Grief Poetry

Countee Cullen was already a prominent literary figure when he published Color, his auspicious debut collection of poetry. In deceptively simple verse, and in harmony with lyric tradition rather than rebellion against it, Cullen covered such complex terrain as race, faith, mortality, sexuality, and identity. Cullen may be less well known today than his contemporaries, but his emotional candor, creative ambition, and impudent humor retain an unforgettable spark.

“I will consider a slice of pizza," opens Phillips's poem "Jubilate Civitas." "For rare among pleasures in Gotham, it is both / exquisite and blessedly cheap." Thus, as throughout this collection, he celebrates a simple pleasure that "in a time of deceit . . . is honest and upright, steadfast and good"; even the busted buttons we press when waiting to cross the street make for elegy in a collection that brings us this poet at his burnished best.

Many times, we are bombarded by situations that make it difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel…we become impeded by our struggles and confined to futile reactions. And so…these poems come from an authentic place…a space where one is able to make sense of those things that make no sense. These poems are moments of contemplation in a world of troubles and trauma…These poems are a process of embracing a change to avoid remaining the same.

Writing Poems in the Sunlight is a collection of contemporary poems by Clifton King, an award winning Southern California poet. His poetry is direct, accessible, and suffused with imagery. His poems speak of love, death, the local beach, and everything in life that catches his eye.

I am open; these words are my sutures. Shades is an attempt to reconcile who I am as a man, with a society that seems to be fluctuating and struggling at every turn. I show my encounters with family, religion, queerness, heartbreak, COVID-19, and politics. This is a look at my life in 2021, shown through poetry.

Jessica’s poems were written as a direct response to the sudden death of her husband four weeks before she was ordained priest in the Church of England, and many reflect her faith. These honest poems chart her journey from the first unbelieving days through anger, pain, withdrawal, survival, and eventual acceptance, and even joy. These poems show those who are grieving that they are not alone, and that there is hope for love, life, and laughter once again.

In The Gutter Spread Guide to Prayer, Eric Tran contends with the aftermath of a close friend’s suicide while he simultaneously explores the complexities of being a gay man of color. Grief opens into unraveling circles of inquiry as Tran reflects on the loss of his friend and of their shared identity as gay Asian American men. Through mourning and acute observations, these poems consider how those who experience marginalization, the poet included, may live and fall victim to tragedy.

The poems of Dear October chronicle the evolution of the natural world and a daughter caring for her mother during the last year of her life. Months of the final year act as the scaffolding for the collection as they reflect on the 12 moons. The spirit of home, family, and mother-daughter relationship intertwine with the diversity of culture and ecology in Northern New Mexico.

This full collection of 56 poems reflecting on the concept of self, loss, fragility, and the constructs we must create in order to face the transient nature of life was named a finalist in the National Poetry Series, The New Issues Poetry Prize, The Four Way Books Intro Prize, and others.

People experience death, but I don't think anyone experienced more than I. Since the age of six, death was knocking at my Barbie townhouse. Understanding death took a very, very long time. It's not easy living while you're dying inside. I'm not perfect, I'm only human. I want to express love to the lonely, broken hearted, depressed and forgotten.

Writing with diverse poetic forms and using original artwork to deepen the exploration of conflict, Jo Patti presents us with a dynamic and edgy second book of poetry. Not for the faint hearted. This volume of poetry includes poems which express experiences where conflict has occurred. Conflict may arise from misunderstanding, historical grievances, struggles over control, power and money. Conflict may be borne out of righteous resistance.

This book is an attempt to create something beautiful from this chaos; to make sense of the things we dare not breathe to life. Focusing on loss, heartbreak, mental health, and the impact of isolation on a tired mind, these poems are the starlings that gather above the water. This book is the hope that we can learn to heal; that the future can survive the past.

We Are the Winter People is the collected works of Jenny Rowbory. The diverse range of poetry deals with love, loss, and the poet's ever-changing relationship with faith. Despite the struggles depicted within the work, it is an ultimately empowering collection, filled with strength, determination, and hope.

This is a book about who I was and who I am. About pain and depression and suicide and regrowth. It's about hope and living a future you didn't expect to live. More specifically, it is about my suicide attempt in 2019, after years of struggling with alcoholism, depression, and self-harm. It's about my second chance and making it all that it can be. It uses my writing from before my attempt and after my attempt to compare how I changed and my views of life.

Dragonfly and Other Songs of Mourning contains the collected poetry works of Michelle Scalise, dedicated to her husband and author, Tom Piccirilli.

The poems in Enter Water, Swimmer: Poems travel physically and emotionally, addressing the human condition through evocative language. Enter Water, Swimmer and you will be steeped in various manifestations of this world and beyond, daring to take on diverse realms of women, belief, culture, and ethics.

Welcome to the world of shadows, cloaked in perpetual starlight; its denizens are a mysterious and frightening breed. And sometimes, just sometimes, their eldritch whispers and murmurs can cross the boundaries of reality and enter our darkest dreams. Richard Groller and his troupe of dead and living poets pull back the veil in The Book of Night, revealing the terrifying denizens of the shadows.

Mr. Hunter has a passion for expressing his voice through the writing of children’s books and poetry. This book is a compilation of about three dozen poems written during his younger years accompanied by narrative reflections on the inspiration for much of the poetry as he navigated early life through loss, love, abuse, and work as a bisexual and gay identified person.

Loved, sickened loneliness feels makes a boy feel empty vulnerable, and 50 Poems was written in the lonely lakes of despair. My name is Daniel Contreras, and I suffered through loneliness and depression. Growing up, I would hide my poems, but now, it's my expression.

The Heart of a Rose is a collection of 66 poems which tells a story. It reflects on the heart and feelings in relationships. Whether you're in love, a healing process, or single. There are emotions everyone can resonate with in this poetry book.