I struggle with depression myself, and as a writer and (former) poet, I find myself drawn to poetry to find solace, to find comfort, to find solidarity, and to better understand my experiences—as well as the experiences of those who deal with depression in ways that don’t mirror mine at all. Depression poems offer up such a range of experiences and really put the period at the end of the statement that no single experience can get it right or accurately depict what a mental illness looks or feels like. Find below a wide range of depression poems, from contemporary pieces to classics from well-known poets. These are ones that resonate, whether or not they’re ones that are necessarily perfectly relatable. Included are full poems, video performances, poets who are making a name for themselves, and much more. Readers who do, as well as those who do not, deal with mental illness will appreciate what’s out there. Knowing these depression poems will dig into the realities of life with mental illness, proceed with caution. 300 million people worldwide struggle with depression. If you’re one of them or suspect someone you love may be, seek help from someone you trust.
Depression Poems For Those Who Struggle—and Those who want to better understand the illness
1. “It was not death, for I stood up” by Emily Dickinson
Excerpt: It was not Death, for I stood up,
2. “Broken Wing” by @WrittenByWill
3. “Tulips” by Sylvia Plath
Excerpt: I am nobody; I have nothing to do with explosions. I have given my name and my day-clothes up to the nurses And my history to the anesthetist and my body to surgeons. They have propped my head between the pillow and the sheet-cuff Like an eye between two white lids that will not shut.
4. “Explaining Depression To A Refugee” by Muna Abdulahi
5. “The Fury of Rainstorms” by Anne Sexton
Excerpt: The rain drums down like red ants, each bouncing off my window. The ants are in great pain and they cry out as they hit as if their little legs were only stitched on and their heads pasted.
6. “Explaining Depression To My Mother” by Sabrina Benaim
7. “Having It Out With Melancholy” by Jane Kenyon
Excerpt: 4. OFTEN Often I go to bed as soon after dinner as seems adult (I mean I try to wait for dark) in order to push away from the massive pain in sleep’s frail wicker coracle.
8. “Depression” by Rupi Kaur
9. “Monsters at Home” by Simonne Stellenboom
10. “You Can’t Be Depressed” by Neil Hilborn
11. “He Resigns” by John Berryman
Excerpt: Age, and the deaths, and the ghosts. Her having gone away in spirit from me. Hosts of regrets come and find me empty.
12. Untitled by Amanda Lovelace
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxxUe4WJLBI/
13. “Depression” by Cara Delvigne
Excerpt: Who am I? Who am I trying to be? Not myself, anyone but myself. Living in a fantasy to bury the reality, Making myself the mystery, A strong facade disguising the misery.
14. “When People Ask Me How I’m Doing” by Rudy Francisco
15. “McDonalds Is Impossible” by Chelsea Martin
Excerpt: Eating food from McDonald’s is mathematically impossible. Because before you can eat it, you have to order it. And before you can order it, you have to decide what you want.
16. “Every 40 Seconds” by Patrick Roche
17. “Sadness” by Erin Hanson (e.h.)
18. “Depression” by Phil Kaye
19. “The Swimming Lesson” by Mary Oliver
Excerpt: Feeling the icy kick, the endless waves Reaching around my life, I moved my arms And coughed, and in the end saw land.
20. “This Is What It Feels Like To Be Depressed”
21. “Six Months After Contemplating Suicide” by Erika L. Sanchez
Excerpt: Admit it — you wanted the end with a serpentine greed. How to negotiate that strangling mist, the fibrous whisper?
22. “Still Life With Antidepressants” by Aaron Smith
Excerpt: The afternoon light lights the room in a smudged sheen, a foggy-eyed glow. The dog digs at the couch, low-growling at the mailman. I’m spelling words with pills
23. “Living With Depression” by Dan Roman
24. “This Might Not Make Sense Now, But Don’t Worry, It Will” by Noah Michelson
25. “Real Depression” by Atticus
for Paolo Fanoli
26. “Depression” by Rage Almighty
27. “Depression” by Alison Pick
Excerpt: I come by it honestly, an heirloom passed from my father and grandmother before me.
28. “A Lesson” by Lang Leav
— Lang Leav (@langleav) April 27, 2015
29. “Black Depression” by Deniero
30. “What I Could Never Tell My Mother” by Margaret Westenhoff
Excerpt: What I could never tell my mother Isn’t her fault; it’s mine It’s things wrapped inside of me, coiled like wire with the filament exposed She could accept them – those things – I’m sure Want more powerful and important reads about depression? Try these comics about depression, teen books about depression, and these self-help books about depression.
