18 Compassion Poems to Help you Navigate Uncertain Times
18 Compassion Poems to Help you Navigate Uncertain Times.
18 Compassion Poems – Do you ever have days when your feelings feel closer to the surface than normal as if, if someone stared at you the wrong way, it would leave a bruise?
I know I’m not the only one who’s been getting more of these days than normal lately in the difficult time that we’re going through as a society right now. I find myself feeling as fragile on this rainy day as the robin’s eggshell I plucked out of the grass this morning, crushing it with my fingertips unintentionally.
Below are 15 Compassion Poems to Help you Navigate Uncertain Times. 
1. Sonnet 152.
For I have sworn deep oaths of thy deep kindness,
Oaths of thy love, thy truth, thy constancy;
And, to enlighten thee, gave eyes to blindness,
Or made them swear against the thing they see;
For I have sworn thee fair; more perjured eye,
To swear against the truth so foul a lie!
2. ‘Is This Thy Kindness to Thy Friend’.
He ransomed me from hell with blood,
And by His pow’r my foes controlled;
He found me wand’ring far from God,
And brought me to His chosen fold.He cheers my heart, my wants supplies,
And says that I shall shortly be,
Enthroned with Him above the skies;
O what a friend is Christ to me.by John Newton
3. ‘Alice Fell, or Poverty’.
The chaise drove on; our journey’s end
Was nigh; and, sitting by my side,
As if she had lost her only friend
She wept, nor would be pacified.Up to the tavern-door we post;
Of Alice and her grief I told;
And I gave money to the host,
To buy a new cloak for the old.
4. ‘In My Own Shire, If I Was Sad’.
In my own shire, if I was sad,
Homely comforters I had:
The earth, because my heart was sore,
Sorrowed for the son she bore;
And standing hills, long to remain,
Shared their short-lived comrade’s pain
And bound for the same bourn as I,
On every road I wandered by,
Trod beside me, close and dear,
The beautiful and death-struck year.
5. ‘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 for ever?by Emily Brontë
6. ‘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.
7. ‘Sympathy’.
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings —
I know why the caged bird sings!
8. Good Bones
Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.
For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.by Maggie Smith
9. Compassion
Have compassion for everyone you meet,
even if they don’t want it. What seems conceit,
bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign
of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen.
You do not know what wars are going on
down there where the spirit meets the bone.
10. Allowables
I killed a spider
Not a murderous brown recluse
Nor even a black widow
And if the truth were told this
Was only a small
Sort of papery spider
Who should have run
When I picked up the book
But she didn’t
And she scared me
And I smashed herI don’t think I’m allowed
To kill something
Because I am Frightened
11. The Peace of Wild Things
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feed
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
12. Have You Earned Your Tomorrow
Is anybody happier because you passed his way?
Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?
This day is almost over, and its toiling time is through;
Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?Did you give a cheerful greeting to the friend who came along?
Or a churlish sort of “Howdy” and then vanish in the throng?
Were you selfish pure and simple as you rushed along the way,
Or is someone mighty grateful for a deed you did today?Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that’s slipping fast,
That you helped a single brother of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said;
Does a man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?Did you waste the day, or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber do you think that God would say,
You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?by Edgar Guest
13. Solitude
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air;
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all,
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life’s gall.Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.
14. The Paradoxical Commandments
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
15. A Gift To Share
I was given a smile the other day
From someone who passed me on their way.
I wasn’t sure what I should do.
Perhaps, I’ll leave it up to you.If I should keep it for myself,
Put it on the kitchen shelf.
Then it would be a certainty
To bring some happiness to me.Somehow that doesn’t feel just right
For me to keep it in my sight
When there were others who might need
A waft of warmth, oh yes indeed.It doesn’t take so very much,
A cheerful smile, a gentle touch,
To lift the cloud another bears,
To help them feel somebody cares.There is one thing we all should know.
A smile is like the candle’s glow.
No matter how many candles share
That light, its fullness still is there.So when I go out on the street,
No matter whom I chance to meet,
If I share with them my precious smile,
Do you think that will be worthwhile?For hopefully, they too, will understand
That a smile is like a helping hand.
I’m hoping that you will agree
And someday share a smile with me.by Alora M. Knight
16. 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.
17. Tears
I come when pain
Becomes too much to take.
I come when you’re sad,
Or your heart starts to break.I might come when you panic,
I might come when you’re mad.
I’ll show up here and there,
When enough is what you’ve had.I’m salty and warm,
I might be big or small.
Sometimes when you’re strong,
I don’t come up at all.I fill your eyes with moisture,
I roll down your cheek.
Sometimes I mean joyous,
Sometimes I mean weak.Sometimes when you’re scared,
I come as a sign of fear.
You can feel when I’m coming,
Whether far or near.I may come along
When you hear your favorite song.
Sometimes I show up
When you’ve been strong for too long.I know you want to fly away.
I know inside you’re a mess.
You long for a brighter day.
Tears are words the heart can’t express.by Whitney Fancher
18. Differences
We all come warmly from the womb,
Unprinted pages to be filled.
Brought forth upon the stage of life
On which our character starts to build.Day by day and step by step,
We begin to fit into a mold,
Created by our way of life,
Accepting stories we’ve been told.Every culture forms its shackles,
Binding those that live within.
Boundaries set by age-old rules
Is where prejudice will begin.Few are those who will accept
The differences of all mankind.
The uniqueness making each one special
Is not the quest most seek to find.It sometimes seems no one remembers
That God is the Father of us all.
We are equal in His sight,
From the mighty to the small.The Golden Age will never come,
Nor will there be a lasting peace
Until love replaces hatred.
Then all differences will cease.by Alora M. Knight
18 Compassion Poems – To be compassionate is to show empathy and to be attentive to people. To be compassionate is to give a second chance to mankind, even though they do not deserve it.
The kindness displayed by being compassionate will extend; there is still this kindness, albeit often difficult to find. Hope these words strengthens you, share this with friends and family.
Dailytimespoems
