Five poems of comfort for those grieving a loss

She is Gone (He is Gone) – David Harkins

"You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she has lived"

David Harkins' verse was famously read aloud at the funeral of the Queen Mother. It asks the reader to consider their fortune at having known the departed and focus on cherishing the happy memories that will endure.

While doing this this can seem difficult when grief is recent, with time this approach can provide perspective that soothes and offers comfort.

Click on Read She is Gone (He is Gone) by David Harkins

All is Well – Henry Scott Holland

"Death is nothing at all,I have only slipped into the next room"

This poem emphasises the fact that death has no effect on how we feel about those who are gone – we continue to love them regardless. "Whatever we were to each other, that we are still," says Holland.

Memorialising the special bond, we had with the departed may not lessen the loss we feel, but the subtle shift of focus can ease the pain we feel.

Click on Read All is Well by Henry Scott Holland

Consolation - Robert Louis Stevenson

"Push gaily on, strong heart! The while
You travel forward mile by mile,
He loiters with a backward smile"

Stevenson's approach takes inspiration from religion without alienating those who do not share such beliefs. His narrator encourages the bereaved by intimating that, in life's journey we are all heading in the same direction – some of us are simply further ahead and waiting for our friends and loved ones.

Click on Read Consolation by Robert Louis Stevenson

When I'm Gone - Mrs. Lyman Hancock

"When I come to the end of my journey
And I travel my last weary mile
Just forget if you can, that I ever frowned
And remember only the smile"

In this beautiful poem of remembrance Hancock's narrator uses understated humour to encourage the reader to remember her only at her best.

This wish is extended to the act of grieving; "forget to grieve for my going", she requests, asking us to instead reminisce about happy times. Presenting words of solace in the voice of the dead has the effect of making them seem more authentic, and therefore more comfortable to digest for the recently bereaved.

Click on Read When I'm Gone by Mrs. Lyman Hancock .

A Happy Man - Edwin Arlington Robinson

"Children that I leave behind,
And their children, all were kind;
Near to them and to my wife,
I was happy all my life"

The satisfaction of having left a legacy is the theme of Robinson's poem. His narrator has passed on but feels no sadness because he's content to have lived a happy life with those he loved.

Acknowledging the sense of contentment that comes with a life well lived can provide some comfort to those left behind.

Click on Read A Happy Man by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Source: https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/blog/poems-comfort-loss-grieving-friend-loved-one/208170

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