How Remembrance Poems Can Help You Mend The Parts of Your Identity that Need Healing

Loss and grief are inevitable in life, and remembrance poems offer a way to introspect, grow, and start healing through the pain. While reading or writing poetry isn’t a quick fix to deep loss and sorrow, it can be a powerful tool in the path to closure and can aid in the process of dealing with the death of someone you love. If you are currently seeking solace or a way to navigate painful emotions, remembrance poems can support this journey.

What Remembrance Poems Are About

As the name suggests, remembrance poems are a style of poetry created as a heartfelt tribute to honour someone no longer with us. It allows us to cherish their memory and immortalise the best aspects of that person and their impact on the world. Remembrance poems also help us sit with our emotions for a while, reflecting on why we are feeling them and giving us a way to make meaning out of loss, which often seems senseless and unfair. Nobody wants their loved ones to be forgotten, and remembrance poetry helps us to capture the essence of someone special and keep it close. Writing has also been found to be incredibly cathartic and good for one’s mental health, and it’s a therapeutic exercise that holds immense value for many people.

The Part of Us in Mourning

For many people, grieving never really ends, but the weight of its effects becomes less intense over time. There is no way to fully “heal” the part of us that mourns, as it may always be with us, but poetry can give us a new way to think about mourning as a non-linear process. One reason for grief is that we struggle to find a purpose for the love we have for the person who has passed away. Writing remembrance poems can be a way to channel that love into something external, focused on that person once again.

The Part of Us That Yearns to Remember

Our memory is what connects us to the past and even those we have lost to death, but sadly, memories fade over time. Remembrance poems are guardians of precious memories, preserving them as they were when you first thought to pen your piece. Part of honouring our loved ones involves revisiting cherished memories of them often, and this form of poetry helps us address our worry that we might forget something important.

The Part of Us Afraid to Create

Finding inspiration in the aftermath of a profound loss can be challenging for those who love to create art and enjoy its various forms. Perhaps you are not yet ready to explore and express your emotions, but you still wish to create something meaningful. Remembrance poems can be written to focus on the life of the person who has passed on and slowly reintroduce the creative process in a way that feels safe and comforting.

The Part of Us That Avoids Connection

Grief has a way of isolating people, especially when it feels as though nobody else could possibly understand the loss one is facing. It can also be tough to build relationships again when past loss is so painful. Remembrance poetry shared with others, such as at a memorial, helps us address these feelings of isolation and separation from society because it builds a bridge between people in grief. Poetry can increase solidarity, empathy, and unity while mourning, while helping us better understand where someone is coming from when they share their vulnerable words.

The Part of Us That Fears the Future

Loss may leave people with a looming fear of the unknown. The future is uncertain, and it’s only natural that humans fear what they cannot predict or control. If you are facing feelings of anxiety surrounding the future or your mortality, it’s essential to seek out support from those you trust. Writing poetry may also help us express these valid emotions and work through them, and on your journey to improved mental health and healing after loss, this is a healthy tool.

There is a beauty to reminiscing and taking the time to appreciate what once was, and it’s alright to allow yourself to be comforted by this process. If you are not ready to write your own poems just yet, you can browse through our collection, which deals with topics like love, loss, and hope. If you choose to writea poem today, may the beautiful legacy of your loved one live on through the verses that honour them.