Grief Poetry

Today Thomas Gray is remembered almost solely for this melancholy meditation on the inevitability of death and the insignificance of fame. The poem was originally thought to have been inspired by the death of Gray's close friend, Richard West, but modern critics think this to be unlikely. Retiring by nature, Gray did not want the elegy to be published, but his hand was forced by an unscrupulous editor who planned to publish the poem without permission. The polished elegance of the versification has ensured that the poem has retained its appeal over the centuries.

This is the worst book of poetry ever written.

Clara Jean Beaman Walker was the third of seven children born to Cora and Clarence Beaman in Knoxville, TN, in 1910. Considered to be “Little Mother” by her siblings, she always gave her best to her birth family and to the family she created with her husband, John Albert Walker. Three sons came from this union: Johnny, Clarence, and Henry. A teacher at heart, Jean saw each child before her and helped them navigate home economics, English, and realizing their potential.

The poems in About Loss are written in free verse. They are simple and direct, yet emotional and beautiful. Love is part of loss, and this book has many love poems as well as poems of heartache.

Holes in Your Umbrella is a raw, intimate debut poetry collection that explores what it means to live with mental illness, navigate love’s jagged edges, and keep walking through storms with nothing but hope and a half-broken umbrella. Told in fragments, whispers, and sharp truths, these poems trace the outline of survival—through heartbreak, breakdowns, and moments of unexpected grace. This is a book for anyone who’s ever felt too much, carried too quietly, or wondered if they were the only one.

Divided into five chapters, this volume is a journey through the life cycle of wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming. It is a celebration of love in all its forms.

Holocaust Island was the inaugural winner of the David Unaipon Award in 1989. Graeme Dixon's poems address contemporary and controversial issues – from Black deaths in custody to the struggles of single mothers – and are as relevant today as when his book was first published. This dynamic collection is threaded with poems of spirited humour and sharp satire. Dixon's powerful voice rings out loud and clear.

Widely known as the master of horror, Edgar Allan Poe has held the world enraptured for more than 150 years with his dark and powerful works. This collection will sweep you away into a world of literary brilliance.

By turns moving, playful and wise, the poems gathered in Dearly are about absences and endings, ageing and retrospection, but also about gifts and renewals. They explore bodies and minds in transition, as well as the everyday objects and rituals that embed us in the present. Werewolves, sirens and dreams make their appearance, as do various forms of animal life and fragments of our damaged environment.

In this urgent outpouring of American voices, our poets speak to us as they shelter in place, addressing our collective fear, grief, and hope from eloquent and diverse individual perspectives.

If Ollie Schminkey’s Dead Dad Jokes asks the question, “What was it like to watch my father die?”, Where I Dry the Flowers asks “How did watching someone die teach me how to live?” This unrestrained and raw sophomore collection explores themes of grief, healing, and forgiveness while refusing to sacrifice the hard truths that come with addiction, caretaking, and the death of a loved one. Ollie opens their heart to listeners and tells them that these emotions are okay, no matter how conflicting and confusing they may be.

Saris and a Single Malt is a moving collection of poems written by a daughter for and about her mother. The audiobook spans the time from when the poet receives a phone call in New York City that her mother is in a hospital in New Delhi to the time she carries out her mother's last rites. The poems chronicle the author's physical and emotional journey as she flies to India, tries to fight the inevitable, and succumbs to the grief of living in a motherless world.

From the bestselling author of Pillow Thoughts and Watering the Soul comes another deeply honest and moving collection of poetry and prose that explores the strength and resilience we embody in the face of hardship and change. Presented in six captivating sections—Reflecting, Repairing, Change, Awakening, Emerging, and Rebirth—Time Will Tell tells the story of a curious, lost soul who crashed down to Earth on the search for purpose.

Linda Gregerson’s long-awaited new collection is a tour de force, a compendium of lives touched by the radical fragility of the planet and, ultimately, the endless astonishment and paradox of being human within the larger ecosystem, “in a world where every breath I take is luck.”

Have you ever felt lost, confused, or like you couldn’t trust yourself to make a good decision? If the answer is no, put this book down before it spontaneously combusts in your hands and move on (you are too pure). If the answer is yes, look no further and invest now. Why, you ask? Because listening to this poetry will connect you to those lost parts of yourself you think no one else sees. The parts that you wonder if they are healed or not. Don’t you want to know? Invest in Poems from a Lost Soul to find out.

A parent's worst nightmare is to receive the news that their child is gone. The grief that follows is overwhelming. Through her love of poetry, Wanda Weathersby shares her journey of grief after the death of her precious son Calvin. Her journey shows the power of celebrating the memories and the importance of a strong support system to help through these difficult times. If you have lost a child or a loved one, experience the healing and love that God poured out for this mom during these difficult times and be inspired to find your own path of healing with him.

A classic poem written to mirror the pain of the loss of romance. There is no remedy. There seems no hope. The anguish comes through loud and clear in this piece, written by William Hope Hodgson and narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Metamorphosis explores generational trauma, heartbreak, shadow work, and ultimately coming to truth, self-love, and wholeness.

This is a collection of poems inspired by love, loss of love, and other tragic and traumatic events that began in late July of 2000—so some poems are about love and others about the loss of that love. This is my autobiography in poetry form.

This collection of words from Havva Ramadan has its origins during lockdown and her work continues to resonate to this day, finding an even wider audience through her rapidly growing online presence. Now, in her first book, A Voice: Turning Pain into Power, her words take a different form, collected to give us a very personal journey that we can all relate to, reflecting the pain of grief, the struggle of mental health and the journey we need to take to help us collect our pieces and find a way to rebuild ourselves once again.