Grief Poetry

When I was in the fourth grade, we had a map of Vietnam on our kitchen wall. When my mother received an airmail letter, she would walk to the map and move one of the stickpins to a new location to see if one of her brothers was in harm’s way in some new hot spot or battle. I spent a lot of time worrying about that map. I had five uncles in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. This is a book about going off to war, a book about coming back home, and a book about those who are left behind. I dedicate this book to those voices, my family, and every voice calling out at times of war.

Drum-Taps is a collection of poetry written by Walt Whitman during the American Civil War and first published in 1865. Drum-Taps contains poems that bear witness to the violence of war.

In these poems, Kleber-Diggs names delight in the same breath as loss. Moments suffused with love—teaching his daughter how to drive; watching his grandmother bake a cake; waking beside his beloved to ponder trumpet mechanics—couple with moments of wrenching grief—a father’s life ended by a gun; mourning children draped around their mother’s waist; Freddie Gray’s death in police custody. Even in the refuge-space of dreams, a man calls the police on his Black neighbor.

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.

Blossoms of Solace and Hope: In the Shade of Pear Blossoms, the gentle fall of petals becomes a symbol of strength, healing, and quiet resilience. Like the soft blooming of spring, this poetic collection speaks to the human spirit as it journeys through love, loss, and longing. This Audible edition features 40 original poems, tenderly narrated by Camrie Fletcher, whose warm and expressive voice offers a comforting presence throughout. Blending free verse, haiku, and the unique collage form, each poem offers a gentle touch to the heart and a guiding light toward hope and renewal.

Fairies and Fusiliers is a collection of 47 short poems and was dedicated to Graves' former regiment, the Royal Fusiliers.

Grief. An emotion we all experience at one time or another, but there is no grief greater then the loss of a loved one. In this short poem by William Hope Hodgson, the narrator is alone with his grief and the realization that what had been will never be again.

"Through Grief's Tender Heart" is a heartfelt exploration of grief, offering a compassionate collection of narratives, reflections, and poems that delve into the depths of loss and healing. This book provides a sincere and intimate look at the grieving process, resonating with anyone who has faced the pain of loss. It is a literary embrace that explores the myriad emotions of grief, from the initial shock to the gradual journey toward healing.

On Being Human is a compilation of original poems by Ghazala Alam. Written in modern Urdu and English, each poem is introduced by an English preamble detailing her inspirations and insights. Accompanied by English transliteration, her poetry is informed by her experiences as an immigrant, woman, and a person of color.

Los poemas de El jardinero tocan temas utilizadas en la poesía sánscrita más antigua: la juventud y la vejez, la riqueza y el despojo, el amor, la muerte y el sexo. La sugerencia es una de las mayores cualidades de esta poesía.

From My Lips to Your Ears is a collection of raw poetry created by Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue. This empowering collection details the jouirney one goes through regarding grief, love, inspiration, and sadness and represents an honest depiction of life through this poet's eyes.

A poem about consent.

This is the worst book of poetry ever written.

In pursuit of his brother, a man traverses the fantastical and grotesque landscape of Hell, pondering their now fractured relationship.

The Perseverance is the remarkable debut book by British-Jamaican poet Raymond Antrobus. Ranging across history and continents, these poems operate in the spaces in between, their haunting lyrics creating new, hybrid territories. The Perseverance is a book of loss, contested language and praise, where elegies for the poet's father sit alongside meditations on the d/Deaf experience.

The first selection of poems by renowned Iranian poet Garous Abdolmalekian to appear in English, this collection is a captivating, disorienting descent into the trauma of loss and its aftermath. In spare lines, Abdolmalekian conjures surreal, cinematic images that pan wide as deftly as they narrow into intimate focus. Time is a thread come unspooled: Pain arrives before the wound, and the dead wait for sunrise.

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

Black Man Cry and Not a Care Was Delivered details the heartbreak a Black man experiences when he feels the pain that he causes others.

We Are the Winter People is the collected works of Jenny Rowbory. The diverse range of poetry deals with love, loss, and the poet's ever-changing relationship with faith. Despite the struggles depicted within the work, it is an ultimately empowering collection, filled with strength, determination, and hope.

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.