Here is a selection of some of my favourite funeral poems:
The Unknown Shore
by Elizabeth Clark Hardy (1794 – 1854)
Sometime at Eve when the tide is low
I shall slip my moorings and sail away
With no response to a friendly hail
In the silent hush of the twilight pale
When the night stoops down to embrace the day
And the voices call in the water’s flow
Sometime at Eve when the water is low
I shall slip my moorings and sail away.
Through purple shadows
That darkly trail o’er the ebbing tide
And the Unknown Sea,
And a ripple of waters to tell the tale
Of a lonely voyager sailing away
To mystic isles
Where at anchor lay
The craft of those who had sailed before
O’er the Unknown Sea
To the Unknown Shore
A few who watched me sail away
Will miss my craft from the busy bay
Some friendly barques were anchored near
Some loving souls my heart held dear
In silent sorrow will drop a tear
But I shall have peacefully furled my sail
In mooring sheltered from the storm and gale
And greeted friends who had sailed before
O’er the Unknown Sea
To the Unknown Shore
The Tide Recedes
by Ursula (Pankow) Delfs
The tide recedes
But leaves behind
Bright seashells on the sand
The sun goes down
But gentle warmth
Still lingers on the land
The music stops
And yet it echoes on
In sweet refrains
For every joy that passes
Something beautiful remains
Remember Me
by Christina Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away –
Gone far away into the silent land!
When you can no more take me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go; yet turning, stay.
Remember me when no more, day by day,
You tell me of the future that you planned;
Only remember me, you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve;
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember – and be sad.
What Is Left Of Me – is You
by Char March
I am the family face;
I live on, in her eye,
In your nose, in that smile,
In the way his thumb curves,
And the way she sighs.
And, I live on
In each and every
Heart and mind –
I am the memory,
The well-known phrase,
The laughter and
The song.
Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep
by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905 – 2004)
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 glint on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain
I am in gentle autumn rain,
When you awaken in the morning hush
I am swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight
I am the star-shine at night
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I did not die.
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 that 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?