Are you looking for some betrayal poems? Here are some of the best poems about betrayal you’ll find anywhere! Betrayal is not easy on the soul, so to the extent these poems succeed on honing in on their topic, read at your own risk.
Our first betrayal poem is about friendship, but we also take up the topic of family betrayal, love and betrayal, as well as exploring the topics of honor and trust. Each poem makes use of different poetic techniques, each appropriate to the poem’s tone and topic. We hope you find these poems of betrayal as cathartic to read as they were for us to write.
The Friendship Betrayal Poem
The betrayal of a friend can be one of the worst types of betrayal. This friendship betrayal poem explores not only how we hurt the betrayed, but how the betrayal affects the betrayers.
One, two, three, four;
When they came to your door;
A, B, C, D;
Why did you deny me?
I didn’t know you from Adam,
You were just some strange kid
Who wanted to play with us
Some long lost summer
Ages ago.
Just some kid,
Who should’ve never been there—
We all ignored you at first,
When we played stick ball
Out there in the street,
But you’d always talk to us—
And even when we tried to bully you
You kept making us laugh—
You were the funniest kid
Anyone ever did hear.
So we let you join in our group;
We let you be one of us;
You couldn’t play ball worth a damn,
But no one really cared—
You were so much fun.
You were the smartest kid
Any of us ever did know—
There wasn’t one of us
That didn’t ask for your help
With some summer school assignment;
And the ideas you had—
Scavenger hunts in the alleys,
Abandoned house explorations,
War with water balloons,
A fruit juice stand …
That crazy makeshift trampoline
That almost broke all our legs!
We’d never had so much fun,
or did I already say that?
It was late in the summer
When they came for you that day;
It wasn’t about you or your parents;
It was about blood,
Who they said you were,
And who they said we were;
Us versus Them,
And you were one of them.
They brought you to each of our doors;
They asked, you know this kid?
And one by one we all said, no,
Never seen him before.
When they brought you to my door;
I was shaking;
I’d never been so afraid before;
You looked right at me
With those big eyes of yours;
And they asked me, you know this kid?
I said,
“No, I’ve never seen him in my life.”
You could have ratted on any one of us;
You could have tried to get back at us—
But you didn’t;
Even as we betrayed you, one by one,
You protected us.
Then they took you to that camp;
No one ever came back from that camp;
Not you, not anyone;
It hurts like hell to think about it;
I go there now, once a year;
We all do;
It’s our own silent punishment;
There are no graves,
Just empty markers—
And every year, in the air
We hear a little whisper:
One, two, three, four;
When they came to your door;
A, B, C, D;
Why did you deny me?
The Family Betrayal Poem
The betrayal of a family is a sad thing. This family betrayal poem brings out how deep the hurt can go.
How were we to possibly know
That so soon you would have to go;
How quickly swept in the high tide
That jauntily plucked you from our side.
There was so much left to do,
Yet now you’ve left our view;
How can we possibly express
or feel so sad any less?
Yet the choice was up to you;
Did you wish to shatter us through?
We all thought you were the man,
But then you carried out this plan.
You left us cold, stumbling in our way,
What shall we make of this all new day?
I can’t imagine you sought to betray,
And so for you we ought to pray.
But the anger sounds a heavy gong;
It comes on at us so steely strong;
What can there be that’s left of this song;
If by your own choice you no longer belong.
Ours chests heave, our hearts are torn asunder;
Each one of us feels as if we’re going under;
Take it back, oh, can’t you take it back?
Why did you have to leave so deep in the black.
The Love and Betrayal Poem
Love is full of jeopardy. There’s nothing worse than a lover betrayed, and sometimes the table can be turned on the betrayer. This betrayal poem about love explores this.
I’m dripping down to the woebegone;
You see, I know just what you’ve done;
I know the time we have won’t be long;
You’re all set and ready to take a run.
It’s the why that’s really got me;
With you it feels so right and true;
Yet you’ll dump me in the yawning sea,
Where I’ll drown, deep down in the blue.
I’ve given you all I had of inmost trust;
What was it you hid that left you so afraid?
The point of your dagger is about to be thrust;
Will you leave me bleeding on the floor betrayed?
I’ll grab and pull you to me with this secret kiss,
With poisoned lips, I’ll end us first in this bliss.
The Honor and Betrayal Poem
What could be worse than bringing us all down with gossip? Does a person with honor even gossip at all? This betrayal poem explores how gossip is without honor.
Hush, hush, she calls
and as her lips spread,
You see in them
tinsel wires
that chill the teeth.
She smiles
and you know that smile—
never real, never gone.
The free flow only goes up
never down, and the sky—
don’t look now—
it’s become a dark pool,
a cesspit leaking,
drop by drop
some blood is sacrificed
on the alter of gossip—
it’s victim is random
and tomorrow
it’ll be you.
The Trust and Betrayal Poem
The victim of betrayal is always trust. Many politicians exploit our trust again and again. This betrayal poem explores the implications and the possible consequences.
You stood up there on the platform;
It was the state fair;
And you didn’t know your mic was on;
But you were on the air,
National talk radio had patched you in …
You couldn’t hear them,
But they could hear you.
You spilled out all the beans,
You were talking to some other insider
Who’d come out to shake your hand:
These people, you said,
They’ll believe anything—
Just promise them what they want—
Tax the rich: ha-ha!
Bring home the troops: He-He!
Feed the poor: ho-ho!
I could tell these people
I’ll walk on water
If you elect me,
And sometimes I think
They’d believe it!
It’s all about money, you said,
Just pitch to this corporation here,
And angle that lobby group there,
Fill your coffers with the loot,
Then get a good hair cut
And sound the right alarms—
They’ll send you back
Time after time,
Because what the hell do they know
About what really goes on?
You stood up there on the platform;
And you spilled all the beans;
Balance the budget: Ha-ha!
Create jobs: He-He!
House the homeless: Ho-ho!
It was all a big joke to you,
And it was your last—
You didn’t know your mic was on;
But you were on the air,
National talk radio had patched you in—
You couldn’t hear them
But they could hear you—
We could all hear you,
And finally, we got the message,
This time, loud and clear.
The more you betray,
The less you can trust,
Until you’re so alone,
That even your own words
You won’t believe.
—Unattributed
We hope you really enjoyed these poems of betrayal. We hope they might inspire your own ballads of betrayal, sonnets of sellout, ditties of dishonesty, and perhaps even a triolet of treason. Keep the faith, take your negativity and turn it into something constructive via your poems.
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