Only

       by Anonymous

If only we could see the splendour of the land
To which our loved ones are called from you and me
We’d understand
If only we could hear the welcome they receive
From old familiar voices all so dear
We would not grieve
If only we could know the reason why they went
We’d smile and wipe away the tears that flow
And wait content.

Long Poems about Dying

These long poetries about dying offer a more in-depth look at the various aspects of death, from the physical to the emotional and spiritual.

1. I Will Be There

       by Paul Curtis

Do not grieve for me
Do not mourn my passing
Remember me with a smile
Don’t think of me as gone
Remember what we had
Think of our life like a favourite book
Do not close it and put it on the shelf
Never to be read again
Just because you hate the ending
Start to write the next chapter
Enjoy it like all the others
And don’t be sad
I will be there with you always

I will be there when the wild flowers
Dance in the spring meadow
When the summer breeze moves through
A field of ripening wheat
When the morning mist of autumn
Softens the landscape
And when the winter sun
Sparkles and glints on the snow
And I will be by your side
Through your loneliest hours

I will be there in the dawn
Rising with the sun
You will see me again
When the sun sets at the days end
And in the twilight hours
I will be that gentle breeze
That caress’s your cheek
On a warm summer evening
And I will be that tingle on your skin
As you lie in the quiet hours

I will be there when you retrace our steps
And when you stand on the lake shore
My reflection will not be on the water
By I am still with you
When you walk in the autumn
Through the golden carpet
I will be in the dancing leaves
And when the snow lays
Though I will leave no foot prints
I am there for these moments that were ours

I will be there in the quietness of winter
Among the falling snowflakes
I will be in the dew drops
On the grassy meadow
I will be there in the warm sunlight
Of a summer’s day
I will be with you when the storm
Quickens your heartbeat
And you will feel me on your skin
And in the April showers

2. Thanatopsis

       by William Cullen Bryant

To him who in the love of Nature holds
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks
A various language; for his gayer hours
She has a voice of gladness, and a smile
And eloquence of beauty, and she glides
Into his darker musings, with a mild
And healing sympathy, that steals away
Their sharpness, ere he is aware. When thoughts
Of the last bitter hour come like a blight
Over thy spirit, and sad images
Of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall,
And breathless darkness, and the narrow house,
Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart; —
Go forth, under the open sky, and list
To Nature’s teachings, while from all around —
Earth and her waters, and the depths of air —
Comes a still voice —

Yet a few days, and thee
The all-beholding sun shall see no more
In all his course; nor yet in the cold ground,
Where thy pale form was laid, with many tears,
Nor in the embrace of ocean, shall exist
Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim
Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again,
And, lost each human trace, surrendering up
Thine individual being, shalt thou go
To mix for ever with the elements,
To be a brother to the insensible rock
And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain
Turns with his share, and treads upon. The oak
Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mould.

Yet not to thine eternal resting-place
Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish
Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world — with kings,
The powerful of the earth, the wise, the good,
Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past,
All in one mighty sepulchre.   The hills
Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, the vales
Stretching in pensive quietness between;
The venerable woods — rivers that move
In majesty, and the complaining brooks
That make the meadows green; and, poured round all,
Old Ocean’s gray and melancholy waste,—
Are but the solemn decorations all
Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun,
The planets, all the infinite host of heaven,
Are shining on the sad abodes of death,
Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread
The globe are but a handful to the tribes
That slumber in its bosom.  Take the wings
Of morning, pierce the Barcan wilderness,
Or lose thyself in the continuous woods
Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound,
Save his own dashings — yet the dead are there:
And millions in those solitudes, since first
The flight of years began, have laid them down
In their last sleep — the dead reign there alone.
So shalt thou rest, and what if thou withdraw
In silence from the living, and no friend
Take note of thy departure? All that breathe
Will share thy destiny. The gay will laugh
When thou art gone, the solemn brood of care
Plod on, and each one as before will chase
His favorite phantom; yet all these shall leave
Their mirth and their employments, and shall come
And make their bed with thee. As the long train
Of ages glide away, the sons of men,
The youth in life’s green spring, and he who goes
In the full strength of years, matron and maid,
The speechless babe, and the gray-headed man —
Shall one by one be gathered to thy side,
By those, who in their turn shall follow them.

So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

3. Annabel Lee

       by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love —
I and my Annabel Lee —
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me —
Yes! — that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we —
Of many far wiser than we —
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling — my darling — my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea —
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

4. When Great Trees Fall

       by Maya Angelou

When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.

When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.

Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance,
fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold
caves.

And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.

5. Last Journey

       by Timothy Coote

There is a train at the station
With a seat reserved just for me
I’m excited about its destination
As I’ve heard it sets you free

The trials and tribulations
The pain and stress we breathe
Don’t exist were I am going
Only happiness I believe

I hope that you will be there
To wish me on my way
It’s not a journey you can join in
It’s not your time today

There’ll be many destinations
Some are happy, some are sad
Each one a brief reminder
Of the great times that we’ve had

Many friends I know are waiting
Who took an earlier train
To greet and reassure me
That nothing has really changed

We’ll take the time together
To catch up on the past
To build a new beginning
One that will always last

One day you’ll take your journey
On the train just like me
And i promise that I’ll be there
At the station and you will see

That Life is just a journey
Enriched by those you meet
No one can take that from you
It’s always yours to keep’

But now as no seat is vacant
You will have to muddle through
Make sure you fulfill your ambitions
As you know I’ll be watching you

And if there’s an occasion
To mention who you knew
Speak kindly of that person
As one day it will be you

Now i can’t except this ending
And as it’s time for me to leave
Please make haste to the reception
To enjoy my drinks, they’re free!

6. Declining Days

       by Henry Frances Lyte

Why do I sigh to find
Life’s evening shadows gathering round my way?
The keen eye dimming, and the buoyant mind
Unhinging day by day?
Is it the natural dread
Of that stern lot, which all who live must see?
The worm, the clay, the dark and narrow bed, —
Have these such awe for me?
Can I not summon pride
To fold, my decent mantle round my breast;
And lay me down at Nature’s eventide,
Calm to my dreamless rest?
As nears my soul the verge
Of this dim continent of woe and crime,
Shrinks she to hear Eternity’s long surge
Break o’er the shores of time?
Asks she, how shall she fare
When conscience stands before the judge’s throne,
And gives her record in, and all shall there
Know, as they all are known?
A solemn scene and time —
And well may Nature quail to feel them near —
But grace in feeble breasts can work sublime,
And faith overmaster fear!
Hark I from that throne comes down
A voice which strength to sinking souls can give,
That voice all judgment’s thunders cannot drown;
‘Believe,’ it cries, ‘and live.’
Weak-sinful, as I am,
That still small voice forbids me to despond
Faith clings for refuge to thebleeding Lamb,
Nor dreads the gloom beyond. —
‘Tis not, then, earth’s delights
From which my spirit feels so loath to part;
Nor the dim future’s solemn sounds or sights,
That press so on my heart.
No I ’tis the thought that I —
My lamp so low, my sun so nearly set,
Have lived so useless, so unmissed should lie
‘Tis this, I now regret. —
I would not be the wave,
That swells and ripples up to yonder shore
That drives impulsive on, the wild wind’s slave,
And breaks, and is no more! —
I would not be the breeze,
That murmers by me in its viewless play,
Bends the light grass, and flutters in the trees,
And sighs and flits away! —
No I not like wave or wind
Be my career across the earthly scene
To come and go, and leave no trace behind,
To say that I have been.
I want not vulgar fame —
I seek not to survive in brass or stone
Hearts may not kindle when they hear my name,
Nor tears my value own. —
But might I leave behind
Some blessing for my fellows, some fair trust
To guide, to cheer, to elevate my kind
When I am in the dust.
Within my narrow bed,
Might I not wholly mute or useless be;
But hope that they, who trampled o’er my head,
Drew still some good from me!
Might my poor lyre but give
Some simple strain, some spirit-moving lay;
Some sparklet of the soul, that still might live
When I have passed to clay! —
Might verse of mine inspire
One virtuous aim, one high resolve impart;
Light in one drooping soul a hallowed fire,
Or bind one broken heart. —
Death would be sweeter then,
More calm my slumber ‘neath the silent sod;
Might I thus live to bless my fellow-men,
Or glorify my God.
Why do we ever lose,
As judgment ripens, our diviner powers
Why do we only learn our gifts to use,
When they no more are ours?
O Thou whose touch can lend
Life to the dead, Thy quick’ning grace supply,
And grant me, swanlike, my last breath to spend
In song that may not die!

7. My Last Will

       by Sir Walter Raleigh

When I am safely laid away,
Out of work and out of play,
Sheltered by the kindly ground
From the world of sight and sound,
One or two of those I leave
Will remember me and grieve,
Thinking how I made them gay
By the things I used to say;
— But the crown of their distress
Will be my untidiness.
What a nuisance then will be
All that shall remain of me!
Shelves of books I never read,
Piles of bills, undocketed,
Shaving-brushes, razors, strops,
Bottles that have lost their tops,
Boxes full of odds and ends,
Letters from departed friends,
Faded ties and broken braces
Tucked away in secret places,
Baggy trousers, ragged coats,
Stacks of ancient lecture-notes,
And that ghostliest of shows,
Boots and shoes in horrid rows.
Though they are of cheerful mind,
My lovers, whom I leave behind,
When they find these in my stead,
Will be sorry I am dead.
They will grieve; but you, my dear,
Who have never tasted fear,
Brave companion of my youth,
Free as air and true as truth,
Do not let these weary things
Rob you of your junketings.
Burn the papers; sell the books;
Clear out all the pestered nooks;
Make a mighty funeral pyre
For the corpse of old desire,
Till there shall remain of it
Naught but ashes in a pit:
And when you have done away
All that is of yesterday,
If you feel a thrill of pain,
Master it, and start again.
This, at least, you have never done
Since you first beheld the sun:
If you came upon your own
Blind to light and deaf to tone,
Basking in the great release
Of unconsciousness and peace,
You would never, while you live,
Shatter what you cannot give;
— Faithful to the watch you keep,
You would never break their sleep.
Clouds will sail and winds will blow
As they did an age ago
O’er us who lived in little towns
Underneath the Berkshire downs.
When at heart you shall be sad,
Pondering the joys we had,
Listen and keep very still.
If the lowing from the hill
Or the tolling of a bell
Do not serve to break the spell,
Listen; you may be allowed
To hear my laughter from a cloud.
Take the good that life can give
For the time you have to live.
Friends of yours and friends of mine
Surely will not let you pine.
Sons and daughters will not spare
More than friendly love and care.
If the Fates are kind to you,
Some will stay to see you through;
And the time will not be long
Till the silence ends the song.
Sleep is God’s own gift; and man,
Snatching all the joys he can,
Would not dare to give his voice
To reverse his Maker’s choice.
Brief delight, eternal quiet,
How change these for endless riot
Broken by a single rest?
Well you know that sleep is best.
We that have been heart to heart
Fall asleep, and drift apart.
Will that overwhelming tide
Reunite us, or divide?
Whence we come and whither go
None can tell us, but I know
Passion’s self is often marred
By a kind of self-regard,
And the torture of the cry
“You are you, and I am I.”
While we live, the waking sense
Feeds upon our difference,
In our passion and our pride
Not united, but allied.
We are severed by the sun,
And by darkness are made one.

Poems about Dying That Rhyme

Rhyme can be a powerful tool for creating memorable and evocative poetry. These rhyming poems about dying use rhyme and meter to convey their messages.

1. When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be

       by John Keats

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain;
When I behold, upon the night’s starred face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love — then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

2. Do not Stand at My Grave and Weep

       by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

3. Don’t Cry for Me

       by Anonymous

Don’t cry for me now I have died,
for I’m still here I’m by your side,
My body’s gone but my soul’s is here,
please don’t shed another tear,

I am still here I’m all around,
only my body lies in the ground.
I am the snowflake that kisses your nose,
I am the frost, that nips your toes.

I am the sun, bringing you light,
I am the star, shining so bright.
I am the rain, refreshing the earth,
I am the laughter, I am the mirth.

I am the bird, up in the sky,
I am the cloud, that’s drifting by.
I am the thoughts, inside your head,
While I’m still there, I can’t be dead.

4. Away

       by James Whitcomb Riley

I cannot say and I will not say
That she is dead, she is just away.
With a cheery smile and a wave of hand
She has wandered into an unknown land;
And left us dreaming how very fair
Its needs must be, since she lingers there.
And you — oh you, who the wildest yearn
From the old-time step and the glad return —
Think of her faring on, as dear
In the love of there, as the love of here
Think of her still the same way, I say;
She is not dead, she is just away.

5. Crossing the Bar

       by Alfred Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

6. Light

       by Francis Bourdillon

The night has a thousand eyes.
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.
The mind has a thousand eyes.
And the heart but one:
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.

7. Funeral Blues

       by W.H Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is Dead’.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

8. Where Do They Go to

       by Kevin F.

Where do they go to, the people who leave?
Are they around us, in the cool evening breeze?
Do they still hear us, and watch us each day?
I’d like you to think of them with us that way.

Where do they go to, when no longer here?
I think that they stay with us, calming our fear
Loving us always, holding our hands
Walking beside us, on grass or on sand.

Where do they go to, well it’s my belief
They watch us and help us to cope with our grief
They comfort and stay with us, through each of our days
Guiding us always through life’s mortal maze.

9. When I’m Gone

       by Lyman Hancock

When I come to the end of my journey
And I travel my last weary mile
Just forget if you can, that I ever frowned
And remember only the smile

Forget unkind words I have spoken
Remember some good I have done
Forget that I ever had heartache
And remember I’ve had loads of fun

Forget that I’ve stumbled and blundered
And sometimes fell by the way
Remember I have fought some hard battles
And won, ere the close of the day

Then forget to grieve for my going
I would not have you sad for a day
But in summer just gather some flowers
And remember the place where I lay

And come in the shade of evening
When the sun paints the sky in the west
Stand for a few moments beside me
And remember only my best

Poems about Dying for Children

These poems about dying for kids use simple language and gentle imagery to convey the idea of death in a way that is both honest and reassuring.

1. Parting

       by Emily Dickinson

My life closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me,
So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.

2. Death

       by Richard Coe

What is death?
A parted breath—
The Scriptures say—
The soaring of the soul away
From out its cumbrous load of clay,
To live for aye
In endless night or perfect day!

3. Challenge

       by Kenton Foster Murray

This little child, so white, so calm,
Decked for her grave,
Encountered death without a qualm.
Are you as brave?
So small, and armed with naught beside
Her mother’s kiss,
Alone she stepped, unterrified,
Into the abyss.
“Ah,” you explain, “she did not know—
This babe of four—
Just what it signifies to go.”
Do you know more?

4. The New Life’s Salutation

       by Anna Barbauld

Life, we’ve been long together
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather;
‘Tis hard to part when friends are dear,
Perhaps ’twill cost a sigh, a tear;
Then steal away, give little warning,
Choose thine own time:
Say not “Good night,” but in some brighter clime
Bid me “Good morning.”

5. A Common Thought

       by Henry Timrod

Somewhere on this earthly planet
In the dust of flowers that be,
In the dewdrop, in the sunshine,
Sleeps a solemn day for me.
At this wakeful hour of midnight
I behold it dawn in mist,
And I hear a sound of sobbing
Through the darkness,—Hist! oh, hist!
In a dim and musky chamber,
I am breathing life away;
Someone draws a curtain softly,
And I watch the broadening day.
As it purples in the zenith,
As it brightens on the lawn,
There’s a hush of death about me,
And a whisper, “He is gone!”

6. We Cover Thee, Sweet Face

       by Emily Dickinson

We cover thee, sweet face.
Not that we tire of thee,
But that thyself fatigue of us;
Remember, as thou flee,
We follow thee until
Thou notice us no more,
And then, reluctant, turn away
To con thee o’er and o’er,
And blame the scanty love
We were content to show,
Augmented, sweet, a hundred fold
If thou would’st take it now.

7. A Throe Upon the Features

       by Emily Dickinson

A throe upon the features
A hurry in the breath,
An ecstasy of parting
Denominated “Death,” —

An anguish at the mention,
Which, when to patience grown,
I’ve known permission given
To rejoin its own.

8. We Never Know We Go, — When We Are Going

       by Emily Dickinson

We never know we go, — when we are going
We jest and shut the door;
Fate following behind us bolts it,
And we accost no more.

9. One Dignity Delays for All

       by Emily Dickinson

One dignity delays for all,
One mitred afternoon.
None can avoid this purple,
None evade this crown.

Coach it insures, and footmen,
Chamber and state and throng;
Bells, also, in the village,
As we ride grand along.

What dignified attendants,
What service when we pause!
How loyally at parting
Their hundred hats they raise!

How pomp surpassing ermine,
When simple you and I
Present our meek escutcheon,
And claim the rank to die!

Poems about Dying Peacefully

Not all deaths are tragic or painful. Some people pass away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones and with a sense of acceptance and closure. These poems celebrate the beauty and serenity of a peaceful passing.

1. Death

       by ENS

The glorious, brilliant orb of day,
Now sinking in the west;
And casting forth his last pale ray,
Proclaims the hour of rest.
The darker tints of sober grey,
O’erspreads the evening sky;
And fading nature seems to say,
Prepare—for thou must die!
Yon meek eyed majesty of night,
Now casting round her smiles,
In shedding forth her feebler light,
The darkness thus beguiles;
Reflecting down upon our earth
Her pale and waning eye,
Reminds me that I am but dust,
That I must surely die!
Those brilliant gems, that stud the paths
Of heaven’s pure expanse,
Can raise my heart above this earth,
And all its sordid wants;
While each revolving in its orb,
Illumes yon azure sky,
Says, turn thy thoughts heavenward,
Remember! thou must die.
And when night’s sable clouds are drawn,
These thoughts will still prevail,
That I am but an earthly worm,
Most sinful weak and frail;
Though frail I am my hopes ascend,
Far far beyond the sky,
I trust my Saviour and my friend!
Will teach me how to die.

2. My Request

       by James W. Whilt

When I leave this old dreary world
To cross to the Great Unknown;
Don’t bury me in a costly tomb
Or raise a shaft of stone—
But lay me on some hill-side,
Mid the forest that I love;
Where the wild flowers bloom around me
And the eagle soars above:
With an ancient ledge above me,
One that is all moss-grown;
These words inscribed upon it,
“He is one of Nature’s own.
One who loved the forest,
One who loved the hills,
Although his soul has taken flight,
His foot-steps echo still.”

3. Peace My Heart

       by Rabindranath Tagore

Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.
Let it not be a death but completeness.
Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.
Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest.
Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.
Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence.
I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light your way.

4. The Last Rose of Summer

       by Thomas Moore

‘Tis the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o’er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love’s shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone!

5. Farewell

       by Emily Dickinson

Tie the strings to my life, my Lord,
Then I am ready to go!
Just a look at the horses —
Rapid! That will do!
Put me in on the firmest side,
So I shall never fall;
For we must ride to the Judgment,
And it’s partly down hill.
But never I mind the bridges,
And never I mind the sea;
Held fast in everlasting race
By my own choice and thee.
Good-by to the life I used to live,
And the world I used to know;
And kiss the hills for me, just once;
Now I am ready to go!

6. Afterglow

       by Anonymous

I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done.
I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.
I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun;
Of happy memories that I leave when life is done.

7. To Death

       by Ruby Archer

Death, have you flowers
To lay on my grave?
Bid them appear
Where flinty stones pave.
Death, have you laurels
To crown a mere name?
Only the living
Are conscious of fame.
Death, have you manna,
My spirit to feed?
Let me have daily bread
Now in my need.
Death, I will foil you―
No more importune.
Lo!―I want nothing.
Keep your poor boon!

8. Evanishings

       by Mary E. Tucker

Darling, how long before this breath will cease?
How long before my soul shall have sweet peace?
I am so weary, that I fain would rest,
Would rest forever on my Saviour’s breast.
Ah! let me gaze once more upon the earth,
So gay, so bright, so full of joy and mirth.
The song-birds sing, and bright flowers bloom for me,
And night’s pure stars shine on me lovingly:
Earth is all brightness, still I fain would go
Where all is real, where joy ne’er turns to woe,
Where this frail body will be free from pain,
Where we shall meet, no more to part again.
‘Tis dark here, father! Oh, weep not for me,
For Heaven is light through all Eternity.
In the pure garland of her Saviour’s love
Your bud will shed her fragrance far above.
Oh, mother! Think I’ve only gone before,—
My sisters! That we soon shall meet once more.
Weep not for me! my heart is passing light,
I’ll rest to-morrow robed in spotless white.
Speak louder! for my earthly senses fail—
Terrestrial things before my dim sight pale.
Celestial visions meet my fading sight;
I hear sweet music in the realms of light.
And thou, beloved, who art near my side—
But one short month and I had been thy bride.
How can I leave thee? ‘Tis my Saviour’s voice,
He would espouse me—fainting heart, rejoice.
Farewell to all, a long and last farewell!
The angels call me where immortals dwell
With a sweet smile she breathed her latest breath,
And thus our darling triumphed over death.

9. I Fall Asleep

       by Samuel Butler

I fall asleep in the full and certain hope
That my slumber shall not be broken;
And that though I be all-forgetting,
Yet shall I not be forgotten,
But continue that life in the thoughts
And deeds of those I loved.

Poems about Dying Too Soon

When someone dies before their time, it can be especially difficult to come to terms with their loss. These poems about dying too soon mourn the untimely passing of young people and offer comfort to those left behind.

1. But not Forgotten

       by Dorothy Parker 

I think, no matter where you stray,
That I shall go with you a way.
Though you may wander sweeter lands,
You will not soon forget my hands,
Nor yet the way I held my head,
Nor all the tremulous things I said.
You still will see me, small and white
And smiling, in the secret night,
And feel my arms about you when
The day comes fluttering back again.
I think, no matter where you be,
You’ll hold me in your memory
And keep my image, there without me,
By telling later loves about me.

2. On the Death of Anne Brontë

       by Charlotte Brontë

There’s little joy in life for me,
And little terror in the grave;
I ‘ve lived the parting hour to see
Of one I would have died to save.

Calmly to watch the failing breath,
Wishing each sigh might be the last;
Longing to see the shade of death
O’er those belovèd features cast.

The cloud, the stillness that must part
The darling of my life from me;
And then to thank God from my heart,
To thank Him well and fervently;

Although I knew that we had lost
The hope and glory of our life;
And now, benighted, tempest-tossed,
Must bear alone the weary strife.

3. And You as Well Must Die

       by Edna St. Vincent Millay

And you as well must die, beloved dust,
And all your beauty stand you in no stead;
This flawless, vital hand, this perfect head,
This body of flame and steel, before the gust
Of Death, or under his autumnal frost,
Shall be as any leaf, be no less dead
Than the first leaf that fell,—this wonder fled.
Altered, estranged, disintegrated, lost.
Nor shall my love avail you in your hour.
In spite of all my love, you will arise
Upon that day and wander down the air
Obscurely as the unattended flower,
It mattering not how beautiful you were,
Or how beloved above all else that dies.

4. Gone Too Soon

       by Anonymous

We weren’t prepared for you to go
You were too full of life to be
Taken away from us so soon
It’s still hard to believe
 
How much we’ll miss your smile
And your laughter in our ears
Your absence leaves a hole in us
We’re filling with our tears
 
You taught us how to be our best
To in the moment live
To never hold a grudge for long
And loyal friendship give
 
Your presence was a light and a joy
We never realized would someday end
Just like the brilliant falling star
That curved ‘round heaven’s bend
 
And though we cannot understand
The reasons God took you now
We’ll do our best to accept this loss
To carry on somehow…
 
Focusing on you and your joy in heaven
More than mourning in distress
Smiling through our falling tears
Counting our time with you quite blessed

We will remember you forever
For you, our hearts will always have room
We loved you more than you will ever know
You left us far too soon!

5. The Bustle in a House

       by Emily Dickinson

The Bustle in a House
The Morning after Death
Is solemnest of industries
Enacted opon Earth –

The Sweeping up the Heart
And putting Love away
We shall not want to use again
Until Eternity –

Comforting Poems about Dying

These comforting poems about death of a loved one express the deep sorrow and grief that come with such a loss, while also celebrating the enduring love and memories that remain.

1. I Felt an Angel

       by Anonymous

I felt an angel near today, though one I could not see
I felt an angel oh so close, sent to comfort me

I felt an angel’s kiss, soft upon my cheek
And oh, without a single word of caring did it speak

I felt an angel’s loving touch, soft upon my heart
And with that touch, I felt the pain and hurt within depart

I felt an angel’s tepid tears, fall softly next to mine
And knew that as those tears did dry a new day would be mine

I felt an angel’s silken wings enfold me with pure love
And felt a strength within me grow, a strength sent from above

I felt an angel oh so close, though one I could not see
I felt an angel near today, sent to comfort me.

2. Echo

       by Christina Rossetti

Come to me in the silence of the night;
Come in the speaking silence of a dream;
Come with soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright
As sunlight on a stream;
Come back in tears,
O memory, hope, love of finished years.

O dream how sweet, too sweet, too bitter sweet,
Whose wakening should have been in Paradise,
Where souls brimfull of love abide and meet;
Where thirsting longing eyes
Watch the slow door
That opening, letting in, lets out no more.

Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live
My very life again though cold in death:
Come back to me in dreams, that I may give
Pulse for pulse, breath for breath:
Speak low, lean low
As long ago, my love, how long ago.

3. Time Will Ease the Hurt

       by Bruce Wilmer

The sadness of the present days
Is locked and set in time,
And moving to the future
Is a slow and painful climb.
But all the feelings that are now
So vivid and so real
Can’t hold their fresh intensity
As time begins to heal.
No wound so deep will ever go
Entirely away;
Yet every hurt becomes
A little less from day to day.
Nothing else can erase the painful
Imprints on your mind;
But there are softer memories
That time will let you find.
Though your heart won’t let the sadness
Simply slide away,
The echoes will diminish
Even though the memories stay.

4. Seasons of Grief

       by Belinda Stotler

Shall I wither and fall like an autumn leaf,
From this deep sorrow – from this painful grief?
How can I go on or find a way to be strong?
Will I ever again enjoy life’s sweet song?

Sometimes a warm memory sheds light in the dark
And eases the pain like the song of a Meadow Lark.
Then it flits away on silent wings and I’m alone;
Hungering for more of the light it had shone.

Shall grief’s bitter cold sadness consume me,
Like a winter storm on the vast angry sea?
How can I fill the void and deep desperate need
To replant my heart with hope’s lovely seed?

Then I look at a photo of your playful smiling face
And for a moment I escape to a serene happy place;
Remembering the laughter and all you would do,
Cherishing the honest, caring, loving spirit of you.

Shall spring’s cheerful flowers bring life anew
And allow me to forget the agony of missing you?
Will spring’s burst of new life bring fresh hope
And teach my grieving soul how to cope?

Sometimes I’ll read a treasured card you had given me
And each word’s special meaning makes me see,
The precious gift of love I was fortunate to receive,
And I realize you’d never want to see me grieve.

Shall summer’s warm brilliant sun bring new light,
And free my anguished mind of its terrible plight?
Will its gentle breezes chase grief’s dark clouds away,
And show me a clear path towards a better day?

When I visit the grave where you lie in eternal peace,
I know that death and heaven brought you release;
I try to envision your joy on that shore across the sea,
And, until I join you, that’ll have to be enough for me.

For all the remaining seasons of my life on earth,
There’ll be days I’ll miss your merriment and mirth,
And sometimes I’ll sadly long for all the yesterdays;
Missing our chats and your gentle understanding ways.

Yet, the lessons of kindness and love you taught me,
And the good things in life you’ve helped me to see;
Linger as lasting gifts that comfort and will sustain,
Until I journey to that peaceful shore and see you again.

5. Immortality

       by Clare Harner

Do not stand
By my grave, and weep.
I am not there,
I do not sleep—
I am the thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints in snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle, autumn rain.
As you awake with morning’s hush,
I am the swift, up-flinging rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight,
I am the day transcending night.
Do not stand
By my grave, and cry—
I am not there,
I did not die.

6. If I Should Go Tomorrow

       by Anonymous

If I should go tomorrow
It would never be goodbye,
For I have left my heart with you,
So don’t you ever cry.
The love that’s deep within me,
Shall reach you from the stars,
You’ll feel it from the heavens,
And it will heal the scars.

7. They That Love Beyond the World

       by William Penn

They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it,
death cannot kill what never dies.
Nor can spirits ever be divided that love
and live in the same divine principle,
the root and record of their friendship.
If absence be not death, neither is theirs.
Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas;
they live in one another still.
For they must needs be present,
that love and live in that which is ominipresent.
In this divine glass, they see face to face;
and their converse is free as well as pure.
This is the comfort of friends,
that though they may be said to die,
yet their friendship and society are,
in the best sense, ever present, because immortal.

8. If I Should Go

       by Joyce Grenfell

If I should die before the rest of you,
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone.
Nor, when I’m gone, speak in a Sunday voice,
But be the usual selves that I have known.
Weep if you must,
Parting is hell.
But life goes on,
So sing as well.

9. His Journey’s Just Begun

       by Ellen Brenneman

Don’t think of him as gone away
his journey’s just begun,
life holds so many facets
this earth is only one.

Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears
in a place of warmth and comfort
where there are no days and years.

Think how he must be wishing
that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness
can really pass away.

And think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched…
for nothing loved is ever lost
and he was loved so much.

Poems about Dying of a Loved One

These poems about death of a loved one explore the pain and sorrow of loss, offering a cathartic outlet for those grappling with grief and sadness.

1. I Let You Go

       by Jane E. White

I send you to the restless sun
Awaiting your sweet shine,
And in between this world and next
I’ll hold your hand in mine.

For it is there between the sky
And boundless clouds of blue
That those who’ve passed this way before
Are waiting there for you.

Life is made of many things,
Of love, of grief, of strife.
Women pulled by many strings,
A child, mother, wife.

And now those strings will bind no more.
You’re free to chase the wind.
This is where your troubles end
And where your peace begins.

2. Remember

       by Christina Rossetti

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann’d:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

3. My Precious Son

       by Pamela Davies

Unendingly I mourn my precious son
Too early yet this earthly home he left,
Perfidious sleep confounded nature’s order
To leave his loves perpetually bereft.
Those golden dreams and aspirations,
The seed of yesterday a withered bloom,
Those baubles which are cause to celebrate
In death now mock us gently from his tomb.
How treacherous death does steal on youth’s exuberance,
To wreak such havoc from the ecstasy of life,
Where once was only joy and future promise
Tormented hearts endure eternal strife.

4. A Final Goodbye

       by Betty Janko

Do not weep for me, for I will soon be gone.
My body may die, but my soul will live on.
Perhaps up to heaven, maybe eternity,
or be reborn as another, when I am set free.

Do not weep for me, for I will soon be gone.
I was a survivor since my first breath was drawn.
I loved and was loved by animals and man,
siblings, friends, and strangers since my life began.

I was blessed with a father who taught me well,
to live this life on earth as a heaven, not hell.
A mother who taught me to stand on my feet,
a faith that anchored me, all strangers to greet.

If you fear dying, you’ll not live a full life,
as pain and dread will cut through like a knife.
Live each day with joy while you’re here on this earth;
make each day count, with compassion and mirth.

Do not weep for me, for I will soon be gone,
my body may die, but my soul will live on.
I leave all of you with my love, and I pray
that our souls will touch once again someday.

5. A Farewell

       by Alfred Tennyson

Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
Thy tribute wave deliver:
No more by thee my steps shall be,
Forever and forever.

Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea,
A rivulet then a river:
Nowhere by thee my steps shall be
Forever and forever.

But here will sigh thine alder tree
And here thine aspen shiver;
And here by thee will hum the bee,
Forever and forever.

A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver;
But not by thee my steps shall be,
Forever and forever.

6. Because I Could not Stop for Death

       by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then ’tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity.

7. Sometimes I Bring You Back

       by Sarah Spang

Sometimes beneath close eyelids
I quest to bring you back
As if you were driftwood floating
Downstream on your back.
I dip my hands beneath the veil
And dry away the death
And from my parting, weeping lips
I give you back your breath —
Just like the rising sunset burning
In the summer sky
Paints and saints the mountaintops
And casts their colors bright.

8. A Prayer for Mama

       by Kathy J. Parenteau

My dear sweet heavenly father, I come to you today
with faith and hope; I ask, send an angel Mama’s way.
I know her time is near and soon you’ll take her home
to stroll across the streets of gold where other angels roam.
It’s hard to watch her suffer and slowly fade away.
Help me, God, to understand; give me strength, I pray.
She means so much to all of us; forgive me for my fears.
Life will never be the same without her presence here.
My mother is my angel; she taught me how to love
and told me about you, Lord, and heaven up above.
When she crosses over and steps into the light,
tell her that I love her and when the time is right,
meet me at the pearly gates where everything’s brand new.
We’ll walk across God’s meadow lands where skies are always blue.
Somewhere beyond the sunset every now and then,
I pray she watches over me until we meet again.

9. Fading Away

       by Ruth M. Regan

Fading away, vibrant color to hue.
Fading away, disappearing from view.
Heartbreaking symptoms, watched by heartbroken eyes.
A face filled with sorrow, a chest full of sighs.

A daughter’s duty, a mother’s smile.
If only she could stay a while.
Counting every minute while wishing them away.
Too painful to watch every day.

Faking a smile to lift and make fun,
While stomach churns with what’s to come.
Making the most of time slipping by,
Trying so hard not to give in and cry.

Now caring for her as she did for them,
Not only a mother but also a friend.
A lifetime of love from a mother received,
Repaid by grateful daughters in her time of need.

Sad Poems about Dying

Death is a sad and difficult topic, and many poets have grappled with the emotions and experiences related to it. These sad poems about death explore the pain and sorrow of loss.

1. After the Funeral

       by Kelly Roper

The funeral is over,
And everyone has gone home.
It’s just me and my thoughts now,
And I’m sitting here alone.

The house seems so quiet,
and I’m not sure what to do.
I can’t remember how I lived
Before the day that I met you.

Maybe I should just stop thinking.
And take myself to bed.
I’ll crawl beneath the covers,
And lay down my weary head.

Tomorrow is a new day,
The first of many that I’ll face
Without you here beside me,
Without your strength, your wit, your grace.

I’ll try to carry on
Or at least I’ll try to exist.
Until one day you reach for me,
And guide me into death’s mist.

2. The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls

       by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveler hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveler to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

3. Time Does not Bring Relief

       by Edna St. Vincent Millay

And last year’s leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last year’s bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go – so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face I say,
‘There is no memory of him here!’
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.

4. If We Could Bring You Back Again

       by Joanna Fuchs

If we could bring you back again,
For one more hour or day,
We’d express all our unspoken love;
We’d have countless things to say.

If we could bring you back again,
We’d say we treasured you,
And that your presence in our lives
Meant more than we ever knew.

If we could bring you back again,
To tell you what we should,
You’d know how much we miss you now,
And if we could, we would.

5. Like the Dying Flower

       by Francisco D.H.

Like the drooping flower
I begin to sag thirsty for some water
Like the drying flower
I begin to crumble under your distant touch
Like the dying flower
I begin to darken and depart from your world.

6. To Daffodils

       by Robert Herrick

Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attain’d his noon.
Stay, stay
Until the hasting day
Has run
But to the evensong;
And having pray’d together, we
Will go with you along.
We have short time to stay, as you,
We have as short a spring;
As quick a growth to meet decay,
As you, or anything.
We die
As your hours do, and dry
Away
Like to the summer’s rain;
Or as the pearls of morning’s dew,
Ne’er to be found again.

7. Grief

       by Stephen Dobyns

Trying to remember you is like carrying water
in my hands a long distance across sand.
Somewhere people are waiting.
They have drunk nothing for days.

Your name was the food I lived on;
now my mouth is full of dirt and ash.
To say your name was to be surrounded by feathers and silk;
now, reaching out, I touch glass and barbed wire.

Your name was the thread connecting my life;
now I am fragments on a tailor’s floor.
I was dancing when I learned of your death;
may my feet be severed from my body.

8. You Never Said Goodbye

       by Anonymous

You never said I’m leaving
You never said goodbye.
You were gone before I knew it,
And only God knew why.

A million times I needed you,
A million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you,
You never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place,
That no one could ever fill.

It broke my heart to lose you,
But you didn’t go alone
For part of me went with you,
The day God took you home.

Final Thoughts

Poems about dying can offer a powerful and poignant way to explore the complex emotions and experiences surrounding death.

From famous works by renowned poets to short and sweet verses for children, there is a wide range of poetry that can provide comfort, solace, and even inspiration during this difficult time.

Whether you are mourning the loss of a loved one or contemplating your own mortality, these poems for dying can help you come to terms with this final journey in a way that is both honest and uplifting.

We encourage you to share your thoughts and feelings about these poems about dying in the comments below and to continue exploring the rich and diverse world of poetry about dying.