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Sympathy Poems

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Sympathy poems are expressive and profound. They may be the perfect thing to help you express your heart in a letter, on a sympathy card or along with a sympathy gift.


These are poems can be used in a variety of ways to comfort and support a grieving loved one. Print sympathy poems onto nice card stock or stationery and insert into a sympathy card. You can also use them to make a special handmade gift or scrapbook page.

An easy handmade sympathy gift can be made by framing a poem in a picture frame and placing the person’s picture on the other side.
Sympathy poems can also be used on online memorial tributes. Most memorial websites offer the option to upload a picture, select a song and a special message. Oftentimes, it’s hard to think of what else to write. Using a poem or verse can really tie it all together.
There are some general sympathy poems below or look at the following links for more specific poems.

More Poems:
Christian Sympathy Poems
Poems for Widows
Poems for Widowers
Child Bereavement Poems
Memorial Poems

Sympathy Poems Written from the Departed Loved One’s Perspective

I Did Not Die

This is a very well known and loved poem.

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn’s rain,
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
Author Unknown

Miss Me

Miss me, but let me go
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free
Miss me a little – but not too long
And not with your head bowed low
Remember the love that we once shared
Miss me – but let me go
For this is a journey that we must all take
And each must go alone
It’s all a part of the Master’s plan
A step on the road to home
When you are lonely, and sick of heart
Go to the friends we know
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds
Miss me – but let me go

Author Unknown

Death is Nothing

That we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes
We enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me,
Let my name be ever the household word that
It always was.
Let it be spoken without effort,
Without the trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am
Out of sight? I am but waiting for you
For an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner.
All is well.
Canon Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918)

Sympathy Poems for the Anniversary of Death

The following poems are good for all of those difficult days that someone may be grieving a loved one. Birthdays, holidays and especially the anniversary of the death can all be very difficult days.

Light a Candle

And I will light a candle for you.
To shatter all the darkness and bless the times we knew.
Like a beacon in the night
The flame will burn bright and guide us on our way.
Oh, today I light a candle for you.
The seasons come and go, and I’m weary from the change.
I keep on moving on, you know it’s not the same.
And when I’m walking all alone
Do you hear me call your name?
Do your hear me sing the songs we used to sing?
You filled my life with wonder, touched me with surprise,
Always saw that something special deep within your eyes.
And through the good times and the bad,
We carried on with pride.
I hold onto the love and life we knew.
And I will light a candle for you.
To shatter all the darkness and bless the times we knew.
Like a beacon in the night
The flame will burn bright and guide us on our way.
Oh, today I light a candle for you.
-Poem by Paul Alexander

I Thought of You Today

I thought of you with love today but that is nothing new
I thought about you yesterday and days before that too,
I think of you in silence I often speak your name
All I have are memories and your picture in a frame
Your memory is my keepsake with which I’ll never part
God has you in His keeping I have you in my heart.
-Poem by Nicholas Gordon

One Year Ago

One year ago you died, and still we mourn,
Nor will our mourning end till it be night,
Even as time turns our tears to light
Years hence, when this may be more easily borne.
Each moment of your passion and delight,
As clear as sunshine, bountiful and bright,
Remains our fortune now that you are gone.
-Poem by Nicholas Gordon

Weeks, months or even years after the funeral you can send an encouraging condolence poem to a grieving loved one. Let them know that you are thinking of them on a day that you know is difficult maybe a holiday or anniversary.