Tears are one of the most honest forms of human expression. Whether from grief, joy, frustration, or relief—crying connects us to what matters most. These quotes give voice to emotions that often feel impossible to put into words.
There's no shame in crying. It's one of the most deeply human things we do. Tears accompany our greatest losses and our most profound moments of connection. They remind us that we're alive, that we feel, that we love.
When someone we love passes away, tears come whether we want them to or not. And sometimes, finding the right words to express that grief feels impossible. That's where quotes can help—they give shape to feelings we can't articulate ourselves.
We've gathered 38 quotes about crying, grief, and the full spectrum of human emotion. Whether you need words for a eulogy, a sympathy card, or simply your own quiet reflection—something here will resonate.
Sometimes the most powerful words are the fewest. These brief quotes carry immense weight in just a handful of words.
"Those who do not weep, do not see."
— Victor Hugo
"Sadness flies away on the wings of time."
— Jean de la Fontaine
"Grief does not change you, it reveals you."
— John Green
"Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them."
— George Eliot
"Crying relieves pressure on the soul."
— Toba Beta
"Tears are the summer showers to the soul."
— Alfred Austin
"Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality."
— Emily Dickinson
"If you haven't cried, your eyes can't be beautiful."
— Sophia Loren
"More and more, the hardest part of crying is when I can't stop."
— Chuck Palahniuk
"I never guessed I could cry so hard my face hurt."
— Vernor Vinge
"God gave us crying so other folks could see when we needed help, and help us."
— Joshilyn Jackson
"You meet everyone twice in this life, when they come and when they go."
— C.C Aurel
"Death is the dropping of the flower that the fruit may swell."
— Henry Ward Beecher
"A part of me has departed with you."
— Unknown
"Grief sits like a weight upon my soul."
— Unknown
"I shed more tears than God could ever have required."
— Arthur Rimbaud
"For death is no more than a turning of us from time to eternity."
— William Penn
"If somebody hurts you, it's okay to cry a river, just remember to build a bridge and get over it."
— Taylor Swift
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Get the Free Guide →Sometimes grief needs more than a sentence. These longer passages give fuller voice to complex emotions—ideal for eulogies, memorial cards, or moments when you need to sit with the weight of what you're feeling.
"Sometimes, when you lose—when people die—it is very hard to make tears. You feel like you want to make tears but something inside you stops them, and they press your chest. Like something sitting on it."
— Shruti Swami
"Don't be ashamed to weep; this is right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water."
— Brian Jacques
"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried than before—more sorry, more aware of my ingratitude, gentler."
— Charles Dickens
"Crying doesn't mean you're weak… Sometimes it's what you need to do to get strong again."
— J.W. Lynne
"No matter how big you get, it's still okay to cry because everybody's got a right to their own tears."
— Jacqueline Woodson
"Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do."
— C.S. Lewis
"Weeping is not the same thing as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it's over, you feel like you don't have any bones left to hold you up."
— Sarah Ockler
"Your tears come easy when you're young, and beginning the world. Your tears come easy when you're old, and leaving it."
— Wilkie Collins
"Crying is good for the soul. It means something needs to be released. And if you don't release the something, it just weighs you down until you can hardly move."
— Erin Entrada Kelly
"There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock and take all the sadness away, but I have the feeling that if I did, the joy would be gone as well."
— Nicholas Sparks
"What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us wind up in parentheses."
— John Irving
"Death is a great revealer of what is in a man, and in its solemn shadow appear the naked lineaments of the soul."
— E.H. Chapin
"To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever."
— J.K. Rowling
"Shining through tears, like April suns in showers that labor to overcome the cloud that loads them."
— Thomas Otway
"It's okay that we're not perfect. It's okay that we all have problems. It's okay to cry, to show emotions."
— Marina Abramovic
Many people find these quotes while planning a funeral or memorial. If you're in that position, you know how overwhelming it is to handle emotions and logistics at the same time. A Digital Vault keeps all the important documents—wills, policies, account info—organized in one place, so families aren't left searching during their hardest days. See how it works →
A few more to keep close when you need them:
"Tears come from the heart and not from the brain."
"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea."
"Men must live and create. Live to the point of tears."
"Tears are the silent language of grief."
"Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into heaven."
These quotes work well in sympathy cards, eulogies, memorial services, social media tributes, or simply for your own reflection. They give language to feelings that are hard to express on your own.
Absolutely. Crying is a natural, healthy response to strong emotions. It's not a sign of weakness—it's a sign of being human. Research shows that crying can actually help reduce stress and improve mood.
It depends on your relationship and their personality. Some prefer short, direct sentiments like "Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality." Others find comfort in longer passages that acknowledge the complexity of grief. Trust your instincts about what will resonate.
Grief has a way of stripping everything down to what really matters: the people we love, the time we have, and what we leave behind.
Many people find their way to quotes like these while navigating loss—searching for the right words for a eulogy or a sympathy card. But loss also has a way of making us think about our own families. What would happen if something happened to us? Would our loved ones know where to find everything they need?
A Digital Vault is a simple way to make sure they do. It's a secure place to store wills, insurance policies, account information, passwords, and even personal letters—everything your family would need, organized and accessible.
It's not about dwelling on the worst. It's about giving the people you love one less thing to worry about—whenever that day comes.
Organize your important documents in a secure Digital Vault—or let our team handle everything for you.
Questions? We're here to help. Contact us →