Expressing sympathy can come in many different forms. Sometimes the best way to do so is through a poem or poetry. A touching or beautiful poem can help to feel better about your loss, can be used in a sympathy card to express condolence to someone, and poetry is likely to be well received by friends and family alike.

You can use these sympathy poems in any way you choose – as a comfort to yourself during tough times or as a means to help and console loved ones and friends who have lost someone special to them.

(Click on the images to make them larger)

Short Sympathy Poems

Sadly missed along life’s way,
quietly remembered every day.
No longer in our life to share,
but in our hearts, you’re always there.

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If I should go before you,
I’ll still be there with you,
As every golden memory
Gives comfort, to see you through.

If I should go before you,
You’ll always have my love,
And we’ll be together again,
We two, in heaven above.

~ Joanna Fuchs

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Those we love remain with us
For love itself lives on,
And cherished memories never fade
Because a loved one’s gone.
Those we love can never be
More than a thought apart,
Far as long as there is memory,
They’ll live on in the heart.

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Although no words can really help
to ease the loss you bear,
Just know that you are very close
in every thought and prayer.

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Those we love don’t go away,
They walk beside us every day,
Unseen, unheard, but always near,
Still loved, still missed and very dear.

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Your life was full of loving deeds,
Forever thoughtful of our special needs,
Today and tomorrow, my whole life through,
I will always love and cherish you

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We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday.
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories.
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake.
With which we’ll never part.
God has you in his keeping.
We have you in our heart.

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The tide recedes but leaves behind
bright seashells on the sand.
The sun goes down, but gentle
warmth still lingers on the land.
The music stops, and yet it echoes
on in sweet refrains…
For every joy that passes,
something beautiful remains.

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I wrote your name in the sand,
but the waves washed it away.
I wrote your name in the sky,
but the wind blew it away.
So I wrote your name in my heart,
and that’s where it will stay, always

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Sympathy Poems for a Friend

Your loss is your whole world today;
Your hurt feelings will not go away;
If you’re needing a friend,
On whom you’ll depend,
Call me anytime, any day.

I’m thinking of you, and I care;
If you have feelings you’re wanting to share,
Just give me a ring;
We’ll discuss everything;
When you need me, I’ll always be there.

~ Joanna Fuchs

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When you miss him/her,
we’re with you in spirit,
wondering how you feel,
hoping you’re coping,
and getting a little better each day.
We understand. We care.
When you’re grieving,
we’re beside you,
in our hearts, in our thoughts,
we’re sending you sympathy,
encouragement, affection,
and strength to carry on with life.
He/she would want it that way.

~ Joanna Fuchs

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No one can know just what you’ve lost;
No one can understand the cost;
But when you feel your energy drain,
Please count on us to help ease your pain.

Let us help you cope with grief;
We hope with time you’ll feel relief.
We can’t replace the one who’s gone,
But let our concern help you carry on.

~ Joanna and Karl Fuchs

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You are in our thoughts
as you find your way though this.
We are praying for your healing,
with the passage of time.
We know you miss him/her;
we send our understanding
and consolation.
Know that the strain, the pain,
will eventually ease.
May your pleasant memories
sustain and comfort you.
You are in our thoughts.

~ Joanna Fuchs

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Remember that your loss is shared by many friends who care
and that you’re in our thoughts and hearts and in our every prayer
May you find the courage to face tomorrow in the love that surrounds you today.

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They say this, too, shall pass,
They say grief eventually fades.
But those sayings are of little comfort
When you’re living through such sad days.

They say that time heals all,
And this much I know is true.
So hang in there, my dearest friend,
And together we’ll see this through

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Sympathy Poems for Loss of Father

Dad, our sadness knows no end;
We can’t believe you’re gone;
We’re grieving for you every day;
It’s hard to carry on.

You were always there to support and care,
When we needed a true friend,
How we’ll ever do without our dad,
We cannot comprehend.

You were our teacher and our guide,
Our dad, so good and strong;
Your example will sustain us now,
And last our whole lives long.

We’re trying to communicate;
We hope that you can hear;
Expressing what we feel for you,
Helps us feel you’re near.

Our memories of the times we had
Help the pain to go away.
But Dad, our lives won’t be the same;
We’ll miss you every day.

A part of us went with you;
You left a gap too big to fill;
You’re our father and our hero;
We love you and we always will.

~ Joanna Fuchs

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A limb has fallen from the family tree.
I keep hearing a voice that says, “Grieve not for me”.
Remember the best times, the laughter, the song.
The good life I lived while I was strong.
Continue my heritage, I’m counting on you.
Keep smiling and surely the sun will shine through.
My mind is at ease, my soul is at rest.
Remembering all, how I truly was blessed.
Continue traditions, no matter how small.
Go on with your life, don’t worry about falls
I miss you all dearly, so keep up your chin.
Until the day comes we’re together again.

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We’ll always remember
that special smile,
that caring heart,
that warm embrace,
you always gave us.
You being there
for Mom and us,
through good and bad times,
no matter what.
We’ll always remember
you Dad because
they’ll never be another one
to replace you in our hearts,
and the love we will always
have for you.

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Have you seen my Daddy?
I don’t know where he’s gone
Sometimes it hurts so much
I can’t seem to carry on.

I hear he doesn’t look quite the same
He doesn’t need much rest
The IV and medications are all gone
In fact, he looks his best

Is he playing tag with his parents?
In that place way up high?
Or is he napping in God’s garden
Where the beautiful in hammocks lie?

Some say he is always watching
I hope this to be true
And that one day he’ll return to me
And say, “I’ve come for you”

Have you seen my Daddy?
I imagine he’s doing okay
Though it hurts to know
I can’t call him every day.

I really miss my Daddy
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye
It will never be the same
Years from now, I know I’ll cry

I bet God is with my Daddy
Wrapped up in His arms
Sheltered from all illness and sorrow
Keeping him from harm

I bet he sees us mourning
But would want us to smile
And tell us our time apart
Is only a little while

I’ll never quite understand
Why your time here was so small
But you said you’ll always be there
To catch me when I fall

I miss you so much Daddy
But I hope and pray
That when it’s my time you’ll come for me
I’ll see you again someday

I guess it was meant to be
That your work here on Earth was done
Now your life in paradise
Has only just begun

Tears that I weep and prayers
Will hopefully travel very far
To reach my loving daddy
Sitting among the stars

Christina Caburnay

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Sympathy Poems for Loss of Mother

If roses grow in heaven,
Lord please pick a bunch for me,
Place them in my Mother’s arms
and tell her they’re from me.

Tell her I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for a while.

Because remembering her is easy,
I do it every day,
but there’s an ache within my heart
that will never go away.

Dolores M. Garcia

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Mother, you were just a girl,
So many years ago.
You had your loves and had your dreams,
You watched us come and go.

You watched us make the same mistakes,
That you had made before,
But that just made you hold us tight,
And love us all the more.

We haven’t always thought about
The things that you have seen.
To us you’ve just been ‘Mother’,
No thought of who you’ve been.

But we remember now in love,
Your life from start to end,
And we’re just glad we knew you,
As Mother, and as Friend.

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Our hearts are filled with memories, our eyes are full of tears.
Our lives are filled with missing you, each day throughout the years.
We pray you found the peace in death you couldn’t find on earth.
We hope we became the people you prayed for at our birth.
Each Mothers Day your love lives on, in our hearts & minds.
Each and every day our love goes on, for it’s the tie that binds.
Your inspiration led us on, pursuing happiness.

Lesley Woodrow Gibson

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I awake each morning to start a new day
But the pain of losing you never goes away.
I go about the things I have to do
And as the hours pass I think again of you.
I want to call you and just hear your voice
Then I remember that I have no choice
For you are not there and now my heart cries
Just to see you again to tell you goodbye
To say Mama I love you and I always will
And hope that much of you, in me you’ve instilled.
The day that you left I just didn’t know
That you were going where I couldn’t go.
And now all my memories of you are so dear
But gosh, how I miss you and wish you were here.
Who now can hear me when I need to cry?
It so hard to tell you “Mama goodbye.”
Someday I know all will be well
And I’ll see you again with stories to tell
Of how you were missed and how we have grown
And how good it is to finally be home.
Until then my memories of you I’ll keep near
And I’ll pass them on to those who are dear.

Claudia Lee

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Sympathy Poems for Loss of Wife

I have fought the feelings
And emotions inside
That fills and empties me,
Like a fast rolling tide.

There are moments of pain,
Of sorrow and hate,
Leaving me to ponder
Many hours of late.

I love you, honey.
It’s your presence I miss.
And I terribly long
For that one last kiss.

But the greatest pain of all
That hurts me so deep,
Is after giving you my love
I can’t have yours to keep.

To have you by my side
Always longing for more,
And have you feel the same,
To mutually adore.

You see, my love, I have given you my heart
And revealed the depths of my soul,
And now I am left feeling hopelessly empty,
Paying this immeasurable toll.

It’s selfish, I know
To feel this way,
But it’s how I feel
Each and every day

Always hoping and praying
For the next time we meet
For you to allow me, once again
To feel complete.

And rest assured,
I WILL see you again,
For it’s not a question of if,
But a question of when.

And when that time comes
I’ll be in total bliss,
For no longer will I wait
For that one last kiss.

Marty Pijanowski

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Realizing my innermost fears,
Choking back the steady stream of tears.
Not knowing your time had come,
Without you I feel so numb.

Just a whisper in the breeze,
Brought my world down to its knees.
The day that you were called away,
Paradise is where you now stay.

When the days do come to pass,
I’ll call upon your bed of grass.
Comfort inside knowing you’re there,
Looking up at my vacant stare.

The silence I exchange with thee,
Speaks volumes, I’m sure this you’ll see.
My shadow it casts across your grave,
While I stand so lonely, I stand so brave.

Now the days they seem so long,
In my arms is where you belong.
I close my eyes and hear you speak,
You call my name, my legs grow weak.

Together we promised that we would grow old,
We thought our happiness would never unfold.
I’ll kneel at your feet with my head hung low,
Thoughts in my mind, which you already know.

This quality time with you I spend,
Will hopefully help my broken heart mend.
Feeling guilty when I turn to leave,
Returning home, I continue to grieve.

When my term approaches death,
Time to exhale one final breath.
I wonder if others will fall to their knees,
When my name whispers in the breeze.

Greg McVicker

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We have many women who make up our lives
Mother, sister, grandmother and daughter
But the one that we call wife is the one
who we attach our heart and live as one
With the solemn oath that until death do we part

God gives us many gifts in life, parents, children
even friends; But the special gift is in a blessed
union to the one true love of our lives
That is the one that we call wife

Lucky is the man who finds that special woman
The one true love from which all love springs
The joy of children that we call our own
I am so grateful for that one woman I found
That I chose to be my wife

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Sympathy Poems for Loss of Husband

He’s only gone on ahead of you,
Not just left you behind.
Although you can’t be with him right now,
He lives on in your heart and mind.

The day will come when you’ll meet again
On Heaven’s distant shore,
And the two of you will walk hand in hand
Together forever more.

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I have only just lost you; the pain is hard to bear.
Do I have to go through life knowing you’re not there?
Please, someone explain to me why he had to go.
Are there any reasons I really need to know?
I sit here and remember all the lovely times we shared,
the talks, the laughter, of everyone you cared.
I am told the pain will ease in time
and I will think of him without a tear,
but that will be impossible as I need to have him here.
He was my very world, my ever guiding star.
Just kiss me softly on the cheek and tell me where you are.

Anne Spiller

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Grief Poems

They say I’m sorry for your loss
They say your heart will mend
They say you’re in a better place,
and death is not the end.

They say you’re reunited
with loved ones gone before.
They say that you’ll be waiting
when I walk through heaven’s door.

I feel their love in every word
of comfort they impart,
and know that each is spoken
from deep within the heart.

But all the words of comfort,
though kind, sincere, and true,
can’t take away the emptiness
I’m feeling without you.

Famous Condolence Poems

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 forever?

They weep – you weep – it must be so;
Winds sigh as you are sighing,
And Winter sheds his grief in snow
Where Autumn’s leaves are lying:
Yet these revive, and from their fate
Your fate cannot be parted,
Then journey on, if not elate,
Still, never broken-hearted!

Emily Jane Brontë

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Remember

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann’d:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Christina Rosetti

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There Is No Night Without a Dawning

There is no night without a dawning,
No winter without a spring;
And beyond death’s dark horizon
Our hearts, once more, will sing

For those who leave us for a while
have only ‘gone away’
Out of a restless, careworn world
Into a brighter day.

Helen Steiner Rice

Sources: Poemsource.com