Famous Poetry About Dying – 10 Poems to Help When Someone Is Gone

Famous poetry about dying is painful and emotional but it gives you the courage to overcome death.

Poetry can sometimes help in dealing with grief and loss. The poems here may bring solace and comfort.

They may also put into words some of the most difficult and painful emotions and feelings associated with death and bereavement.

The first poem, “Yesterday” has a feeling and this poem seemed to illustrate one’s spirituality.

1. Title: “Requiem”

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave, where I’ll finally lie.
Gladly did I live, and gladly die,
Laid down with purpose, beneath the sky.

This verse, inscribe it, clear and free:
Here rests one where longing led me.
Home is the sailor, back from the sea,
The hunter’s return, from the hill so free.

Beneath the vast expanse above,
A peaceful grave, my final alcove.
Gladly I lived, embraced the thrill,
Laid to rest, with a tranquil will.

Under the wide and starry sky,
Here lies one who soared up high.
Homecoming for the sailor and the hill,
A final rest, calm and still.

2. Title: “A Happy Man”

As you read through, take heed,
Traveller, no pity for me I need.
Though among the departed I reside,
No mournful words, let them subside.

Children I leave and their offspring too,
Kindness in their hearts, love they strew.
Close to them and my cherished wife,
Contentment flowed through my earthly life.

I wedded my three sons just right,
Rocked their sons in the peaceful night.
Neither death nor sorrow dared to impose,
No room for a single unhappy prose.

Now, with no call for sorrowful tears,
They leave me, carried by the years,
To my rest, in quiet slumber,
In the land of eternal peace, I lumber.

3. Title: “A Farewell”

Cascade, cold rivulet, toward the sea,
Let your waves of tribute be free.
No longer shall my steps with thee align,
For now and forever, our paths decline.

Softly flow, through lawn and lea,
Transforming a rivulet to a river, be free.
Yet never again shall my steps trace,
A divergence marked, in time and space.

Yet, here shall sigh the alder tree,
And the aspen’s leaves, with a shiver free.
Beside you, the bee will hum and hover,
For now and forever, our paths uncover.

A myriad of suns shall cast their gleam,
And moons will dance in a celestial dream.
But never again shall my steps rove,
For now and forever, a different trove.

4. Title: “Afternoon in February”

The day concludes,
Night’s veil imbues.
The marsh is frozen,
The river still, unchosen.

Through ash-like clouds,
The red sun shrouds.
On village panes,
A crimson stain remains.

Bells peal in solemnity,
Every emotion in unity.
Within me, responses swell,
To the mournful knell.

Shadows trailing near,
Heart lamenting, a somber sear.
Tolling within, a mournful spell,
Echoing like a funeral bell.

5. Title: “Sympathy”

My joy dances with your ecstasy,
In divine sympathy, a melody.
The smiles adorning your lips,
Reflect as sentinels on mine, in eclipse.

Your slightest sigh resonates,
I shudder with your pain, shared fates.
And every tear descending,
In my heart, like bitter rain, is blending.

In the dance of joy and sweet despair,
We share emotions, a tender pair.
Echoing laughter, echoing strife,
Entwined in the tapestry of our shared life.

A symphony of feelings, intertwined,
Our souls, in unity, aligned.
Through highs and lows, we remain,
Bound together, through joy and pain.

6. Title: “On the Death”

Little joy in life I find,
Little terror in the grave confined.
I’ve seen the parting hour unfold,
Of one I’d have died to hold.

Calmly watching each fading breath,
Wishing each sigh is the end, like death.
Yearning for the shadow cast,
Over beloved features unsurpassed.

The cloud, the stillness that would sever,
Life’s dearest part, endeavor.
Then, thanking God deep within,
Though hope and glory had grown thin.

Acknowledging loss vast and profound,
Alone in the tempest, weary and unbound.
Benighted, tossed in life’s cruel strife,
Yet, thanking God for each breath of life.

7. Title: “Requiescat”

Tread lightly, she’s close,
Under the snow’s silent repose.
Speak gently, she can hear,
The daisies whisper, oh, so near.

Once with bright golden hair,
Now touched by rust, a silent despair.
Youthful and fair in days of yore,
Now, she’s dust, forevermore.

Lily-like, pure as driven snow,
Hardly aware she began to grow.
A woman she became, yet sweetly,
Unfolding like petals, discreetly.

Peace, she hears not lyre or sonnet,
Life’s entirety beneath the earth, upon it.
All that I am, lies buried here,
Heap earth upon it, make it disappear.

8. Title: “Crossing the Bar”

Sunset and the evening star,
A clear call echoes from afar.
No moaning at the bar, I plea,
As I set sail upon the sea.

A tide, moving like a tranquil dream,
Full and silent, no sound or gleam.
What emerged from the boundless deep,
Returns home, where memories keep.

Twilight and the evening bell,
Then darkness, a story to tell.
May there be no sadness, I remark,
As I embark on the journey so dark.

From our temporal bounds, I trace,
May the flood not take me far in its embrace.
Hoping to meet my Pilot, strong and true,
When I’ve crossed the bar, bid adieu.

9. Title: “Heaven’s Rocking Chair”

In Heaven, are there rocking chairs,
For little babies, free from cares?
Do angels cradle you with grace,
Rocking gently, in a warm embrace?

Do they speak in baby’s playful tone,
To elicit smiles, all on your own?
And sing the lullabies so sweet,
Like the ones I sang, a memory fleet?

My heart aches for you, my dear,
An angel child, so crystal clear.
Your presence brought joy, so sincere,
In the short time that you were near.

I believe you’re in a place so divine,
In God’s tender care, where angels shine.
Each night, in dreams, I rock you close,
A heartfelt connection, love that engross.

10. Title: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.

Since then ’tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity.

Is there any poem here that helped you cope? Kindly share your thoughts in the comment section. You can also share these poems with your friends.