Sad Poems

No one really likes being sad. True, there are some people who seem to enjoy being sad because of the attention they get from others. But those people aside, the majority of us don’t enjoy feeling sad. Yet, it’s one of those realities of life. Things happen that steal our joy, that ruin the peace we may have had for a long time, or cause us to lose some hope or dream we may have anticipated enjoying. One of the things most psychologists, therapists, and counselors will suggest is that when you have such significant emotions which are overwhelming a person’s spirit is to keep a journal. The journal, however, doesn’t need to be strictly a diary written in standard prose. Actually, writing poems about one’s feelings can be an excellent way of dealing with sadness or other difficult situations.

Perhaps one of the best known poets for writing sad poems was the infamous Edgar Allan Poe. It should be no surprise that Poe wrote such sad stories and poems — much of his life was filled with sadness and disappointment. His parents died when he turned three. Left an orphan, he was taken in by the Allan family, although he was never actually adopted by them. He really adored his new ‘mother’, but his new ‘father’ really wanted nothing to do with him. In fact, when Poe was in college, Mrs. Allan passed away and Mr. Allan disowned him. One of Poe’s love interests was an older woman for which he wrote the poem, Helen — the woman soon went mad, dying shortly after she received the poem. Another love interest was swept away by disapproving parents. He failed miserably in his efforts to be a military leader. He lived with an aunt for a while and ended up marrying his 13 year old cousin — who contracted tuberculosis and died a few years later. During that time, Poe took to drinking alcohol and smoking opium. He died some years later under rather mysterious conditions. So, perhaps Poe really did have cause to be sad. His poems reflect his sadness, and he is often considered an expert in writing sad poems.

Alone
by Edgar Allan Poe

Of course, not all sad poems are written by famous poets or sought after members of society or culture. Many times, some of the best written sad poems are composed by unknowns. The very fact that we may not know who they are or anything about them, is, in itself, a rather sad statement. Regardless, some of these unknown poets write some very thought provoking and insightful lines of poetry available anywhere. This next poem is written by someone known only as ‘Just Another No One’, which indicates a rather sad existence. Perhaps this persons shares something in common with Poe, in that a life filled with sadness is certainly going to reveal itself in the lines of poetry or prose. Let us hope that not everything in this person’s life is as sad as this poem might lead us to believe.

In The End
by Just Another No One