30+ Deep And Thoughtful Poems About Divorce

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It is never easy to deal with divorce or separation, regardless of whether the decision was taken mutually or individually. Therefore, we have curated the best poetry about divorce that you could read to cope with your situation and move on.

Letting go of your partner with whom you have shared several unforgettable moments isn’t easy. The heartache caused by a separation is immeasurable. It can leave you in despair and agony for a long time before you can move on. However, do not forcefully stick to a relationship fearing the misery and anguish of a divorce. When things do not go as envisioned by you both, and you feel that your marriage has not progressed in the way you dreamt it to be, you may need to part ways.

The poems given here might inspire you to leave the bitter past behind. It can encourage you to overcome sadness and dejection and help you write a new chapter of your life.

30+ Poems About Divorce

The following astounding fragments of poetry about divorce can help you cope up with the difficult times. These poems can make you feel a sense of nostalgia but also help you through the mourning phase.

1. This Was Once a Love Poem

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This was once a love poem,
Before its haunches thickened, its breath grew short,
before it found itself sitting,
perplexed and a little embarrassed,
on the fender of a parked car,
while many people passed by without turning their heads.
It remembers itself dressing as if for a great engagement.
It remembers choosing these shoes,
this scarf or tie.
By Jane Hirshfield

2. But Not Forgotten

I think, no matter where you stray,
That I shall go with you a way.
Though you may wander sweeter lands,
You will not soon forget my hands,
Nor yet the way I held my head,
Nor all the tremulous things I said.
You still will see me, small and white
And smiling, in the secret night,
And feel my arms about you when
The day comes fluttering back again.

I think, no matter where you be,
You’ll hold me in your memory
And keep my image, there without me,
By telling later loves about me.
By Dorothy Parker

3. When We Two Parted

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When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow—
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o’er me—
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well—
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met—
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?—
With silence and tears.
By George Gordon Byron

4. After Love

There is no magic anymore,
We meet as other people do,
You work no miracle for me
Nor I for you.

You were the wind and I the sea—
There is no splendor anymore,
I have grown listless as the pool
Beside the shore.

But though the pool is safe from storm
And from the tide has found surcease,
It grows more bitter than the sea,
For all its peace.
By Sara Teasdale

5. The Unbearable Weight Of Staying

I don’t know when love became elusive
what I know, is that no one I know has it
my fathers arms around my mothers neck
fruit too ripe to eat, a door halfway open
when your name is a just a hand I can never hold
everything I have ever believed in, becomes magic.

I think of lovers as trees, growing to and
from one another searching for the same light,
my mothers laughter in a dark room,
a photograph greying under my touch,
this is all I know how to do, carry loss around until
I begin to resemble every bad memory,
every terrible fear,
every nightmare anyone has ever had.

I ask did you ever love me?
you say of course, of course so quickly
that you sound like someone else
I ask are you made of steel? are you made of iron?
you cry on the phone, my stomach hurts

I let you leave, I need someone who knows how to stay.
By Warsan Shire

6. Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
By Maya Angelou

7. Divorce

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I will stay separate and divorce
Lambasted a lady with strong force
I was taken aback at once,
Never heard such anger since,

Was it natural outburst?
Why all of sudden she wanted me to oust?
Thought for a while and remained cool,
Immediate reaction would be sign of fool,
Never I shamed her or neglected,
On all the matters almost contacted,
Remained possessively forever connected,
Why then she hastily acted?

I must cool her down,
Convince her to shed the frown,
All the actions I must disown,
Full praise and put on head a crown,
She will relent,
If offered no arguments,
Kept mum and offered no comment,
She will find the way and lament,

Why dear you are in such state?
Has anyone trouble you or mob irate?
Nothing of that sort but you have failed,
In my own house I feel jailed,

You have no time to spare,
No talk and not going anywhere,
I am confined all the times here,
You have no sweet words which I want to hear,

I saw the valid reason,
The rain was timely and of season,
I must respect her wishes,
She was not at home for washing the dishes,

She was at home once again,
I too had trust to regain,
I said few with sincere sorry,
This relieved her from all worries
By Mehta HasmukhAmathalal

8. A Tattoo Of Deep Scar…Divorce

When your soul mate
Rotten as stalemate
When you decide
Never to meet
This relationship
Is amputated and broken

A chance
To rectify and remodify
Your comedy of errors

It’s not a tragedy
To mourn
But life has to move on

If your love, respect, trust
Questioned
Take a chance
To relive your
Emotions in passions
Rather

Looking it as a taboo

Divorce spell bounds
Cease to redeem or relieve
Don’t accept
The betrayer
With guilt
Deseed the weed

Though this tattoo
Gives permanent scars
Start everything new
It’s just a
Lesson by a person
With reason to season you
By V.M.Saraswathy Munuswamy

9. Divorce and Separation

It’s a hard time separation
The time before divorce
It’s hard on either party
Even harder when the cause
Is something there within you
That ate you from the start
You end up with accountants
When first you gave your heart.

A whole parcel of our lives is there

Long lost inside the mail
The feelings that we once had
When we thought we could not fail
To grow old and grey together
And be dreaming of the past.
Now these fondness dreams are over
And the time for sentiment has passed

I could not be the man you loved
Nor did you want to be

The one who helped my dreaming
And just let me be me.
By David Keig

10. Apart

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Do not write. I am sad, and want my light put out.
Summers in your absence are as dark as a room.
I have closed my arms again. They must do without.
To knock at my heart is like knocking at a tomb.
Do not write!

Do not write. Let us learn to die, as best we may.
Did I love you? Ask God. Ask yourself. Do you know?
To hear that you love me, when you are far away,
Is like hearing from heaven and never to go.
Do not write!

Do not write. I fear you. I fear to remember,
For memory holds the voice I have often heard.
To the one who cannot drink, do not show water,
The beloved one’s picture in the handwritten word.
Do not write!

Do not write those gentle words that I dare not see,
It seems that your voice is spreading them on my heart,
Across your smile, on fire, they appear to me,
It seems that a kiss is printing them on my heart.
Do not write!
By Louis Simpson

11. To a Divorce Woman

Death appeared in your marriage
Ugly Words were spoken creating a cause to leave
For some there was an applause for your breakup
Because some spoke behind your back!
You are now a woman in solitude
Understanding the value of moving away from the multitude
At times, you saw the danger in your marriage
But you still believed it could be fixed until
You realize that ugly words compounded more ugly words
Now you know that nothing is opened by mistake more than the mouth!
Both of you said things you should have never said
Ultimately, you started to realize the bed meant nothing anymore!
Before you knew it, it was too late!
Too often one in the relationship will try to be the dictator
Soon after that, the other one will be a spectator
But despite the calamity of divorce
You will stand strong and
Know that your next relationship will be without force!
You are now a woman in solitude
Understanding the value of moving away from the multitude
Remain strong; your heart belongs to the man
That understands that nothing is opened by mistake more than the mouth!
By Mark Frank

12. Can We Be Strangers

The holes in the walls are all patched
and the plaster is dry
the broken glass is swept away
or turned to sand

I only want that when I see you,
you not quickly turn away…

to be forgiven–not to start over,
we know how that ends
not to be friends, we’ve tried that, too–

but, that you include my wretched
name in your whispered prayers for
all humanity…

I hoped maybe we’d be
strangers and just
…smile
By P. S. Awtry

13. Yellow Flowers

You made me love yellow flowers
in the middle of July,
when everything was dying
because the ground was so dry.

You offered them to me
with the faintest smile on your face,
caressed the lemon petals
as you put them on display.

I looked at them quizzically,
questioning their presence.
You embraced me with laughter,
said they’re my essence.

You told me a short story
of blossoms and blooms,
and strength and survival,
in the midst of gloom.

And I fell in love with yellow flowers
because of the story you shared,
and I cherished their sunshine,
and the meaning they bared.

And then they were gone.

Along with you
and your stories and smile.

No laughter or embrace.
No petals or blooms,
sunshine or lemons.

The ground was dry
and cracked
and barren.

And I was alone,
with just a fading scent
and drifting memories.

You made me love yellow flowers,
then you took them away.
By RapsedeBlu

14. Reflections on Divorce

Prayers that go unanswered
turn into next year’s dreams
words that fall on stony ground
are not all that they seem
thoughts can turn you inside out
and jealous minds ensue
oh pitiful heart and mind, be still
I know what you’ve been through

Crystal clear, as teardrops seem

Inside them, memories fall
beyond their trip down cheeks of red
a new beginning calls
adjust your mind and heart into
a future full of hope
in time those prayers and dreams you had
will help your heart to cope
By Phil Soar

15. Broken Heart

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I know you say you love me,
But you don’t see
How this breaks my heart,
Since we are now apart.

I wait for you on a whim,
I lose and only you win.
My heart breaks in the dark,
Waiting for you to fix my heart.

All the years that we shared
Have disappeared and no one cared.
We had a love so strong, can’t you see,
They were jealous of you and me.

I lie here and cry in the night,
Wishing you were holding me tight.
In the darkness I shall hide,
Wishing you were by my side.

Bring your light back to me,
For you are the one, you see.
My true love is all I seek,
For now I am too weak

I will love you till the end of time,
Oh, I wish you were still mine.
All I have are all these tears,
What’s left of 16 years.

I try to hold the pain within,
But at night the tears begin.
You and the boys are my life,
Oh, I miss my wife.

Please take these tears away,
And come home to stay.
Only you, you alone,
Can save this broken home.
By Norm

16. Modern Love

By this he knew she wept with waking eyes:
That, at his hand’s light quiver by her head,
The strange low sobs that shook their common bed
Were called into her with a sharp surprise,
And strangled mute, like little gaping snakes,
Dreadfully venomous to him. She lay

Stone-still, and the long darkness flowed away
With muffled pulses. Then, as midnight makes
Her giant heart of Memory and Tears
Drink the pale drug of silence, and so beat
Sleep’s heavy measure, they from head to feet
We’re moveless, looking through their dead black years,
By vain regret scrawled over the blank wall.
Like sculptured effigies they might be seen
Upon their marriage-tomb, the sword between;
Each wishing for the sword that severs all.

By George Meredith

17. Fading Embers of Our Love

In the twilight of our love, we stood,
As shadows lengthened and misunderstood,
The cracks that marred our once-perfect facade,
Now deep chasms in the love we had.
Divorce: the word that we must face,
A bittersweet truth we cannot erase,
Our hearts entwined, now torn apart,
A journey of healing, a brand-new start.
We walked the path with heavy hearts,
Through tears and pain, we played our parts,
To untangle the threads that bound us tight,
In the hope that someday, we’ll see the light.
The embers of our love may now burn low,
But deep within, a flicker, a hopeful glow,
For in this darkness, we’ll find our way,
To brighter skies and a brand-new day.

18. Two Worlds Apart

Two worlds collide, then drift away,
Like ships at night, no longer to stay,
Divorce, a chasm, wide and vast,
Our love, a memory of the past.

19.The Break Away

Your daisies have come
on the day of my divorce.
They arrive like round yellow fish,
sucking with love at the coral of our love.
Yet they wait,
in their short time,
like little utero half-borns,
half killed, thin and bone soft.
They breathe the air that stands
for twenty-five illicit days,
the sun crawling inside the sheets,
the moon spinning like a tornado
in the washbowl,
and we orchestrated them both,
calling ourselves TWO CAMP DIRECTORS.
There was a song, our song on your cassette,
that played over and over
and baptised the prodigals.
It spoke the unspeakable,
as the rain will on an attic roof,
letting the animal join its soul
as we kneeled before a miracle–
forgetting its knife.

By Anne Sexton

20. If You Forget Me

I want you to know
one thing.
You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.
If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.
But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine

By Pablo Neruda

21. Echoes of Love

In the silence that follows our last goodbye,
Echoes of our love still seem to sigh,
Whispering secrets of a time long past,
When our love was strong and meant to last.
Divorce: a word that echoes in the night,
A choice we made to seek our own light,
Though tears may flow, and our hearts may ache,
In time, our wounded souls will wake.
We’ll find the strength to carry on,
In the light of each new and hopeful dawn,
For love endures, in its own mysterious way,
Through the darkest nights and the brightest day.
The echoes of our laughter, now faint and far,
A reminder of the love that was, a distant star,
But in the depths of our separate souls, we’ll find,
A chance for healing, growth, and peace of mind.

22. Why Should A Foolish Marriage Vow

Why should a foolish marriage vow,
Which long ago was made,
Oblige us to each other now
When passion is decay’d?
We loved, and we loved, as long as we could,
Till our love was loved out in us both:
But our marriage is dead, when the pleasure is fled:
‘Twas pleasure first made it an oath.
If I have pleasures for a friend,
And farther love in store,
What wrong has he whose joys did end,
And who could give no more?
‘Tis a madness that he should be jealous of me,
Or that I should bar him of another:
For all we can gain is to give our selves pain,
When neither can hinder the other.

— John Dryden

23. Divorce

A voice from the dark is calling me.
In the close house I nurse a fire.
Out in the dark, cold winds rush free,
To the rock heights of my desire.
I smother in the house in the valley below,
Let me out to the night, let me go, let me go.
Spirits that ride the sweeping blast,
Frozen in rigid tenderness,
Wait! for I leave the fire at last
My little-love’s warm loneliness.
I smother in the house in the valley below.
Let me out to the night, let me go, let me go.
High on the hills are beating drums.
Clear from a line of marching men
To the rock’s edge the hero comes
He calls me, and he calls again.
On the hill there is fighting, victory, or quick death.
In the house is the fire, which I fan with sick breath.
I smother in the house in the valley below,
Let me out to the dark, let me go, let me go.

— Anna Wickham, pickmeuppoetry.org

24. Best intentions

“I’m sure I’ll be fine”
And I meant it of course
At least at the time.
“I’m finding myself”
Amongst bottles of wine
And collapsing health
I can’t see for what’s mine
Surrounded by filth
In my marriage’s shrine.
“You need to be angry” they said
As if I could blame someone else
When I made my own bed.
“It won’t last forever”
And I suppose that’s true
But when time seeps together
You can’t see “someone new”
When all of my time
Is devoted to you.
“It’s time to move on”
And that’s probably true
But how do I do that
When I still love you.

— MV Blake, hellopoetry.com

25. The Man Whose Wife Left

He lived down the street from us,
And came to be known as,
The man whose wife left him.
We speculated and surmised.
None but two knew the reason why
He became
The man whose wife left him.
He stopped cutting the grass
And weeding the beds.
He won’t play his uke
On the porch like he did.
From all accounts,
He was a good Dad,
None ever heard him
Explete a foul word.
He worked till retired,
Never was fired.
I’m told he lived a gentle life;
Never started a fight,
Or ran from strife.
That’s what I heard
About the man whose wife left him.
Left to his own devices,
The man whose wife left him,
Left.

— Francie Lynch, hellopoetry.com

26. Unraveled Threads

Threads of love we wove with care,
Now unravel in the chilly air,
Divorce, the seamstress of our fate,
Love’s fabric torn, it’s far too late.

27. The Art of Goodbye

In the art of goodbye, we find our way,
Two souls diverging from a path of dismay,
Divorce, the canvas where emotions sway,
As we paint our separate lives, day by day.
For love’s farewell can be a masterpiece,
A chance for healing and inner peace,
Though our hearts may grieve and mourn the past,
In time, we’ll find our strength, our love steadfast.
The strokes of separation may be harsh and bold,
But within each one, a story to be told,
Of resilience, courage, and hearts that are bold,
As we navigate the story of love, once untold.

28. Lost Love

In love’s unraveling, paths divide,
Divorce’s tale, emotions can’t hide.
Endings marked, but life persists,
New beginnings from what once existed.

29. Through The Eyes Of A Child

When I was only two years old,
My daddy went away.
He swore he’d always love me,
But he said he couldn’t stay.
Days turned into weeks
And weeks turned into years.
I never saw my father,
He never saw my tears.
He never read me bedtime stories
Or tucked me in at night.
He never showed up for my birthdays,
But I always hoped he might.
He missed my first day of kindergarten
And all of my school plays.
He doesn’t know how smart I am,
My report cards full of A’s.
Sometimes I want to call him
To say, Hey Dad, I’m still alive!
I’ll be 16 years old soon,
Will you teach me how to drive?
It’s almost time for college,
The years go by so fast.
I’m looking forward to my future,
But I’m still trapped within my past.
I guess I’ll never understand,
Did I do something bad?
My parents got divorced,
But why did I lose my dad?

— Brianna K. Slone, ozofe.com

30. Distant Echo

Love’s song, a distant echo,
Fading fast, with every breath we let go,
Divorce, the silence that remains,
Our love, a memory in the rains.

31. Rebirth

In the ashes of our love, new seeds are sown,
Two souls separated, yet not alone,
Divorce, the rebirth of hearts overthrown,
As we discover the strength that’s now our own.
For love’s ending is not the final chapter,
In our separate lives, we’ll find what we’re after,
Though tears may stain, and the road is long,
In time, we’ll rise, and our hearts grow strong.
Our love, once a tempest, now rests in peace,
Yet in its wake, a chance for love to increase,
As we mend the fragments and release,
The pain that bound us, now a distant lease.

Note: The poems in this collection are not original works of MomJunction but have been sourced from various authors. No claim of ownership is being made by us. Credit has been given wherever the details were available. If you are the original author of any poem and wish to have it credited or removed, please contact us. We value the creative rights of authors and will address your request promptly.

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A divorce brings to the surface lots of feelings and doubts. Watch this video and soothe your heart with a poem that conveys these emotions.

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Ronald HoangDiploma in Counselling, Relationship & Family Counselor

Ronald Hoang is a Sydney-based clinical counselor and psychotherapist with around ten years of experience. He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Macquarie University and a postgraduate degree in counseling from the Australian College of Applied Professions. Ronald is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Post-Milan Systemic Family Therapy, Gottman Method, Play Therapy Dimensions, and Child Inclusive Practice. In addition...more

Siddharth KesirajuMA, Certification in Relationship Coaching

Siddharth holds a certification in Relationship Coaching and a masters degree in communication and journalism from the University of Hyderabad. He has around seven years of experience in various fields of writing and editing. As an associate editor at MomJunction, Siddharth writes on Relationship and edits the writers' articles to meet the website's editorial standards. Previously, he worked in the...more

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Shikha is a writer-turned-editor at MomJunction, with over seven years of experience in the field of content. Having done a certification in Relationship Coaching, her core interest lies in writing articles that guide couples through their courtship to marriage and parenthood. She also specializes in baby names. A postgraduate in Human Resources from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, she likes understanding...more