Maybe your friendship ended because of betrayal and hurt feelings.
Or perhaps one of you moved away, and the distance has taken a toll on your once-close connection.
Losing a friend is painful, no matter what the reason – especially a friend you’ve known and loved for years.
If you’re looking for a lost friend poem that speaks to your feelings and pain, look no further than our collection below.
You’ll find something that validates the sadness and loss you’re feeling.
15 Heartbreaking Poems About Losing a Friendship
Poetry is a universal language that allows us to define the meaning and power of our experiences. These poems about broken friendship will help you distill your thoughts and feelings so you can move forward in self-awareness.
A Poison Tree by William Blake
I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I watered it in fears Night & morning with my tears; And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles. And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright. And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine, And into my garden stole, When the night had veiled the pole; In the morning glad I see My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
Oh, Oh, You Will be Sorry for that Word by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Oh, oh, you will be sorry for that word! Give back my book and take my kiss instead. Was it my enemy or my friend I heard, “What a big book for such a little head!” Come, I will show you now my newest hat, And you may watch me purse my mouth and prink! Oh, I shall love you still, and all of that. I never again shall tell you what I think. I shall be sweet and crafty, soft and sly; You will not catch me reading anymore: I shall be called a wife to pattern by; And someday when you knock and push the door, Some sane day, not too bright and not too stormy, I shall be gone and you may whistle for me.
We do not really let go of love; We hold on to it. We hold on to what remains After all the dross is put away. And after all the pain has Purified the heart, We know that we need only part With things that cannot last. But we hold on to what is pure; We cherish the truth we’ve found. And what is beautiful shall always remain Because we never really let go of love.
Letting go of your current life By accepting your pain As you create a new atmosphere For yourself where you’re less likely To be triggered. Where you’re more likely To fill your emptiness with things that are healthy For you.
It Was When I Stopped Searching by Rupi Kaur
It was when I stopped searching For home within others And lifted the foundations Of home with-in myself I found there were no roots more intimate That those between a mind and body That has decided to be whole.
A Broken Friendship by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Alas! they had been friends in youth; But whispering tongues can poison truth; And constancy lives in realms above; And life is thorny, and youth is vain; And to be wroth with one we love, Doth work like madness in the brain. And thus it chanced, as I divine, With Roland and Sir Leoline. Each spake words of high disdain And insult to his heart’s best brother: They parted – ne’er to meet again! But never either found another To free the hollow heart from painting – They stood aloof, the scars remaining, Like cliffs which had been rent asunder; A dreary sea now flows between; – But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder Shall wholly do away, I ween, The marks of that which once hath been.
Goodbye, My Dearest Friend by Leilani Hermosa Petersen
The hardest part of any friendship is when it is time to say goodbye, and even though I wished I could make you stay, I know I have to let you spread your wings and fly. For life is a journey that needs to be traveled, and I am certain you’ll make it through. I just want you to know and never forget that I will surely miss you. So follow your heart and never give up, as dreams and wishes do come true. I know that someday we’ll meet again, so never forget I will be praying for you.
Friendship Broken by John Russell McCarthy
Confused and driven in a place bright, black, big these two daringly seemed almost to understand; their awareness caught at each other like whirling midges and clung; their clinging governed somewhat the whirl, assured the laughter, fogged the terror. Suddenly a wrong turn breaks the grasp; these two eddy apart bewildered, rubbing bruised hands; even they add anger to the confusion and the drive endlessly impelling. Soon the power, finishing with these two awarenesses, will drop them as bird lime for the chaste resolvement of worms. Can a stone know?
In Blackwater Woods (Excerpt) by Mary Oliver
To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.
Don’t Surrender Your Loneliness by Hafiz
Don’t surrender your loneliness so quickly let it cut more deep. Let it ferment and season you as few human or even divine ingredients can. Something missing in my heart tonight has made my eyes so soft my voice so tender my need of God absolutely clear.
An echo fades into the night, an eerie mournful sound. A shooting star disappears from sight, and I crumble to the ground. There is no life within this garden; my sobs are the only sound. I have poisoned the honeyed fountain where your love could be found. Dazed, I stare at the stars above, my grieving howls fill the night! Unintended betrayal of love has hidden you from my sight. I remember how it used to be when we shared our fears and delights. You are a treasured friend to me. How can I make things right? Feeling afraid, cold and lonely, I long to tell you how I feel, but you don’t want to hear me. The pain for you is much too real. Should I back away and build a wall and block away how I feel? Or, should I give you a call? We both need some time to heal. An echo fades into the night as our friendship disappears. How do I know what is right? How can I ease my fears? If I do call you again, would the old wounds reappear? I can’t stand to cause you pain. Hurting you again is my worst fear!
Tug o’ War by Shel Silverstein
I will not play at tug o’ war. I’d rather play at hug o’ war, Where everyone hugs Instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles And rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, And everyone grins, And everyone cuddles, And everyone wins.
Shake Hands, We Shall Never Be Friends by A.E. Housman
Shake hands, we shall never be friends, all’s over; I only vex you the more I try. All’s wrong that ever I’ve done or said, And nought to help it in this dull head: Shake hands, here’s luck, good-bye … But if you come to a road where danger Or guilt or anguish or shame’s to share, Be good to the lad that loves you true And the soul that was born to die for you, And whistle and I’ll be there.
Dear Friend by Grinnell Wills
Dear friend, ’tis hard to say farewell, And harder yet it is to tell, In parting words, how strong the tie We sever now in this good-bye. We all shall miss thy gentle grace. Thy willing hand and cheerful face; No other friend thy place can fill. Though absent we shall claim thee still; God bless the work thou hast begun, And guard thee in the years to come. And when thy heart is weary, or alone. Come back and rest in this thy home.
Feeling the Loss of Him by Raymond A. Foss
Standing, walking, coming through the line greeting you, for a moment, sharing but a snapshot, a burst, of what I was feeling, so small compared to the enormity the reality of your loss. Feeling so small, standing in the line, before I approached you. Thinking of what his loss means to me, to so many, as written in the paper Murmured in the court, on the phone with out practitioners. Reading so many stories, so many telling words, the lives he touched, changed for the better, truly. Of his help to me, guidance and rebuttal, chastised and cajoled Feeling the loss of him so acutely, still.
The Uses of Sorrow by Mary Oliver
Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.
Did you find a lost friend poem that speaks to you?
Remember that losing a friendship doesn’t always mean your friendship was in vain. You have grown because of the relationship and learned what you need in a true friend.
