Farewell Poems | Poemist

Popular Farewell Poems

Farewell! -- But Whenever You Welcome The Hour

by Thomas Moore

Farewell! but whenever you welcome the hour
That awakens the night-song of mirth in your bower,
Then think of the friend who once welcomed it too,
And forgot his own griefs to be happy with you.
His griefs may return, not a hope may remain
Of the few that have brighten'd his pathway of pain,
But he ne'er will forget the short vision, that threw
Its enchantment around him, while lingering with you.

And still on that evening, when pleasure fills up

......

Tess's Lament

by Thomas Hardy

I

I would that folk forgot me quite,
   Forgot me quite!
I would that I could shrink from sight,
   And no more see the sun.
Would it were time to say farewell,
To claim my nook, to need my knell,
Time for them all to stand and tell
   Of my day's work as done.

......

Gateway Arch

by Ed Hoffmeister

At the base of the great Gateway Arch
Where the mighty Mississippi goes by,
I was thinking of the days of Lewis and Clark,
As my eyes traveled up to the sky, And I asked the arch, way up above,
Why these men left all their comforts of home.
Were they destined to perform a labor of love?
Or, like me, did they just itch to roam. Gateway Arch. St. Louis Arch.
I wish you could bring their answers to me. My eyes came back down to the scene
Where the Mississippi flows on its march.
I tucked my weary hands in faded blue jean,

......

Happy Birthday, Mom - Part VII

by Randy Johnson

The people who knew you, know that I was very fortunate to be your son.
If you hadn't passed away, today you would've become seventy-one.
Another year has passed and another birthday has come around.
Seven years ago, you were alive and well but now you're buried in the ground.

When my brother didn't buy you a birthday cake in 2012, I bought you one.
It was both a privilege and an honor to buy you a cake and to be your son.
When you died in 2013, I damn nearly fell apart.
I had to lick my wounds and nurse a broken heart.

......

War Is Never Over

by Cecil L. Harrison

War is never over
Thought the treaties may be signed
The memories of the battles
Are forever in our minds

War is never over
So when you welcome heroes home
Remember in their minds they hold
Memories known to them alone

......

Recent Farewell Poems

Luscious Peaches

by Evelyn Judy Buehler

Baskets of peaches
Ripe, juicy, luscious and warm
Tangerine sun goes
Summer left these gifts behind
Like blooms of my memory

Flamingos soon dance
Along the edges of dusk
Beautiful endings
Preserves and pies are waiting

......

My Name Is Horace

by Randy Johnson

In 1987, he starred in a movie that was called 'The Monster Squad'.
At a very young age, he died and went to Heaven to be with God.
Two other movies that he starred in were 'Home Free' and 'Dance 'Til Dawn'.
When he died of Pneumonia in 1987, it was hard to believe that he was gone.
He abandoned his acting career to study law before dying at the age of 22.
To die at such a young age is unfair and ridiculous, and that certainly is true.

[Dedicated to Brent Chalem (1975-1997) who died on December 9, 1997.]

Happy Birthday, Mom - Part VII

by Randy Johnson

The Princess In The Tower

by Sara Teasdale

I

The Princess sings:

I am the princess up in the tower
And I dream the whole day thro'
Of a knight who shall come with a silver spear
And a waving plume of blue.

I am the princess up in the tower,

......

Erinna

by Sara Teasdale

They sent you in to say farewell to me,
No, do not shake your head; I see your eyes
That shine with tears. Sappho, you saw the sun
Just now when you came hither, and again,
When you have left me, all the shimmering
Great meadows will laugh lightly, and the sun
Put round about you warm invisible arms
As might a lover, decking you with light.
I go toward darkness tho' I lie so still.
If I could see the sun, I should look up

......