Henry Rollins’ spoken word poem “I know you” touches on feelings of loneliness, isolation, and inability to fit in. He starkly portrays the pain of…
As an advocate for mental-illness awareness, spoken word artist Rage Almighty often deals with themes of depression and suicide in his poetry. In his recent…
To my daughter I will say, ‘When the men come, set yourself on fire’ – In love and In War, Warsan Shire “Teaching My Mother…
“The Morning After I Killed Myself” is a poem by 22-year old Meggie Royer, who writes at Writings for Winter. She has two published poetry…
William Wordsworth experienced much loss in his life. His parents died when he was an adolescent, and several of his own children died when they…
In this emotionally evocative spoken-word poem, Terisa Siagatonu draws parallels between youth facing urban street violence and soldiers experiencing combat. Both, Siagatonu claims, are at…
Legendary poet, songwriter, novelist, and musician, Leonard Cohen died in November 2016. Known for his melancholy tones, as well as his thought-provoking and deeply emotive…
In this poem, the author only known as Trobers discusses her experience of returning from war with PTSD, and recalls the girl she used to…
“The Fantastic Duo” is a poem by Deceptive Cheese (pseudonym). The narrative depicts a battle between the depression and anxiety that plague the author. Throughout…
A teenager diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, Mary Christina wrote this poem to express the confusion, sadness, and shame she experiences as a result of…
“Don’t tell your Uber driver that you’re going to an orgy”—so begins Donte Collins’ poem “Grief Puppet”. Collins describes the experience of seeing his dead…
Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905 – 2004) was an American poet who is recognized for her first and perhaps only poem “Do Not Stand at My…
In her poem “The Addict”, Anne Gray Harvey (Anne Sexton) describes her experience of addiction to sleeping pills and her nighttime ritual of taking them….
The author of “Alone”, Edgar Allen Poe, experienced many setbacks in his short life. These influenced his writing and helped define his literary style. First,…
Performing for Toronto during the semi-finals at the 2014 National Poetry Slam, Sabrina Benaim shares her raw experience with depression, disclosing what she has endured…
‘Rape Poem To End All Rape Poems’ is a slam poem by Rutgers University Slam Poetry team, including Justice Hehir, Lindsey Michelle Williams, Kate Thomas,…
The poem ‘Requiem’ by Anna Akhmatova documents the trauma and suffering of the Russian people under Joseph Stalin. The poem was conceived as she waited…
Dan Roman uses a powerful metaphor of an ever-present roommate to describe his painful experience with depression. His recitation of this poem is a moving…
When a father loses a child, his grief can sometimes be eclipsed by that of the mother’s. This poem by Eileen Knight Hagemeister describes how…
Andrea Gibson is a spoken word artist and activist who writes with intense passion about mental illness, bullying, and social tragedy. In her award-winning poem,…
