Funeral Poems

Poems and readings are a wonderful way to express your feelings. Most of us find it very difficult to write the words ourselves so reading a poem written by someone else is often the ideal solution.

There are literally thousands of poems to choose from and poems come in many different styles including thankful, thoughtful, personal and funny poems. We would advise choosing the style of poem you are looking for before you start reading as it’s easy to get lost with so many poems in books and on the internet.

Below are a small selection of popular poems we have heard at funerals to give you inspiration;

Funeral Poems

All is Well (Death is nothing at all) by Henry Scott Holland

Death is nothing at all. It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,

and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,

somewhere very near, just round the corner.
All is well. 
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

She Is Gone by David Harkins

You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
Or you can be full of the love that you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she is gone 
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Don’t remember me with sadness

Don’t remember me with sadness,

Don’t remember me with tears,

Remember all the laughter

We’ve shared throughout the years.

 

When you are walking down the street

And you’ve got me on your mind,

I’m walking in your footsteps

Only half a step behind.

 

So please don’t be unhappy

Just because I’m out of sight, 

Remember that I’m with you

Each morning, noon and night.

God’s Garden by Melissa Shreve

God looked around his garden and found an empty place,
He then looked down upon the earth and saw your tired face.
He put his arms around you and lifted you to rest.
God’s garden must be beautiful, He always takes the best.
He knew that you were suffering, He knew you were in pain.
He knew that you would never get well on earth again.
He saw the road was getting rough and the hills were hard to climb. 
So he closed your weary eyelids and whispered, ‘Peace be Thine’.
It broke our hearts to lose you, but you didn’t go alone,
For part of us went with you, the day God called you home

Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep by Clare Harner

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on the snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight. 
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.

Footprints by Ryan Hart

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
Other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life 
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”

The Dash By Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on the tombstone

From the beginning…to the end

 

He noted that first came the date of birth

And spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years

 

For that dash represents all the time

That they spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved them

Know what that little line is worth

 

For it matters not, how much we own,

The cars…the house…the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

 

So, think about this long and hard.

Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

That can still be rearranged.

 

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what’s true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

 

And be less quick to anger

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we’ve never loved before.

 

If we treat each other with respect

And more often wear a smile,

Remembering this special dash

Might only last a little while

 

So, when your eulogy is being read 

With your life’s actions to rehash…

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent YOUR dash?

Afterglow by Helen Lowrie Marshall

I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.

I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done.

I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways, 

Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.

I want the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun,

Of happy memories that I leave when my life is done.

Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

 

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is Dead’.

Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

 

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

 

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, 

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Pardon Me for Not Getting Up by Kelly Roper

Oh dear, if you’re reading this right now,

I must have given up the ghost.

I hope you can forgive me for being

Such a stiff and unwelcoming host.

Just talk amongst yourself my friends,

And share a toast or two.

For I am sure you will remember well

How I loved to drink with you.

 

Don’t worry about mourning me, 

I was never easy to offend.

Feel free to share a story at my expense

And we’ll have a good laugh at the end.

Look for me in Rainbows by Conn Bernard

Time for me to go now, I won’t say goodbye;

Look for me in rainbows, way up in the sky.

In the morning sunrise when all the world is new,

Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved you.

 

Time for me to leave you, I won’t say goodbye;

Look for me in rainbows, high up in the sky.

In the evening sunset, when all the world is through,

Just look for me and love me, and I’ll be close to you.

 

It won’t be forever, the day will come and then

My loving arms will hold you, when we meet again.

 

Time for us to part now, we won’t say goodbye;

Look for me in rainbows, shining in the sky. 

Every waking moment, and all your whole life through

Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved you.

 

Just wish me to be near you,

And I’ll be there with you

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together.. there is something you must always remember. 

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we’re apart.. I’ll always be with you.”

God Saw You Getting Tired by Unknown author

God saw you getting tired and a cure was not to be
so he put his arms around you and whispered,
“Come to Me”

With tearful eyes we watched you
and saw you pass away
and although we love you dearly
we could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating
hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the best.

The Bell

The bell that tolls reminds of of times that we have shared
Of children in a schoolyard, the friends for whom we cared.
The echoes of our childhood, the passing of the years
The arguments, the memories, the happiness and tears
Some moved to seek their fortunes on other distant shores
and then returned to find the friends were waiting there once more.
Wedding bells and children, the partings and the sorrow
But always more than one good friend to help you through tomorrow
The sadness when a childhood friend must say his last goodbye
and we must be without him, although we may ask why.
The bell that tolls reminds us that we will always care
and friendship is forever, even when your friend’s not there.

Posted in Jerrams Blog