The loss of a loved one. Arguably one of the most painful things a person can experience during their life.
And the unfortunate reality is that most of us have to go through this heart-wrenching affair sooner or later.
At times like these, it can be challenging for those mourning to be optimistic and see things in a positive light. If you know someone currently mourning the loss of a loved one, you likely want to comfort them and offer them your sympathy – it’s just that you don’t know what to say.
That’s not unusual; finding the right words becomes all the more difficult when it comes to consoling someone who’s grief-stricken. A form of art and a medium of communication that can convey thoughts and feelings that are otherwise impossible to put into words, poetry is perfect for this purpose.
On this page, you’ll find a list of 41 of the most sympathetic and compassionate poems on the internet. We’ve included a variety of poems so you’ll find something for any occasion, be it the less of a mother or a father, a brother or a sister, or a son or a daughter. These poems are designed to ease the suffering of those left behind and offer them strength and encouragement to get through these troubling times.
Best Sympathy Poems
1.) ”The Return”
At a time of sorrow, it is hard to believe
That the sun will once again shine.
That’s when it seems you do nothing but grieve,
With all joy being left far behind.
Still, life has a way of starting anew,
A gradual moving away
From heartaches that linger, as heartaches will do,
If you will allow them to stay.
As spring returns to the Earth every year,
Bringing all of its beauty in view,
So merciful time will heal everything,
Bringing peace of mind back to you.
– Alora M. Knight
2.) “Sympathy”
There should be no despair for you
While nightly stars are burning,
While evening pours its silent dew
And sunshine gilds the morning.
There should be no despair – though tears
May flow down like a river:
Are not the best beloved of years
Around your heart forever?
They weep – you weep – it must be so;
Winds sigh as you are sighing,
And Winter sheds his grief in snow
Where Autumn’s leaves are lying:
Yet these revive, and from their fate
Your fate cannot be parted,
Then journey on, if not elate,
Still, never broken-hearted!
– Emily Jane Brontë
3.) “The Little White Hearse”
Somebody’s baby was buried to-day–
The empty white hearse from the grave rumbled back,
And the morning somehow seemed less smiling and gay
As I paused on the walk while it crossed on its way,
And a shadow seemed drawn o’er the sun’s golden track.
Somebody’s baby was laid out to rest,
White as a snowdrop, and fair to behold,
And the soft little hands were crossed over the breast,
And those hands and the lips and the eyelids were pressed
With kisses as hot as the eyelids were cold.
Somebody saw it go out of her sight,
Under the coffin lid–out through the door;
Somebody finds only darkness and blight
All through the glory of summer-sun light;
Somebody’s baby will waken no more.
– Ella Wheeler Wilcox
4.) “May The Road Rise Up To Meet You”
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.
– Traditional Irish Blessing
5.) “Divine Compassion”
Is it a dream? Is heaven so high
That pity cannot breathe its air?
Its happy eyes forever dry,
Its holy lips without a prayer!
My God! my God! if thither led
By Thy free grace unmerited,
No crown nor palm be mine, but let me keep
A heart that still can feel, and eyes that still can weep.
– John Greenleaf Whittier
6.) “Finally Home”
Although your work on earth is done,
Your life in heaven has just begun.
Your struggles here were hard and long,
But they’re over now; you’re finally home.
Life wasn’t easy, by choice or fate.
A decision made, sometimes too late.
A fight to the finish, always strong.
Rest easy, Mom, you’re finally home.
– Lynn Casstevens
7.) “William Morecomb – In Memoriam”
For a second you were flying
Like you always wanted to
Now you’ll fly forever
In skies of azure blue
We’ll see your smile in every ray
Of sunshine after rain
And hear the echo of your laughter
Over all the pain
The world’s a little quieter now
The colours have lost their hue
The birds are singing softly
And our hearts are missing you
Each time we see a little cloud
Or a rainbow soaring high
We’ll think of you and gently
Wipe a tear from our eye
– Victoria Bruce
8.) “Precious Boy”
I’d like to offer my condolences
With a poem I’d like to share.
To all those suffering in this difficult time,
I say a little prayer.
It is so hard for everyone
To think that you’re not here,
Your happy face, your gorgeous eyes,
Your beautiful smile so dear.
Little Angel, precious boy,
Please spread your wings and fly.
God picked you as his new Angel
Up there in the sky.
It’s times like this we question just
How could He let this be?
But He has a plan for each of us.
Sometimes it’s just hard to see.
– Ilona M. Blake
9.) “Sympathy”
Therefore I dare reveal my private woe,
The secret blots of my imperfect heart,
Nor strive to shrink or swell mine own desert,
Nor beautify nor hide. For this I know,
That even as I am, thou also art.
Thou past heroic forms unmoved shalt go,
To pause and bide with me, to whisper low:
‘Not I alone am weak, not I apart
Must suffer, struggle, conquer day by day.
Here is my very cross by strangers borne,
Here is my bosom-sin wherefrom I pray
Hourly deliverance – this my rose, my thorn.
This woman my soul’s need can understand,
Stretching o’er silent gulfs her sister hand.’
– Emma Lazarus
10.) “Death is Nothing at All”
Death is nothing at all. It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which 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 that we 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 an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
– Henry Scott Holland
11.) “Sympathy”
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting—
I know why he beats his wing!
– Paul Lawrence Dunbar
12.) “Please Don’t Cry”
Please, don’t cry.
I’m not really gone.
When you look out the window,
I’ll be standing on the lawn.
Please, don’t cry.
I’ll see you again.
Don’t be sad;
Keep up your chin.
Please, don’t cry.
I’m not really dead.
When you cry yourself to sleep,
I’ll be by your bed.
Please, don’t cry.
Just because we had to part,
As long as you remember me,
I’ll live in your heart.
– Joe Green
13.) “Fallen Limb”
A limb has fallen from the family tree.
I keep hearing a voice that says, “Grieve not for me”.
Remember the best times, the laughter, the song.
The good life I lived while I was strong.
Continue my heritage, I’m counting on you.
Keep smiling and surely the sun will shine through.
My mind is at ease, my soul is at rest.
Remembering all, how I truly was blessed.
Continue traditions, no matter how small.
Go on with your life, don’t worry about falls
I miss you all dearly, so keep up your chin.
Until the day comes we’re together again.
– Unknown
14.) “Just Call On Me”
I can’t comprehend just how sad you must feel
For the loss of someone you love.
This sorrowful time must still feel unreal
And you’re looking for strength from above.
I hope, from my heart, that your pain will decrease,
That your spirit will gain strength again,
And I pray that your faith will create inner peace
And that God will send blessings–Amen.
Till then, if you need me to lighten your load,
I’m waiting to come to your aid.
Just call on me, and I’ll walk down that road,
Until the dark times start to fade.
– Karl Fuchs
15.) “The Loss Of A Loved One”
The loss of a loved one is so hard to face.
You just want to hide,
go somewhere and escape!
But death is something
we all must go through.
I know it’s hard
when it’s someone you loved and knew.
Just know now,
he is in a better place.
No more hurt or pain shall he face.
It seems unfair, and yes, this is true,
but he is in Heaven now
watching over me and you!
God has called him home to rest!!
And he’s being well taken care of
Because God knows best!
– Kenya. H
16.) “My Secret and Sacred Bird”
My secret and sacred bird now flies
To meet the Spirit’s vacancy.
All chaos of life today dissolved;
In me a surge of ecstasy.
Gold flames within my longing heart
Invoke the cosmos’ Parent-Sun.
A tapestry of Truth unseen
Bursts forth within; the Play is begun.
– Sri Chinmoy
17.) “Heaven’s Light”
The sun shines down upon us
and gives us warmth and light.
Then when the day has ended,
it disappears from sight.
Though we’re left in darkness,
we know the sun has not died,
for it is shining brightly
on the world’s other side.
So it is when one we love
comes to their end of days.
They just go to the other side
to shine their loving rays.
– Ron Tranmer
18.) “If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking”
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
– Emily Dicksinson
19.) “If We Could Bring You Back Again”
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.
– Joanna Fuchs
20.) “If I Should Go Tomorrow”
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.
– Unknown
21.) “Sympathy”
Lately alas I knew a gentle boy,
Whose features all were cast in Virtue’s mould,
As one she had designed for Beauty’s toy,
But after manned him for her own strong-hold.
On every side he open was as day,
That you might see no lack of strength within,
For walls and ports do only serve alway
For a pretence to feebleness and sin.
Say not that Cćsar was victorious,
With toil and strife who stormed the House of Fame;
In other sense this youth was glorious,
Himself a kingdom wheresoe’er he came.
No strength went out to get him victory,
When all was income of its own accord;
For where he went none other was to see,
But all were parcel of their noble lord.
– Henry D. Thoreau
22.) “A Mother’s True Price”
A single tear rolls down her cheek as she remembers.
Every thought and every memory, she remembers.
She sees his face, she feels his soul, she remembers.
She feels the pain, she lays in vain as she remembers.
There isn’t a second of the day,
not a single memory she lets drift away, she remembers.
She lost a friend, she lost a son,
she lost a hero to everyone, she remembers.
There will always be a heavy grief,
every second it feels there’s no relief as she remembers.
She remembers the son, the friend, that she has lost.
She knows more than all how great a cost, as she remembers.
– Timothy J. Letts
23.) “You Are In Our Thoughts”
You are in our thoughts
as you find your way though this.
We are praying for your healing,
with the passage of time.
We know you miss him/her;
we send our understanding
and consolation.
Know that the strain, the pain,
will eventually ease.
May your pleasant memories
sustain and comfort you.
You are in our thoughts.
– Joanna Fuchs
24.) “Untitled”
He’s only gone on ahead of you,
Not just left you behind.
Although you can’t be with him right now,
He lives on in your heart and mind.
The day will come when you’ll meet again
On Heaven’s distant shore,
And the two of you will walk hand in hand
Together forever more.
– Unknown
25.) “A Child Never Forgotten”
our heart was broken
without a warning, no words spoken
you were taken away
someone said you could not stay
empty and lonely is what we are
we lost a precious shining star
our family torn apart
your world began with a promising start
life is unfair
this difficult cross we must bear
strength and courage we will find
our special child always in our mind
– Carolyn Autiello
26.) “The Life That I Have”
The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours
The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause
For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours.
– Leo Marks
27.) “My Angel, My Gram”
Tear drops run down our faces
While our loved one takes her place
In the land of dreams and faith
She waits for the day when life will wake
The sun will rise and the clouds will clear
Her smile we show she is near
We’ll feel her strength when a new day is here
And her heart when it’s too hard to bear
My angel is one with the bluest eyes
The honest voice and generous spirit
Her love is there whenever we need it
All we have to do is believe it
– Julia
28.) “My Angel, My Gram”
Tear drops run down our faces
While our loved one takes her place
In the land of dreams and faith
She waits for the day when life will wake
The sun will rise and the clouds will clear
Her smile we show she is near
We’ll feel her strength when a new day is here
And her heart when it’s too hard to bear
My angel is one with the bluest eyes
The honest voice and generous spirit
Her love is there whenever we need it
All we have to do is believe it
– Julia
29.) “The Parting Glass”
Of all the money that e’er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm I’ve ever done
Alas it was to none but me
And all I’ve done for want of wit
To mem’ry now I can’t recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate’er befalls
And gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Of all the comrades that e’er I had
They’re sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e’er I had
They’d wish me one more day to stay
But since it fell unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
– Traditional Irish Blessing
30.) “I Awake Each Morning to Start a New Day”
I awake each morning to start a new day
But the pain of losing you never goes away.
I go about the things I have to do
And as the hours pass I think again of you.
I want to call you and just hear your voice
Then I remember that I have no choice
For you are not there and now my heart cries
Just to see you again to tell you goodbye
To say Mama I love you and I always will
And hope that much of you, in me you’ve instilled.
The day that you left I just didn’t know
That you were going where I couldn’t go.
And now all my memories of you are so dear
But gosh, how I miss you and wish you were here.
Who now can hear me when I need to cry?
It so hard to tell you “Mama goodbye.”
– Claudia Lee
31.) “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep”
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 glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
– Mary Elizabeth Fry
32.) “I’ll Always Be There”
Your loss is your whole world today;
Your hurt feelings will not go away;
If you’re needing a friend,
On whom you’ll depend,
Call me anytime, any day.
I’m thinking of you, and I care;
If you have feelings you’re wanting to share,
Just give me a ring;
We’ll discuss everything;
When you need me, I’ll always be there.
– Joanna Fuchs
33.) “Still Here”
Remember them like they’re still here
Even though they are not
They have gone to a better place
Somewhere we are not
The feeling of loss we get
Some people don’t understand
Just to get one more day
When our parent walked this land
I wasn’t there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn’t get to tell him
All the things I had to say
You and your mum where best of friends
Remember that’s what you told me
So speak like she’s still here
Tell your kids the stories
They won’t think your queer
– Stephan Harner
34.) “She Is Gone (He Is Gone)”
You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she has lived
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
Or you can be full of the love that you shared
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday
You can remember her and only that she is gone
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
– David Harkins
35.) “Heaven Only Knows”
I send your family my condolences during your time of grief
May God bless your souls,
You may be wondering why did he have to go
But only God and Heaven knows
When the day comes you’ll see him at the crossroads
But until that day
Just know God works in mysterious ways.
– Khyle Snowden
36.) “We’ll See This Through”
They say this, too, shall pass,
They say grief eventually fades.
But those sayings are of little comfort
When you’re living through such sad days.
They say that time heals all,
And this much I know is true.
So hang in there, my dearest friend,
And together we’ll see this through
– Unknown
37.) “May You Always Remember”
May you see God’s light on the path ahead
When the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear,
Even in your hour of sorrow,
The gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard may hardness
Never turn your heart to stone,
May you always remember
when the shadows fall—
You do not walk alone.
– Traditional Irish Blessing
38.) “You Broke Apart”
The one who just showed anger
No fear, no hurt
The one who never seemed to care
Broken;
Tears shed and not a word spoken
Now I see that you were being strong
Trying to hold it together
Not just for you
But for the people around you.
When I saw one tear fall
I knew right away
Something was wrong
And I knew it was serious.
What is there for me to do?
What is there for me to say?
I feel helpless because the loss of a brother
I have never been through.
– Nandi Roberts
39.) “Untitled”
There’s a very special garden
Where the trees of memory grow
Nurtured by the kindness
And concern that good friends show.
The roots are cherished memories Of good times in the past.
The branches tender promises that souls endure and last.
It’s a place of peace and beauty
Where bright new hopes can start
It’s memory’s lovely garden that soothes the hurting heart
– Unknown
40.) “Back To The Start”
Step into a memory,
Of all the years that have passed.
Remember all the good times,
The ones locked in to last.
Sometimes your heart has broken,
All shattered, torn and sad,
Like when you lose a loved one,
The best friend you had.
But memories last a lifetime,
They are planted in your heart,
So look at all the sad things,
Then turn them to the start,
To the memory of the time that passed,
The times that made you laugh.
– Rita Box
41.) “Our Deepest Sympathy”
To send our deepest sympathy
Just doesn’t seem like enough.
We know how your grief must burden you,
How this time must be so rough.
But try to believe in your heart of hearts,
That your pain won’t last forever,
That sadness will lighten a little each day,
and you’ll eventually feel much better.
When that day comes, your memories
Will focus on the good, not the bad.
Instead of feeling burdened by tears,
You’ll cherish the happy times you had.
– Unknown
Summary
We hope you were able to find a poem suitable for your purposes. Our selection includes short poems that you can write on a compact card and longer ones that you can recite to an audience to get an emotional response.
While it can be hard to come to terms with a loss so significant, time heals everything, and things will eventually go back to normal. It’s important to be there for those who have suffered a loss so that they don’t drown in negative thoughts. Your efforts will go a long way in aiding with the coping process.
