> Funeral Poems > Sorry For Your Loss Poems
The Best 10 Sorry For Your Loss Poems
This collection features Sorry For Your Loss Poems, specifically chosen for those expressing sympathy during times of grief. These verses speak to the universal experience of loss, providing a verbal embrace in the face of shared sorrow. For those tasked with reading at a funeral or memorial service, the poems listed here offer words that can articulate condolences and acknowledge the deep sense of loss that accompanies the passing of a loved one.
Looking for a Funeral Director?
Contact someone today
1) Funeral Blues
Author: W.H. Auden
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West.
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
The poem conveys a sense of deep sorrow and regret, making it fitting for expressing sympathy and condolences.
Read more about this poem
2) God Saw You Getting Tired
Author: Rhonda Braswell
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
God saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be
So He put His arms around you
And whispered ‘Come with Me.’
With tearful eyes
We watched you suffer
And saw you fade away,
Although we loved you dearly
We could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard working hands at rest,
God broke our hearts to prove
He only takes the best.
It’s lonesome here without you,
We miss you more each day,
Life doesn’t seem the same
Since you’ve gone away.
When days are sad and lonely
And everything goes wrong,
We seem to hear you whisper
‘Cheer up and carry on.’
Each time we see your picture,
You seem to smile and say
‘Don’t cry, I’m in God’s keeping
We’ll meet again someday.’
You never said ‘I’m leaving’,
You never said goodbye,
You were gone before we knew it,
And only God knew why.
A million times we needed you,
A million times we cried,
If love alone could have saved you,
You never would have died.
In life we loved you dearly,
In death we love you still ,
In our hearts you hold a place,
That no one could ever fill.
It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you didn’t go alone,
For part of us went with you,
The day God took you home.
The poem conveys a sense of deep sorrow and regret, making it fitting for expressing sympathy and condolences.
Read more about this poem
3) Fare Thee Well
Author: Lord Byron
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
Fare thee well! and if for ever,
Still for ever, fare thee well:
Even though unforgiving, never
‘Gainst thee shall my heart rebel.
Would that breast were bared before thee
Where thy head so oft hath lain.
While that placid sleep came o’er thee
Which thou ne’er canst know again;
Would that breast, by thee glanced over,
Every inmost thought could show!
Then thou wouldst at last discover
‘Twas not well to spurn it so.
Though the world for this commend thee–
Though it smile upon the blow,
Even its praises must offend thee,
Founded on another’s woe:
Though my many faults defaced me,
Could no other arm be found,
Than the one which once embraced me,
To inflict a cureless wound?
Yet, oh yet, thyself deceive not;
Love may sink by slow decay,
But by sudden wrench, believe not
Hearts can thus be torn away:
Still thine own its life retaineth,
Still must mine, though bleeding, beat;
And the undying thought which paineth
Is – that we no more may meet.
These are words of deeper sorrow
Than the wail above the dead;
Both shall live, but every morrow
Wake us from a widow’d bed.
And when thou wouldst solace gather,
When our child’s first accents flow,
Wilt thou teach her to say ‘Father!’
Though his care she must forego?
When her little hands shall press thee,
When her lip to thine is press’d
Think of him whose prayer shall bless thee,
Think of him thy love had bless’d!
Should her lineaments resemble
Those thou never more may’st see,
Then thy heart will softly tremble
With a pulse yet true to me.
All my faults perchance thou knowest,
All my madness none can know;
All my hopes where’er thou goest,
Wither, yet with thee they go.
Every feeling hath been shaken;
Pride, which not a world could bow,
Bows to thee–by thee forsaken,
Even my soul forsakes me now:
But ’tis done–all words are idle
Words from me are vainer still;
But the thoughts we cannot bridle
Force their way without the will.
Fare thee well! thus disunited,
Torn from every nearer tie
Sear ‘d in heart, and lone, and blighted,
More than this I scarce can die.
The poem is a lamentation for a lost love and expresses the sorrow and pain of separation.
Read more about this poem
4) Elegy On Thyrza
Author: Lord Byron
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
And thou art dead, as young and fair
As aught of mortal birth;
And forms so soft and charms so rare
Too soon return'd to Earth!
Though Earth received them in her bed,
And o'er the spot the crowd may tread
In carelessness or mirth,
There is an eye which could not brook
A moment on that grave to look.
I will not ask where thou liest low
Nor gaze upon the spot;
There flowers and weeds at will may grow
So I behold them not:
It is enough for me to prove
That what I loved and long must love
Like common earth can rot;
To me there needs no stone to tell
'Tis Nothing that I loved so well.
Yet did I love thee to the last,
As fervently as thou
Who didst not change through all the past
And canst not alter now.
The love where Death has set his seal
Nor age can chill, nor rival steal,
Nor falsehood disavow:
And, what were worse, thou canst not see
Or wrong, or change, or fault in me.
The better days of life were ours;
The worst can be but mine:
The sun that cheers, the storm that lours
Shall never more be thine.
The silence of that dreamless sleep
I envy now too much to weep;
Nor need I to repine
That all those charms have pass'd away
I might have watch'd through long decay.
The flower in ripen'd bloom unmatch'd
Must fall the earliest prey;
Though by no hand untimely snatch'd,
The leaves must drop away.
And yet it were a greater grief
To watch it withering, leaf by leaf,
Than see it pluck'd to-day;
Since earthly eye but ill can bear
To trace the change from foul to fair.
I know not if I could have borne
To see thy beauties fade;
The night that follow'd such a morn
Had worn a deeper shade:
Thy day without a cloud hath past,
And thou wert lovely to the last,
Extinguish'd, not decay'd;
As stars that shoot along the sky
Shine brightest as they fall from high.
As once I wept if I could weep,
My tears might well be shed
To think I was not near, to keep
One vigil o'er thy bed:
To gaze, how fondly! on thy face,
To fold thee in a faint embrace,
Uphold thy drooping head;
And show that love, however vain,
Nor thou nor I can feel again.
Yet how much less it were to gain,
Though thou hast left me free,
The loveliest things that still remain
Than thus remember thee!
The all of thine that cannot die
Through dark and dread Eternity
Returns again to me,
And more thy buried love endears
Than aught except its living years.
The poem captures the speaker's sorrow and grief over Thyrza's death, making it a fitting choice for expressing condolences and sympathy to someone who has lost a loved one.
Read more about this poem
5) Sentiments Of Grief
Author: Lisa Lopresti
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
Only in loss,
do we understand value.
Tears are the words,
we cannot speak,
of the pain and shock of what has
happened and the loss of whatever will.
Our mourning is our love,
unable to reach you.
We miss the future,
you were supposed to have.
Our grief changes over time,
but never will it end.
The poem focuses on expressing the pain and shock experienced after losing a loved one, making it a fitting choice for conveying sympathy and condolences.
Read more about this poem
6) The Dash
Author: Linda Ellis
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end
He noted that first came her date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But she said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
The poem's reflection on the worth of life and the importance of how one lives can serve as a comforting message to those grieving.
Read more about this poem
7) Of Joy And Sorrow
Author: Khalil Gibran
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter‘s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with
knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which
has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you
are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, ―Joy is greater than sorrow,‖ and others say, ―Nay, sorrow is the
greater.‖ But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that
the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your
joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
The poem's exploration of sorrow can resonate with those who are grieving, offering some comfort and understanding.
Read more about this poem
8) Please Don't Go
Author: James Wilhoite
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
I have loved you
too much
I guess when we
love each other
We sometimes argue
and fight
I love you too deeply
So please don't
argue or fight
Don't let things
get in our way
Don't walk away
from our love
Give me a chance
to love you
Give me that chance
to say I am sorry
Don't just walk away
from me
Don't fight and argue
with me.
I love you deeply
and please don't go
Don't argue with me
or fight with me
You are the only
one I have
And the only
thing to love
So please stay with me
Don't just walk away
Give me that chance
to love you
Give me that chance
to say that I am sorry.
Please say that you
love me too.
Please love me forever
and don't walk away.
I will always love
you no matter what.
I LOVE YOU!
The poem conveys a sense of regret and the desire to apologize, making it fitting for expressing sympathy and sorrow for a loss.
Read more about this poem
9) We Saw You Getting Tired
Author: Frances and Kathleen Coelho
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
We saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be –
So I put my arms around you
And whispered, you’re safe with me.
With tearful eyes I watched you suffer
And saw you fade away –
Although I loved you dearly
I could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating
Your beautiful smile at rest –
Life broke my heart that day
When time took one of the best.
It’s lonesome here without you
I miss you so each day –
My life just isn’t the same
Ever since you went away.
When days are sad and lonely
And everything goes wrong –
I imagine you gently whispering,
Cheer up and carry on.
Each time I see your picture
You seem to smile and say –
Don’t cry, I live on in your heart
And will do every day.
The poem acknowledges the pain of losing a loved one and offers comforting words, making it suitable for expressing sympathy.
Read more about this poem
10) Time Does Not Bring Relief
Author: Edna St. Vincent Millay
Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as poems are sometimes tailored/personalised.
Time does not bring relief; you all have lied
Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
I want him at the shrinking of the tide;
The old snows melt from every mountain-side,
And last year's leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last year's bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go - so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, 'There is no memory of him here!'
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.
The poem's expression of deep sorrow and the struggle to move on resonates with those who wish to express their condolences.
Read more about this poem
See 14 more Sorry For Your Loss Poems
Funeral Blues
God Saw You Getting Tired
Fare Thee Well
Elegy On Thyrza
Sentiments Of Grief
The Dash
Of Joy And Sorrow
Please Don't Go
We Saw You Getting Tired
Time Does Not Bring Relief
But Not Forgotten
I Wish I Knew
Remember Me - Do Not Shed Tears
Goodbye
You Meant So Much
Death Is Nothing At All
When We Lose A Loved One
Weep Not For Me
Now You're Gone Poem
Memories Short Poem
Let It Be Gone
It's Strange
If I Should Go Tomorrow
Don't Remember Me With Sadness
God Saw You Getting Tired
Fare Thee Well
Elegy On Thyrza
Sentiments Of Grief
The Dash
Of Joy And Sorrow
Please Don't Go
We Saw You Getting Tired
Time Does Not Bring Relief
But Not Forgotten
I Wish I Knew
Remember Me - Do Not Shed Tears
Goodbye
You Meant So Much
Death Is Nothing At All
When We Lose A Loved One
Weep Not For Me
Now You're Gone Poem
Memories Short Poem
Let It Be Gone
It's Strange
If I Should Go Tomorrow
Don't Remember Me With Sadness
Main Categories
See popular categories below
Popular Poems
See popular Poems below