Sad Love Poems

We started off the Happy Love Poems thread with Byron...he's also got the sad ones covered pretty well, too. Here's one to start:

To Caroline

Think'st thou I saw thy beauteous eyes,
Suffus'd in tears, implore to stay;
And heard unmov'd thy plenteous sighs,
Which said far more than words can say?

Though keen the grief thy tears exprest,
When love and hope lay both o'erthrown;
Yet still, my girl, this bleeding breast
Throbb'd, with deep sorrow, as thine own.

But, when our cheeks with anguish glow'd,
When thy sweet lips were join'd to mine;
The tears that from my eyelids flow'd
Were lost in those which fell from thine.

Thou could'st not feel my burning cheek,
Thy gushing tears had quench'd its flame,
And, as thy tongue essay'd to speak,
In sighs alone it breath'd my name.

And yet, my girl, we weep in vain,
In vain our fate in sighs deplore;
Remembrance only can remain,
But that, will make us weep the more.

Again, thou best belov'd, adieu!
Ah! if thou canst, o'ercome regret,
Nor let thy mind past joys review,
Our only hope is, to forget!

When I was young I think I must have read every one of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poems a dozen times. At that melancholic stage of my life, I found the sad ones particularly poignant. This is still one of my favorites:

Time Does Not Bring Relief

Time does not bring relief; you all have lied
Who told me time would ease me of my pain!
I miss him in the weeping of the rain;
I want him at the shrinking of the tide;
The old snows melt from every mountain-side,
And last year's leaves are smoke in every lane;
But last year's bitter loving must remain
Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.
There are a hundred places where I fear
To go - so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, 'There is no memory of him here!'
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.

--Edna St. Vincent Millay

source

There's something to the "bounce" of reading Poe's poetry that I really enjoy.  I really enjoy The Raven, The Bells, and this sad love Poem.
I memorized all three of them when I was in my twenties for some reason.  I'm not really into poetry otherwise.
This poem actually inspired one of the garden gates I made.  I'll attach a picture of it.

Annabel Lee
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

It was many and many a year ago,
  In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
  By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
  Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
  In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
  I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven
  Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
  In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
  My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
  And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
  In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
  Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
  In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
  Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
  Of those who were older than we—
  Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
  Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
  Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
  Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
  Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
  Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
  In her sepulchre there by the sea—
  In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Poe understood sad poems, for sure. And so did Sylvia Plath:


Mad Girl's Love Song

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan's men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you'd return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

Alone

Do you think that god ever feels all alone
His garden which we get to play in
Did he place us here like a gnome
A place to help us sit and go within

I see so many who would like to grandstand
Material possessions which we create
Missing a connection we don’t understand
Other tribes we like to berate

So often we move on to what is new
Tarnishing so many a sacred land
Wanting more because our lives are askew
Must sit and hope we understand soon

-Ybul


So often I want to jump in
Something needs a fixin
I should really stop thinkin
That I know how to stop the hurtin

Maybe that simply a reflection of me
Trying to teach me a lesson
Allowing me to see
Go inside and ask for a session

Why I think I know how it should unfold
I’m trying to twist fate
Within I can hear gods message take hold
Most times it’s best to take a breath and wait

Ybul

Thea

Not really knowing you Thea
It boggles my mind
Leaving me with no idea
I’m sure you are probably kind

As I have stated before
I simply can not understand
How in my thoughts and I can not ignore
Are you and it’s nothing I’ve planned

At first I was like a bumbling idiot
Like now still trying to heal an old wound
Thoughts twisted so I seemed like a nut
Playing out of chord needing to be tuned

I have no idea what to say
The only thing I do know
Is that you have to want to walk this way
Allowing something to grow

Many times I get a little overzealous
When I think things might be going my way
I don’t think I could ever be jealous
I’m recalling trying to stay out of the fray

With all of that said
I did state that I didn’t know why
I couldn’t get you out of my head
Bumbling ways make me want to cry

Maybe that coupled with your perception
Of someone who is a little out there
Possibly caught up in some deception
Wishing I didn’t really care

So many ways our are personalities in common
Paths having similar twists and turns
I usually really am a calm one
Preferring to be out amongst the ferns

So many times were our paths so close
Yet never really crossing
You to seek not me to impose
As my mind needs more flossing

As I said I have no idea why, you, I am drawn to
So many fish out there in the sea
This morning, a little early, I’ll go sit in a pew
Hoping somehow my mind can be set free

I understand how a couple others
Must have felt crazed ideas about me
I wish there I could understand this druthers
This morning I’ll ask god to set my mind free

Hoping to no longer seemed crazed
As the other may seem a little hazed
I seem to be star struck and dazed
The other not even fazed

Here I should give it a rest
Letting god and letting go
I’m going to try my best
So many things I’d like to know

That is really the heart of the matter
Understanding why I’m drawn too
Mind filled with so much chatter
Wanting really to know more about you

I no longer want anything superficial
What must be should stir from the deep
I want both to make it official
God I feel like such a creep

Since today is Burn's night:

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears   I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him,
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerfu' twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy;
But to see her was to love her;
Love but her, and love forever.
Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
Had we never lov'd sae blindly,
Never met—or never parted—
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace. enjoyment, love, and pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, alas, forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears   I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee!