The reading of a poem during the funeral service is a wonderful way to pay tribute to a loved-one lost and can bring a great deal of comfort to those in attendance. That is why our team have pulled together a list of wonderful poems, in an effort to help you find the perfect one for your loved-one.
We have also published an article on things to consider when choosing a funeral poem, this may also make for a worthwhile read.
Popular Poems
Let us start with 3 of the most popular poems read out at funeral services. These poems are touching, heartfelt and will be received well by those in attendance at the funeral.
1. All is well (by Henry Scott-Holland)
Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes 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 effect, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.
All is well.
2. Do not stand by 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 glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
(Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!)
3. 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 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.
Uplifting Poems
Poetry can bring great comfort to mourners during the funeral service, it can even bring on a smile. Why not choose a more uplifting poem, such as the examples below.
1. If I should go tomorrow (by Christina Rossetti)
If I should go tomorrow
It would never be goodbye,
For I have left my heart with you,
So don’t you ever cry.
The love that’s deep within me,
Shall reach you from the stars,
You’ll feel it from the heavens,
And it will heal the scars.
2. 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'd like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun;
Of happy memories that I leave when life is done.
3. My Journey’s Just Begun (by Ellen Brenneman)
Don't think of me as gone away,
My journey's just begun.
Life holds so many facets,
This earth is but one.
Just think of me as resting,
From the sorrows and the tears.
In a place of warmth and comfort,
Where there are no days and years.
Think of how I must be wishing,
That you could know today.
How nothing but your sadness,
Can really go away.
And think of me as living,
In the hearts of those I touched.
For nothing loved is ever lost,
And I know I was loved so much.
Heartfelt Poems
The following poems hold a great deal of meaning. These words will touch the hearts of many during the service and have been used in many services throughout the years.
1. Farewell my friends (by Rabindranath Tagore)
Farewell My Friends, it was beautiful,
As long as it lasted, the journey of my life.
I have no regrets, whatsoever said,
The pain I’ll leave behind.
Those dear hearts, who love and care...
And the strings pulling, At the heart and soul...
The strong arms, that held me up
When my own strength, let me down.
Each morsel that I was, fed with was full of love divine.
At every turning of my life, I came across
Good friends, friends who stood by me
Even when the time raced me by.
Farewell, farewell, my friends
I smile and bid you goodbye.
No, shed no tears, for I need them not,
All I need is your smile.
If you feel sad, do think of me
For that’s what I’ll like.
When you live in the hearts, of those you love
Remember then, you never die.
2. He is gone (by David Harkins)
You can shed tears that he is gone
Or you can smile because he has lived
You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he 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 he 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 he would want: smile, open your eyes, love
3. When I am dead, my dearest (by Chirstina Rosetti)
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget..
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain;
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember
And haply may forget.
4. To Sleep (by John Keats)
O soft embalmer of the still midnight,
Shutting, with careful
Fingers and benign,
Our gloom-pleas‘d eyes,
Embower‘d from the light,
Enshaded in forgetfulness divine:
O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close
In midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes,
Or wait the "Amen" – ere thy poppy throws
Around my bed its lulling charities.
Then save me, or the passed day will shine
Upon my pillow, breeding many woes,–
Save me from curious Conscience,
That still lords
Its strength for darkness,
Burrowing like a mole;
Turn the key deftly
In the oiled wards,
And seal the hushed
Casket of my Soul.
5.Remember (by Christina Rossetti)
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold 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 our future that you plann'd:
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:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
Religious Poems
Beautiful fitting poems for a more religious service, we have listed some of our favourites below.
1.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
With the help of his angels they flew you to your heavenly place
Gods garden must be beautiful, he always takes the best
He knew 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 too hard to climb
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.
2. In Pastures Green (By H.H. Barry)
In pastures green? Not always; sometimes He
Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me
In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.
And by still waters? No, not always so;
Oftimes the heavy tempests round me blow,
And o’er my soul the waves and billows go.
But when the storms beat loudest, and I cry
Aloud for help, the Master standeth by,
And whispers to my soul, “Lo, it is I.”
So where He leads me I can safely go,
And in the blest hereafter I shall know
Why in His wisdom He hath led me so.
3.When Tomorrow Starts Without Me (By David M. Romano)
When tomorrow starts without me and I am not here to see
If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me
I know how much you love me as much as I love you
And each time you think of me I know you’ll miss me too.
But when tomorrow starts without me please try to understand
That Jesus came and called my name and took me by the hand.
He said my place is ready in heaven far above
And that I have to leave behind all those I dearly love.
But as I turned to walk away a tear fell from my eye
For all my life I’d always thought it wasn’t my time to die.
I had so much to live for and so much yet to do
It seems almost impossible that I was leaving you.
I thought of all the yesterdays the good ones and the bad
I thought of all the love we shared and all the fun we had.
If I could have stayed for just a little while
I’d say goodbye and kiss you and maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realize that this could never be
For emptiness and memories would take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things that I’d miss come tomorrow
I thought of you and when I did my heart was filled with sorrow.
But when I walked through Heaven’s gate and felt so much at home
As God looked down and smiled at me from his great golden throne.
He said This is eternity And all I’ve promised you
Today your life on earth is past but here it starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow but today will always last
And since each day’s the same here there’s no longing for the past.
So when tomorrow starts without me don’t think we’re far apart,
For every time you think of me I’m right here in your heart.
Why not write your own?
Although the above poems are all fitting and beautiful as a funeral tribute, why not consider writing your own poem? Take the time to think of all the most wonderful memories, characteristics, and traits about the deceased and incorporate them into a poem dedicated solely to them. This is a true personal form of tribute, as the words will come straight from the heart and will be dedicated to their being, a beautiful way to pay your respects. A poem written for the service, will also mean so much more to the family of the departed.
