Grief Poems Quotes

“My sorrow starts as a steady stream
until the tears run like rapids,
spilling . . .
bursting . . .
gushing . . .

And I can’t dam the grief because, you see, there are things I should’ve told you.”
― Shayla Raquel, All the Things I Should've Told You: Poems on Love, Grief & Resilience

“Procession by Stewart Stafford

Stop me carrying the burden alone,
For I cannot bear the crushing weight,
Put your arm around me as I reciprocate,
Together, we will walk the needed steps.

If our shoulders shudder, we will steady,
You will help me as I will help you,
Together, as one, we shall go forward,
One foot in front of the other.

When the strain grows too great,
We will lay our mighty cross down,
An altar coffin, and genuflecting,
Rejoin the mourning congregation.

© Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“The Master Plan by Stewart Stafford

Do you choose to lose yourself
In grief’s planetoid hinterlands,
Discarding every gift given
By loved ones in preparation?
Wade through marsh and swamp,
The world turns for mogul and meagre.

Burdened down by survivor's guilt,
Unspoken words, unfinished deeds,
A wandering, teetering flagellant,
Haunted by what should have been.
You were and are loved, not begrudged,
Olympic torch bravery delighting others.

Familiar hands on marathon's shore,
Offer self-medicating cocktails,
To numb the Captain to his storm,
Resist to avoid addiction's reefs,
Resolve to endure whatever comes.

We are driftwood, seedpods,
Blind to windswept grand design.
And the most important decision,
Who to pass trust's baton to?
We must not believe our eyes,
As all we see is weaponised.

Human instinct,
A mighty shield unseen,
Guiding us through,
Where we dare not lean.
The path of fearlessness,
A paradox in itself;
A source of fear,
Inside a shipyard of hope.

In dreamlike audacity,
grasp destiny with barriers lifted,
clothed in courage’s cloak.
Grieve,
Emerge transformed,
Octopus ink to glowing algae,
Knowing others will come,
To complete our healing.

Our plotted course continues,
Until privy to the master plan,
At last, upon the inverse shore,
As loved ones congratulate.

© 2024, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford