21 Sad Poems

A heartfelt collection of poems that reflect sorrow, healing, and hope.

Oh! why so sad this joyful day?

Short Poems & Quotes  |   Poems About Life   |   Sad Poems

Updated April 21, 2025, by Catherine Pulsifer



  1. Oh! Why So Sad?

    Poet: Mary C. Ryan

    Oh! why so sad this joyful day?
    Why weepest thou when all are gay?
    Their sweetest songs the birds now sing,
    With mirth glad nature's echoes ring,
    Vibrating joy from heart to heart
    Should bid thy sorrows now depart.
    Why still repine? Life is not long.
    Come join the happy, joyful throng.

    Thus friends oft come and kindly speak,
    But sorrow's chain they cannot break;
    For round my heart 'tis linked till death
    My soul shall free from this sad earth.
    The past and present o'er me blend,
    I long to see my journey's end;
    When silent voices I shall hear
    And kiss the lips, still true and dear.

    From love's bright garland, one by one,
    The fairest flowers soon were gone,
    But I've been left, their loss to weep,
    My lonely vigils e'er to keep.
    Then blame me not, if I am sad,
    My careworn heart cannot be glad.
    Lone in this world, who could remain
    Without e'er feeling lasting pain?




  2. This Shall Pass

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

    Never let the sadness of the day
    Carry on and bring you down in every way
    Remember the saying this shall pass
    Sadness is not meant to last.




  3. Remember the saying this shall pass Sadness is not meant to last.
    Poems Of Encouragement



  4. Do Not Ask Me

    Poet: Owen Darnell

    Do not ask me to remember,
    Don’t try to make me understand,
    Let me rest and know you’re with me,
    Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.

    I’m confused beyond your concept,
    I am sad and sick and lost.
    All I know is that I need you
    To be with me at all cost.

    Do not lose your patience with me,
    Do not scold or curse or cry.
    I can’t help the way I’m acting,
    Can’t be different though I try.

    Just remember that I need you,
    That the best of me is gone,
    Please don’t fail to stand beside me,
    Love me ’til my life is done.



  5. Please don’t fail to stand beside me, Love me ’til my life is done.
    Poetry about Life and Death


  6. In Prospect Of Death

    Poet: William Freeland

    When I shall die - and be it late or soon -
    Let merciful memories be my only shroud.

    Think me a light veiled in a mourning cloud;
    Living to knowledge, like a finished moon -

    Though nothing here, to other lands a boon:
    Nor let my death give triumph to the proud,

    By your weak tears: be happy with the crowd
    Who, spite of woe, are seldom out of tune.

    Wise in the common instinct, be ye glad:
    There's some redemption in the doom of death

    That cuts us from new sins - sweet mercy's plan.
    Yet, if for me you be sincerely sad,

    Do this sweet homage to my valued breath -
    Ease the sad burden of some living man!




  7. Ease the sad burden of some living man!
    Poems About Life Struggles



  8. My Little Comforter

    Poet: Arthur Franklin Fuller

    The gusty wind moaned sad and chill,
    The autumn sky was gray;
    But love can warm a longing heart,
    To hasten all the way.

    Her dear eyes with fulfillment shone -
    I clasped her to my breast -
    And on her soft, responsive lips
    A lover's kiss I pressed.

    How fast our happiest hours flash by;
    How deep is human bliss;
    In hours of woe, let's not forget
    The joys we did not miss.

    We talked, we laughed, we sung, we dreamed,
    Our inner selves communed;
    The future full of promise, seemed
    To music sweet attuned.

    I know not if her throbbing heart
    Shall beat again on mine,
    Or if her glowing face on me
    Will beam with love divine.

    I know not if these hungry arms
    Her form again shall hold -
    Nor if her clinging clasp shall me
    Within its circle fold.

    Though disappointments strew the way.
    And adverse things occur,
    Life's crazy patch-work is worth the while.
    Through comfort wrought by her.



  9. Though disappointments strew the way. And adverse things occur, Life's crazy patch-work is worth the while.
    Disappointment Poems


  10. My Childhood Home I See Again

    Poet: Abraham Lincoln

    My childhood's home I see again,
    And sadden with the view;
    And still, as memory crowds my brain,
    There's pleasure in it too.

    O Memory! thou midway world
    'Twixt earth and paradise,
    Where things decayed and loved ones lost
    In dreamy shadows rise,

    And, freed from all that's earthly vile,
    Seem hallowed, pure, and bright,
    Like scenes in some enchanted isle
    All bathed in liquid light.

    As dusky mountains please the eye
    When twilight chases day;
    As bugle-tones that, passing by,
    In distance die away;

    As leaving some grand waterfall,
    We, lingering, list its roar--
    So memory will hallow all
    We've known, but know no more.

    Near twenty years have passed away
    Since here I bid farewell
    To woods and fields, and scenes of play,
    And playmates loved so well.

    Where many were, but few remain
    Of old familiar things;
    But seeing them, to mind again
    The lost and absent brings.

    The friends I left that parting day,
    How changed, as time has sped!
    Young childhood grown, strong manhood gray,
    And half of all are dead.

    I hear the loved survivors tell
    How nought from death could save,
    Till every sound appears a knell,
    And every spot a grave.




  11. No Need For Sadness

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

    Each year we live becomes a part,
    Of memories treasured in our heart.
    Don’t let the number bring you fear,
    Be thankful for another year.

    No need for sadness, let joy begin,
    With each new day, let hope shine in.
    Aging brings lessons, tried and true,
    And shows the strength that lives in you.

    There’s beauty found in silver hair,
    In stories told and love we share.
    Each wrinkle holds a tale of grace,
    A life well-lived, no need to race.

    So smile today, let laughter stay,
    Let peace and kindness guide your way.
    For growing older is not a curse,
    It’s one more chapter in life’s verse.

    Embrace your age, both young and old,
    With hearts that cherish more than gold.
    And know that every stage we see,
    Is filled with love and meant to be.



  12. For growing older is not a curse, It’s one more chapter in life’s verse.
    Poems On Aging


  13. Don't Let Sadness And Worry

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

    Worry holds no benefit only shadows often play,
    Worry only serves to lead us far astray.
    Filling your mind with thoughts of what may never come to pass,
    It weaves a web of sorrow, a sadness class.

    Yet in its midst, a glimmer of hope shines bright,
    Action can transform the darkest night.
    Instead of dwelling on what might befall,
    Don't let sadness and worry be your downfall.

    When worries cloud the sky, take a proactive stance,
    Turn sadness into joy, and let life's dance enhance.
    With action, we conquer what fear may convey,
    And in the face of worry, action can make it go away.



  14. And in the face of worry, action can make it go away.
    Poems About Worry


  15. Anger Creates Sadness

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

    When it comes to anger, flames burn hot and bright,
    But heed this truth, for anger's not quite right.
    It hurts those around, like a tempest's fierce gale,
    Leaving behind sadness, like a mournful, woeful tale.

    With harsh words and actions, it wounds and scars,
    Leaving hearts in pieces, like shattered glass jars.
    Yet anger need not rule, we can find a way,
    Not to create sadness and ruin the day.

    Let kindness be your guide, in anger's stead,
    Speak with compassion, let empathy spread.
    For once anger's unleashed, it's hard to retract,
    So choose gentler paths to react.

    In the face of frustration, let patience bloom,
    Replace anger's thunder with a peaceful, soothing tune.
    Choose love over fury, let understanding be your guide,
    And in your heart, let forgiveness reside.



  16. Replace anger's thunder with a peaceful, soothing tune
    Poems About Anger


  17. In Hospital

    Poet: Lila R. Munro Tainter

    We lie outside in the sunshine
    On cots and on lounging chairs,
    And a few on canes and crutches
    Hobble painfully round in pairs.

    Many a window is open.
    O'er many the shades are drawn;
    We know what that means, we cripples
    Who lie in the sunshine and yawn.

    We struggle to keep up courage
    By gossip and jest and chaff,
    Though the laughter a joke arouses
    Is only the ghost of a laugh.

    We talk of battle and skirmish.
    But rarely of home and friends,
    A fellow has limitations
    And knows where his valor ends.

    The slender shapes of the palm-trees
    Silhouetted against the blue,
    And clumps of the Spanish bayonet,
    Rise endlessly on our view

    Till the glowing tropic landscape
    Is torture, and sad eyes search
    With a yearning past all telling
    For the sight of maple or birch.

    Sitting all day in the sunshine,
    Helpless and hopeless, - O God!
    And the end of living and loving, -
    A grave under foreign sod!




  18. Ups and Downs

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

    Life brings ups and downs
    When your up there are no frowns
    But when your down sadness you feel
    Accept the ups and downs they are real.




  19. He Passed Away

    Poet: Caleb Davis Bradlee

    Quickly he passed away from sight
    And left us all in grief,
    And at the darkest hour of night
    His spirit found relief!

    So hard and sad and sharp the blow,
    We hardly think it true;
    And with our hearts all filled with woe
    We feel rebellious too!

    But God knows best, his ways are just;
    We utter not a word!
    We cling to him with perfect trust,
    Our Maker and our Lord!

    Farewell, beloved, a long farewell;
    We'll miss you day by day,
    And God alone our grief can tell,
    And he its pain will stay!

    Safe now you are with dear ones gone!
    What greetings you have found!
    And, in the higher life new born,
    United anthems sound!

    We'll meet again, all free from care,
    'Where sickness is unknown ;
    We'll join again in praise and prayer
    Around the Father's throne!



  20. God knows best, his ways are just
    Christian Poems


  21. Sad Are The Hearts

    Poet: Caleb Davis Bradlee

    Sad are the hearts met here to-day,
    And heavy is our grief;
    Be thou, God, the light and way
    Unto a sure relief.

    In prime of life, at manhood's hour,
    This heavy blow has come;
    And parents dear did feel thy power,
    When thou didst call him home.

    They loved him much, they hardly know
    Why they should give him up!
    But wilt thou, Father, gently show
    How they shall drink the cup

    And let them look right through the gate
    That leads to Thee above;
    And may they sec his royal state
    All hallowed by thy love.

    And guardian angel let him be
    Over their home and heart;
    May he by thine all-wise decree,
    A daily grace impart.

    Let father, mother, brothers dear,
    All bow unto thy will;
    And calm each thought, and stay each fear,
    And speak thy "Peace, be still! "

    God, at last, unite us all
    Where no more tears are shed;
    And let thy love upon us fall;
    May we by grace be fed.




  22. Feel Sad

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

    When you feel sad
    Think of the times when you were glad
    Don't dwell on sadness
    Change your attitude and your focus




  23. Don't dwell on sadness Change your attitude and your focus
    Attitude Poems



  24. The Days That Are No More

    Poet: Alfred Tennyson

    Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean.
    Tears from the depth of some divine despair
    Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes.
    In looking on the happy autumn-fields.
    And thinking of the days that are no more.

    Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail.
    That brings our friends up from the under-world;
    Sad as the last which reddens over one
    That sinks with all we love below the verge;
    So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more.

    Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns
    The earliest pipe of half-awakened birds
    To dying ears, when unto dying eyes
    The casement slowly grows a glimmering square:
    So sad, so strange, the days that are no more.

    Dear as remembered kisses after death.
    And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feigned
    On lips that are for others; deep as love.
    Deep as first love, and wild with all regret, -
    O death in life, the days that are no more.




  25. Begin Again

    Poet: Susan Coolidge

    Every day is a fresh beginning.
    Every morn is the world made new;
    You who are weary of sorrow and sinning.
    Here is a beautiful hope for you -
    A hope for me and a hope for you.

    All the past things are past and over.
    The tasks are done and the tears are shed;
    Yesterday's errors let yesterday cover;
    Yesterday's wounds, which smarted and bled.
    Are healed with the healing which night has shed.

    Yesterday now is a part of forever.
    Bound up in a sheaf, which God holds tight;
    With glad days and sad days and bad days which never
    Shall visit us more with their bloom and their blight.
    Their fullness of sunshine or sorrowful night.

    Let them go, since we cannot relive them,
    Cannot undo, and cannot atone:
    God in His mercy, receive, forgive them;
    Only the new days are our own.
    Today is ours, and today alone.

    Here are the skies all burnished brightly.
    Here is the spent Earth all reborn.
    Here are the tired limbs springing lightly
    To face the sun and to share with the morn
    In the chrism of dew and the cool of dawn.

    Every day is a fresh beginning;
    Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain.
    And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning.
    And puzzles forecasted and possible pain.
    Take heart with the day, and begin again.



  26. Every day is a fresh beginning.
    Poems About New Beginnings


  27. Joy In The Day

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

    God tells us to find joy in the day
    Even if you feel sad in some way
    Joy can be found in your heart
    By doing this it will set you apart.




  28. Forgiveness

    Poet: John Greenleaf Whittier

    My heart was heavy, for its trust had been
    Abused, its kindness answered with foul wrong;
    So, turning gloomily from my fellow-men.
    One summer Sabbath day I strolled among
    The green mounds of the village burial-place;
    Where, pondering how all human love and hate
    Find one sad level; and how, soon or late.
    Wronged and wrongdoer, each with meekened face.
    And cold hands folded over a still heart.
    Pass the green threshold of our common grave.
    Whither all footsteps tend, whence none depart.
    Awed for myself, and pitying my race.
    Our common sorrow, like a mighty wave.
    Swept all my pride away, and, trembling, I forgave!




  29. Say Goodbye

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

    To say goodbye makes me feel so sad
    I wish you didn't have to go
    But when I see you again, oh, I will be so glad
    Sadness will leave and happiness will show.



  30. To say goodbye makes me feel so sad
    Goodbye Poems


  31. It Takes So Little

    Poet: Ida Goldsmith Morris

    It takes so little to make us sad;
    Just a slighting word or a doubting sneer,
    Just a scornful smile on some lips held dear,
    And our footsteps lag, though the goal seemed near,
    And we lose the courage and hope we had -
    So little it takes to make us sad.

    It takes so little to make us glad;
    Just the cheering clasp of a friendly hand,
    Just a word from one who can understand
    And we finish the task we long had planned,
    And we lose the doubt and the fear we had -
    So little it takes to make us glad.




  32. And we lose the doubt and the fear we had -So little it takes to make us glad.
    Poems About Fear



  33. Saddest Thoughts Make Sweetest Song

    Poet: G. W. Warder

    When the twilight shades are falling
    And the even-tide is near,
    Comes the voice of memory calling,
    Soft as falling of a tear;
    And from shadows dim and fleeting
    Come the saddest songs and greeting,
    Yet the sweetest that I hear.

    And I dream the olden dreaming
    In the gloaming by the way,
    And life's rosy-tinted gleaming
    Seems to crown the closing day;
    And my heart and brain and being
    Wrapt in visions I am seeing,
    Sad, yet brightest that I may!

    Oh, our saddest thoughts are sweetest!
    For they span a broader sea,
    Soaring eagle-winged and fleetest
    O'er the world of memory.
    Hope crowned, heavenward and untiring,
    To the good and loved aspiring,
    They are calling unto thee.

    Like the murmur of bright rivers
    In the Islands of the Blest,
    Where the solemn music quivers
    Like a birdling in its nest,
    Come the smiles of those who love us
    From the far-off heavens above us,
    And our saddest songs are best.


Related Pages:

Journey Of Life – Life is a journey filled with both joy and sorrow—these poems walk alongside our sad moments, just as life teaches us to keep going, one step at a time.

Funeral Poems – When sadness comes from saying goodbye, these funeral poems offer comfort and gentle words to help express what the heart may find hard to say.

A Letter From Heaven – Let this poem bring peace to heavy hearts, reminding us that love never truly ends—it simply lives on in a different way.

Poems About Happiness – Even in sadness, happiness is not lost—it waits quietly, ready to shine again. These poems offer a lift to the spirit when you need it most.

Health Quotes – Difficult times often affect our well-being; these uplifting quotes remind us that taking care of our health—body, mind, and soul—is part of the healing process.

Forget Me Not Poems – In moments of grief, these tender poems serve as gentle reminders that those we’ve loved are never truly gone—they live on in memory and heart.

Conclusion:

Sadness is something we all feel from time to time - it's part of being human. Whether it's the pain of loss, a difficult goodbye, or simply moments when life feels overwhelming, sadness reminds us of the depth of our emotions and the importance of healing.

This collection of sad poems offers comfort and reflection during those heavier moments. While we may not avoid sadness, we can choose not to stay in it. There is strength in facing our sorrow, in letting ourselves feel, and then gently moving forward.

May these poems be a reminder that you are not alone in your sadness, and may they offer hope, encouragement, and a light that helps you find peace even in the shadows.


Sadness is something we all feel from time to time—it's part of being human

More Poems About Life to Encourage and Inspire



Discover More from Famous Poets

Some of the poems featured on this page were written by these renowned poets. Click their names to learn more about them and their timeless works:

For a full collection of celebrated poets, visit our Famous Poets page.






Short Poems & Quotes    |     Poems    |     Quotes    |     Special Occasion Poems & Quotes    |     Contact Us    |     About Us