Is your heart pining for someone far away? Are you missing your family and friends? Maybe you’re separated by physical distance.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Long Distance Poems for a Spouse or Partner
- Long Distance Poems for Faraway Friends
- Long Distance Poems for Parents and Grandparents
- Long Distance Poems for Other Close Family Members
Regardless of the reason you’re not together, here are some long distance poems that speak about missing a person you love. They could also be called poems with “thinking of you” messages. They may make you feel better about being apart or you may consider sharing them with the people you’re missing.
Long Distance Poems for a Spouse or Partner
Do you miss your spouse or partner? Do you long for the time when you can be together again? Here are some poems written by other people who are in the same situation as you.
1. “The Day is Gone, and All its Sweets Are Gone!” by John Keats
The speaker in this poem describes his lover. Now that his love is gone, he feels as if there is a void in his heart that can’t be filled.
2. “Valentine” by Lorna Dee Cervantes
This poem is cleverly made to look like half of a heart. In an online interview, the poet says this was written based on a dream she had of an absent lover.
3. “Dear One Absent This Long While” by Lisa Olstein
It is not clear if the person who is absent in this poem will be returning or not. Here are the words:
“I expect you. I thought one night it was you
at the base of the drive, you at the foot of the stairs,
you in a shiver of light, but each time
leaves in wind revealed themselves.”
4. “Country Love Song” by Melanie Almeder
In this poem, the speaker describes how everything (and every person) wants to be admired. Here’s a little snippet:
"sweet, sweet mama . . . truth be told,
the thousand lisping bees to the milkweeds' honey
terrifies me. When the stink of slurry season
is over and the greened fields are slathered, fecund,
overtall foxgloves tip with the weight of their fruit.
Then I dream a little dream of you”
5. “Then” by Roddy Lumsden
This poem describes a person reflecting back on a physical moment with a lover.
6. “A Memory” by Lola Ridge
The speaker in Lola Ridge’s poem reflects on a time when she and her lover sat on a beach by a tropic sea.
7. “The Sea of Glass” by Ezra Pound
The speaker in this poem sees two lovers meet and then depart. He reflects on this poignant moment that occurred when the “sea was roofed over with rainbows.”
Long Distance Poems for Faraway Friends
It’s somewhat easy to find poems about missing faraway lovers. After all, love is a common theme for poets. But how do you show support and love to a friend who is far away? What if that person is having a difficult time? How do you support someone who is grieving from afar?
Here are some long-distance poems. Consider sharing one with your special bud so he or she knows that you still care.
8. “Hoping to Hear from a Former Friend” by Margaret Hasse
Sometimes you become separated from a friend by more than distance. This is a poem about estranged friends, one of whom hopes to reunite.
9. “A Poison Tree” by William Blake
We learn how to make friends and foes in this poem by William Blake. The speaker had a problem with a friend, which he shared to spare the friendship. In another instance, the speaker did not share his problem with a friend, and the friend became a foe.
10. “I should not dare to leave my friend” by Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson thinks about what would happen if she left and then her friend became gravely ill. She gives one good reason you should stick with your friends forever.
11. “On Gifts for Grace” by Bernadette Mayer
The speaker in Bernadette Mayer’s poem goes shopping for her friend Grace, who she misses dearly. She sees a ton of items that she knows that Grace would like, but she doesn’t have any money to buy them.
12. “Friends” by Liz Beran
The two friends in his poem will be going to different high schools. Even though they will miss seeing each other daily, they still promise to remain close.
13. “The Bars Between Us” by Cindy Francis
Are you and your friend separated from each other because one of you is incarcerated? This poem speaks to this unique relationship.
14. “Best Friend Moved Away” by Madi Moody
This sweet poem was written by a teen who thinks about how much she misses her best friend who moved away.
Long Distance Poems for Parents and Grandparents
Do you miss your parents or grandparents? You may be separated by distance or death.
Here are some poems about missing your parents and grandparents or looking back at your ancestry. They may give you relief when you consider that relationships can survive separation. For example, you can learn how to be a good caregiver from far away.
15. “A Way of Seeing” by Kwame Dawes
The speaker in this poem reflects upon his enslaved ancestors. Kwame Dawes was born in Ghana and raised in Jamaica.
16. “Childhood in Latin Caribbean” by Victor Hernández Cruz
Many poets begin by writing about their early experiences. Victor Hernández Cruz writes about a child whose grandfather was a cigar roller in his poem.
17. “Music From Childhood” by John Yau
John Yau’s speaker reflects upon childhood in this poem. He or she notices that even though two languages are spoken in the home, “neither fits your fits.”
Long Distance Poems for Other Close Family Members
Do you miss your siblings, your aunts, your cousins? Perhaps thinking of them makes you reflect upon your childhood. Here are some poems about being distant from your family, either because of geography or by years. Some of them are sad poems and some speak of anticipating a time when you can meet again.
18. “To My Sister” by William Wordsworth
Have you ever waited anxiously for your sister to come? The speaker in this poem can’t wait to see her sis. One stanza reads:
“My sister! (‘tis a wish of mine)
Now that our morning meal is done,
Make haste, your morning task resign;
Come forth and feel the sun.”
19. “A Family is Like a Circle” by Nicole M. O’Neal
One stanza in this poem reads:
“A family is like a book.
The ending’s never clear,
but through the pages of the book,
their love is always near.”
20. “FaceTime” by Clint Smith
We love that there is already a poem about connecting with our loved ones through FaceTime. The speaker in this poem describes this unique way to stay attached to family members who are far away.
21. “Brother and Sister” by George Eliot
In this poem, a sister reflects upon growing up with her older brother. One stanza reads:
“Long years have left their writing on my brow,
But yet the freshness and the dew-fed beam
Of those young mornings are about me now,
When we two wandered toward the far-off stream.”
George Eliot was a Victorian novelist who worked under a male pseudonym.
22. “She’s a long way from home” by Paula Nico
Unfortunately, some people are separated from their families because of some sort of argument. This poem describes an estranged relationship with someone in the family, even though it is not clear who it is.
Poetry Can Help You Share Your Feelings
Have you ever tried to share your feelings with someone, but the words don’t seem to come? Do you long to tell your family members that you miss them, but you feel awkward sharing those intimate feelings with people you haven’t seen in years? We hope that these poems help you connect with someone missing in your life.
Consider using the words of poets and lyricists to share your feelings with others. Even if you refuse to share your feelings by telling others that you miss them, you may feel better know you aren’t the only person feeling lonely.