Grief Poems
Duino Elegies: The First Elegy
by Rainer Maria Rilke
Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels'
hierarchies? and even if one of them suddenly
pressed me against his heart, I would perish
in the embrace of his stronger existence.
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror
which we are barely able to endure and are awed
because it serenely disdains to annihilate us.
Each single angel is terrifying.
And so I force myself, swallow and hold back
the surging call of my dark sobbing.
......
On Raglan Road
by Patrick Kavanagh
On Raglan Road on an autumn day I met her first and knew
That her dark hair would weave a snare that I might one day rue;
I saw the danger, yet I walked along the enchanted way,
And I said, let grief be a fallen leaf at the dawning of the day.
On Grafton Street in November we tripped lightly along the ledge
Of the deep ravine where can be seen the worth of passion's pledge,
The Queen of Hearts still making tarts and I not making hay -
O I loved too much and by such and such is happiness thrown away.
......
For Grief
by John O'Donohue
When you lose someone you love,
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you becomes fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
And though this loss has wounded others too,
No one knows what has been taken from you
When the silence of absence deepens.
......
The Kaleidoscope
by Douglas Dunn
To climb these stairs again, bearing a tray,
Might be to find you pillowed with your books,
Your inventories listing gowns and frocks
As if preparing for a holiday.
Or, turning from the landing, I might find
My presence watched through your kaleidoscope,
A symmetry of husbands, each redesigned
In lovely forms of foresight, prayer and hope.
I climb these stairs a dozen times a day
And, by the open door, wait, looking in
......
Xx
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
And wilt thou have me fashion into speech
The love I bear thee, finding words enough,
And hold the torch out, while the winds are rough,
Between our faces, to cast light on each ?--
I drop it at thy feet. I cannot teach
My hand to hold my spirit so far off
From myself--me--that I should bring thee proof
In words, of love hid in me out of reach.
Nay, let the silence of my womanhood
Commend my woman-love to thy belief,--
......
I lost you twice
by In Kish
It all started one sad day
When memories just kept running away
You certainly felt alone and lost
Your life, your past under the dust
But you had us and we had you
You were hurting, that was true
But you always smiled at me
Even when you didn't recognize me
Hours of silence hunting the walls all around
All you could do was sit there and stare at the ground
......
Drowning in the Sea of Sorrow
by Mario Odekerken
I am drowning
in the sea of sorrow,
no storm,
just the weight
of stillness.
Waves do not crash,
they whisper
regret,
pulling me under
......
The Sea Inside
by Jonathan Goff
The Sea Inside
When the earth was formless and void,
what did You see?
What shimmered in that hush
before the first word?
What stirred in You,
to utter light
into the silence?
When the Spirit hovered over the waters,
did it tremble?
......
letter from a quieter version of me
by Rikske Kessner
letter from a quieter version of me
for my love
love— some days i still hear it.
the beeping, the boots in the hallway,
the way someone said
we almost lost him
without saying my name.
they tell me it was twenty-nine pints.
......
I cried every day until i didn’t
by Tabitha Scott
dear friend
thank you for showing up
I cried every day
some days no idea why
just tears just the ache
just the silence
the tears never ran out
and neither did you
you didn’t ask me to stop
you didn’t look away but
......
