Not one of us passes through life without being touched by death and grief. Initially, I had only a handful of poems dealing with that topic. I did not feel a specific category on death and grief was necessary for this website. Sadly, after the loss of a child (my youngest son) in 2018, that has changed. This new topic includes 40 poems on death and grief, written as part of my own grieving process. I hope this category helps other bereaved parents find and use them as part of their own healing from the loss of a child.
FINDING THE POEM YOU WANT: As you scroll through this section, simply read each snippet sample (usually the first four lines) to get a feel for the poem. When you find something you like, click “CONTINUE READING” to view the entire poem.
(My poems about death are here for non-commercial purposes only. Please include full copyright information on every copy, emailing a request for permission before using. For internet use, a link back to this site is required. May peace and comfort be yours on this difficult path.)
The week before Christmas, I wait at the post office,
mailing one last, precious thing.
The line isn’t quite out the door, but it’s close,
and our holiday mood’s taken wing.
It pains my heart to put the stuff
of childhood away.
Is there a thing more sad, more bittersweet
than moving day?
Six years without you, my mind’s eye
settles upon your vacant place.
It’s harder now to summon sights of you
to fill the empty space.
It’s not that you’re more present here,
for you are present everywhere.
I feel you in the warming sun;
the rising trees; the crisp, clean air.
Yet this safe ground, your place of rest,
surrounds my soul in comfort deep.
This refuge, framed in oak and redwood,
holds you in a sacred keep.
When Todd is watching me, I hope he sees
more things that please than things that give him pause.
I would not cause him grief – that’s my domain –
but surely human pain feels softer there,
where earth and flesh and loss no longer reign.
Today, this long-awaited day,
such bright son-light emerged!
A sacred purpose was fulfilled
as heaven and earth converged.
The world says you live on in me.
I can’t deny that’s true.
My heart and mind are always filled
with memories of you.
You fell to our arms
from star-filled skies,
the dream in our hearts,
the light in our eyes.
So softly you landed,
so sweetly you lay,
and we claimed you forever
that very first day.