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SevenPonds / Poetry Looking at Loss / Poems About Aging, Dying or Death

Poems About Aging, Dying or Death

These honest poems explore the natural process of growing older and facing mortality. They find beauty in life’s final chapters and help us accept aging and death with grace.

"Sunflowers"

By Hillary Gonzalez

“Sunflowers” is a poem taken from “Seasons,” the debut poetry book by poet Hillary Gonzalez. In it, Gonzalez explores a …

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“Untitled” (I will go simply)

By Tess Nealon Raskin

This untitled piece by teen poet Tess Nealon Raskin explores her aversion to her grandfather’s sanitized hospital death …

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“The Wolves”

By Paisley Rekdal

In “The Wolves,” poet Paisley Rekdal explores the death of her 100-year-old grandmother, who had largely raised her as a…

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"Crossing the Bar"

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

In his 1889 poem “Crossing the Bar,” Alfred, Lord Tennyson writes of his impending death. A sandbar in shallow water rep…

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"A Woman Is Talking to Death"

By Judy Grahn

Judy Grahn’s ambitious, arresting work, “A Woman Is Talking to Death” is her most celebrated poem, a piece about meaning…

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"I Have a Rendezvous with Death"

By Alan Seeger

Poet Alan Seeger wrote “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” sometime during World War I. His premonition proved accurate. Se…

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“Death Sets a Thing Significant"

By Emily Dickinson

Even if you’re not a huge fan of poetry, you’ve most likely heard of mid-19th century poet Emily Dickinson. Born in 1830…

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”Halo”

By Melissa Stein

Melissa Stein is an incredibly talented author. The San Francisco poet’s work has been published in a variety of journal…

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”Song”

By Christina Rossetti

A renowned poet, Christina Rossetti has a way of enchanting readers with her beautiful words and imagery. Even in her po…

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"Last Words"

By Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was both haunted and mesmerized by death. Suffering from depression at an early age, Plath’s poetry deeply …

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“Death”

By Rainer Maria Rilke

For many of us, the busyness of our daily lives often leads to us taking our lives for granted. When someone we loved de…

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"Meditation XVII"

By John Donne

You have probably heard the famous phrase “No man is an island,” whether in a classroom, or being quoted by one of your …

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“Peace, My Heart”

By Rabindranath Tagore

Back in September, I wrote a post on a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. In my weekly searches for literature on the subject …

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“At That Hour”

By James Joyce

I’ve written many times in this column about the wide range of interpretations that poetry is open to. I definitely face…

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“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

By “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”Robert Frost

The first time I read Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” I immediately interpreted it (as many other…

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“Parta Quies”

By A.E. Housman

I took an introductory Latin course in college (yes, I am a complete nerd), and was therefore able to recognize the gram…

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“Do not go gentle into that good night”

By Dylan Thomas

When the father of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was dying, it inspired Thomas to write one of his most famous works, “Do not …

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