Tag Archives: Poetry



One Man Shares the Life Lessons He Learned From His Nine Year-Old Hospital Roommate with Cancer in One Remarkably Beautiful Poem

Canadian spoken word poet Shane Koyczan delivers an emotionally charged performance of his heartbreakingly beautiful poem, “The Crickets Have Arthritis”

At 2007’s Words Aloud Festival, Canadian spoken word poet Shane Koyczan performed a poem he wrote called “The Crickets Have Arthritis.” This beautiful poem shares the lessons he learned about illness, love, life and grief from his nine year-old roommate … Continue reading

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“Last Words” by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath's funeral poem imagines what her ideal burial would look like

Sylvia Plath was both haunted and mesmerized by death. Suffering from depression at an early age, Plath’s poetry deeply encapsulates how she felt about dying. Her depression often evaporated her fear of death, which gave her a novel perspective on … Continue reading

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“Death” by Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke’s beautiful funeral poem perfectly captures how precious and valuable life is -- in both the good times and the bad -- with its personification of death

For many of us, the busyness of our daily lives often leads to us taking our lives for granted. When someone we loved dearly dies, our grief and sorrow for his or her absence tends to trigger an urge deep … Continue reading

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Japanese Death Poems, Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death

What words are as packed full of meaning and metaphor then those of a haiku?

I’ve been fascinated by haiku ever since I first laid eyes on one. Their intrinsic nature is to elicit mystery swirling around their brevity of words. Not only are they the shortest poems known to mankind, haiku unfailingly evoke breathtaking … Continue reading

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“Condolence” by Dorothy Parker

Dissecting the strange ways that mourning takes hold of people after the hour of a death.

Brief and charming and full of a spectacular wit, Dorothy Parker’s “Condolence” is the the kind of poem that you would bring to a funeral or memorial service that is acting as as a life-celebration event. The poem invites readers … Continue reading

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Phoenix Rysing Poets Express Grief through Spoken Word

A creative writing workshop lets Richmond youth address the loss of loved ones to violence, while finding healing and forgiveness through their poetry

“Everything I can’t say, I can write. And then that’s when it comes out.” That’s what Johnae Collins, 16, told Richmond Confidential. Collins is a member of RAW Talent, an after-school creative writing program founded in Richmond, California by Jefferson … Continue reading

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