Inspirational poems on depression (11 poems)

This post explores different inspirational poems on depression, providing its readers the strength to keep fighting against depression and not give up.

Often everyone feels sad or bad, but these feelings generally pass with a little time. Depression also referred to as “clinical depression” or “depressive disorder,” is a mood disorder that causes distressing symptoms, such as sleeping, eating, or working, that affect how you feel, think, and manage everyday activities. Symptoms must be present most of the day, almost every day, for at least 2 weeks, to be diagnosed with depression.

Poetry helps us to use the nuance of language to explore some of the most painful emotions that can be encountered by humans. Poetry helps us shape, in the form of free verse, haiku, iambic pentameter, our loss, heartache, and even our depression.

Inspirational poems on depression

Featured inspirational poems on depression in this post:

• One star by Kate Hanford
• Nobody but you by Charles Bukowski
• Invictus by William Ernest Henley
• Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas
• O Me! O Life! By Walt Whitman
• Resume by Dorothy Parker
• “Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson
• Since feeling is first by E. E. Cummings
• Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
• Hope by Kate Hanford
• Scars by Kaura R

One Star by Kate Hanford

On these turbulent waters I steer

not knowing what is next from here

and every time I try to breathe

make the grief and sadness leave

the hammer looms and I retreat

to a world where loved ones meet

and all is quiet, tranquil, calm

healthy, fed, sheltered, warm

one star is all to make things well

a little light to calm the swell

a speck, a glimmer, a flicker, a beam

enough to allow the soul to dream

and a message slowly comes to light

“don’t always try to make things right”

Rise above the waves and fly

Life is hard don’t even try

to fix the shattered window pain

It’s all part of life’s game

because  the window does reveal

that sadness is part of life’s deal.

Nobody but you by Charles Bukowski

Nobody can save you but yourself.

you will be put again and again

into nearly impossible situations.

they will attempt again and again

through subterfuge, guise and force

to make you submit, quit and /or die quietly inside.

nobody can save you but yourself

and it will be easy enough to fail so very easily

but don’t, don’t, don’t.

just watch them. 

listen to them.

do you want to be like that?

a faceless, mindless, heartless being?

do you want to experience

death before death?

nobody can save you but yourself

and you’re worth saving.

it’s a war not easily won

but if anything is worth winning then this is it.

think about it.

think about saving yourself.

your spiritual self.

your gut self.

your singing magical self and

your beautiful self.

save it.

don’t join the dead-in-spirit.

maintain your self

with humor and grace 

and finally if necessary

wager yourself as you struggle,

damn the odds, damn the price.

only you can save yourself.

do it! do it!

then you’ll know exactly what

I am talking about.

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

      Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

      For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

      I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

      My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

      Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

      Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

      How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

      I am the captain of my soul.

Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas 

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

O Me! O Life! by Walt Whitman

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,

Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

                                       Answer.

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

Resumé by Dorothy Parker

Razors pain you;

Rivers are damp;

Acids stain you;

And drugs cause cramp.

Guns aren’t lawful;

Nooses give;

Gas smells awful;

You might as well live.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity,

It asked a crumb – of me.

Since feeling is first by E. E. Cummings

Since feeling is first

who pays any attention

to the syntax of things

will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool

while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,

and kisses are a better fate

than wisdom

lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry

– the best gesture of my brain is less than

your eyelids’ flutter which says

we are for each other; then

laugh, leaning back in my arms

for life’s not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Go Placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

HOPE by Kate Hanford

You have to believe, that all will be right

In the longest of days and the coldest of nights

You may feel scared, tired and alone

But there’s always someone to carry you home

Someone who knows the pain that you feel

The raw and relentless, cruel and real

It comes like a cloud covering the sky

There are no answers, just why? why? why?

But we are strong together, and a day will come

When the clouds part and welcome the sun

So take hold of that sunbeam, don’t let it leave

Clasp it tightly, but let yourself grieve

Then slowly but surely  release your grasp

Let the light enter  and swallow the past

And then for a second, your heart will feel light

And strength will replace it, to continue the fight

Just like the sunbeam, you cannot hide

But weather the storm with  hope on your side

Scars by Laura R

Here on my arm lies a mark that I made.

When I was so low, I cut with a blade

To punish my body for being a mess,

Though here is my testament, I must confess…

That seeing these scars left on my arms, legs, and chest

Makes me realize I was in a place of no rest;

I feel guilty inside for leaving this token.

Now I will see and remember that I was so broken.

But seeing these scars helps me see

That I survived so much trauma and now I am free.

So I ask you now to stand with me and fight,

To show all these demons what they’re doing is not right.

You won the battle of good versus bad.

You are still alive and are no longer sad.

Here on my arm lies a mark of survival.

I got through my hate and beat my self-rival.

This post explored different inspirational poems on depression, providing its readers the strength to keep fighting against depression and not give up.

References

https://waggytalesblog.com/2018/05/18/mental-health-awareness-poetry/

https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poems/sad/depression/

https://www.depression-helper.com/poems.htm