We are often asked what are the best poems for funerals? In my opinion, it has to be something which is meaningful for you and your family and friends. There are so many poems for funerals available, that you have plenty to choose from. I've picked 10 of my favourite funeral verses including a special funeral poem for a Dad. But you can find many more.
Of course, you could also write your own. That would be the most meaningful of all. There are some more bereavement poems on our page of grief poems, and if you've written your own poem, you can submit it there as a permanent memorial to your loved one.
Whatever you choose, we hope that your ceremony is a very special goodbye. Your loved one would have been proud of your efforts.
1. Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep, by Mary Elizabeth Frye
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 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 stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there.
I did not die.
2. Don't Be Too Sad - Anon
I'velived my life
I'vetried my best
Thememories I hold dear
Areexperiences I have known
Ofhappiness and tears
Thelove of my family
Thecare of my friends
Thegood times I've shared
Rightto the end
I'vetravelled life's byways
Seenchildren grow up
Experiencedlife's living
Anddrunk from love's cup
Ileave you with memories
Withthoughts of you all
I'mno longer with you
Butyour mind will recall
Thegood times we shared
Thelaughter we had
Pleasecherish these memories
Anddon't be too sad.
ANON
3. Death Is Nothing At All by Henry Scott Holland
Deathis nothing at all.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,
thatwe still are.
Callme by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way
whichyou always used.
Put no difference in your tone.
Wear noforced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laughas we always laughed
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be everthe household word
that it always was.
Let it be spokenwithout affect,
without the trace of a shadow on it.
Lifemeans all that it ever meant.
It is the same that it ever was.
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.
Why should I be outof mind
because I am out of sight?
I amwaiting for you,
for an interval,
somewhere very near,
justaround the corner.
All iswell.
4. Happy the Man by John Dryden
This is a beautiful funeral poem for a Dad:
Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own:
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.
Be fair or foul or rain or shine
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not Heaven itself upon the past has power,
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.
5. Remember - ChristinaGeorgina Rossetti, (1830 - 1894)
Remember mewhen I am gone away,
Gone faraway into the silent land;
When youcan no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I halfturn to go yet turning stay.
Remember mewhen no more day by day
You tell meof our future that you plann'd:
Onlyremember me; you understand
It will belate to counsel then or pray.
Yet if youshould forget me for a while
Andafterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if thedarkness and corruption leave
A vestigeof the thoughts that once I had,
Better byfar you should forget and smile
Than thatyou should remember and be sad.
6. WilliamWordsworth, Intimations of Immortality
What thoughthe radiance which was once so bright
Be nowforever taken from my sight,
Thoughnothing can bring back the hour
Ofsplendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We willgrieve not, rather find
Strength inwhat remains behind.
7. We RememberThem - Rabbis Sylvan Kamens and Jack Riemer
At therising of the sun and at its going down
We rememberthem.
At theblowing of the wind and in the chill of winter
We rememberthem.
At theopening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring
We rememberthem.
At theblueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer
We rememberthem.
At therustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn
We rememberthem.
At thebeginning of the year and when it ends
We rememberthem.
As long aswe live, they too will live;
for theyare now a part of us
as weremember them.
When we areweary and in need of strength
We rememberthem.
When we arelost and sick at heart
We rememberthem.
When wehave joy we crave to share
We rememberthem.
When wehave decisions that are difficult to make
We rememberthem.
When wehave achievements that are based on theirs
We rememberthem.
As long aswe live, they too will live;
for theyare now a part of us
as weremember them.
8. Away - JamesWhitcomb Riley (1849 - 1916)
If needed, you can change 'she' to 'he' in this poem.
I cannotsay and I will not say
That she isdead, she is just away.
With acheery smile and a wave of hand
She haswandered into an unknown land;
And left usdreaming how very fair
Its needsmust be, since she lingers there.
And you-ohyou, who the wildest yearn
From theold-time step and the glad return-
Think ofher faring on, as dear
In the loveof there, as the love of here
Think ofher still the same way, I say;
She is notdead, she is just away.
9. Instructions- Rev. Arnold Crompton
When I have moved beyond you in the adventure of life,
Gather in some pleasant place
And there remember me with spoken words,
Old and new. Let a tear fall if you will,
But let a smile come quickly
For I have loved the laughter of life.
Do not linger too long with your solemnities,
Go eat, and drink and talk
And when you can—
Follow a woodland trail, climb a high mountain
Sleep beneath the stars, Swim in a cold river
Chew the thoughts of some book that challenges your soul.
Use your hands some bright day
To make a thing of beauty
Or to lift someone’s heavy load.
Though you mention not my name,
Though no thought of me crosses your mind-
I shall be with you
For these have been the realities of life to me.
And when you face some crisis with anguish—
When you walk alone with courage
When you choose the right path
When you give yourself in love
I shall be very close to you
I have followed the valleys,
I have climbed the heights of life.
10. Funeral Blues - WH 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.
REcommended Reads:
Related Pages:
Planning a Funeral
Funeral Music
Funeral Hymns
Funeral Songs
How to Stay Calm at the Funeral
- Grief and Sympathy Home
- Funeral Poems
- Best Poems for Funerals
Where to get help:
Have You Considered One-on-One Online Grief Counseling?
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