Hi, I am looking for poems that could be included in a service order, for a funeral, so can anyone pls give me a website where i can have a look ( the funeral is for my aunt )
Just google "auntie poem" or something. that's what I did when I read one at my granny's funeral. I'm not creative enough to write my own. It was a beautiful poem though
My husband has one somewhere he printed out .... 'Don't stand by my grave and weep'
That's a beautiful and very poignant poem.
I love this one too:
Rupert Brooke
The Soldier
IF I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by the suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die.
That's the one. Beautiful, and it says everything doesn't it?
This one I feel is really poignant, and makes so much sense Death is nothing at all
Death is 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
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way 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 we always 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 effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
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.
Nothing is past; 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!
That's the one. Beautiful, and it says everything doesn't it?
I've heard people use just the first two lines with the last two lines, as an alternative shorter version. It's used in movies a lot. I think it's perfect. Also, it can be used for any religious etc. beliefs without offending or excluding anyone.
This was used for the committal at my Mum's funeral.
It's by Kate McIlhagga
Go gently on your voyage, beloved. Slip away with the ebb tide, And rejoice in a new sunrise. May the moon make a path across the sea for you, And the sun provide a welcome. May the earth receive you and the fire cleanse you And you go from our love Into the presence of Love’s completeness.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die.
perfect, i have included that in the service sheet, and a member of the family will be reading it out, thanks
I don't know whether you would want to try your hand at writing one yourself..if so you could take a look at this one I wrote a few years ago when my gran passed away? It's sort of cathartic as well, knowing you've made a personal dedication to someone you loved so much.
Light
At seven years with heart of gold
With mud-ridden boots and love of cold
My beloved Gran took me on her knee
And told of fairies roaming free
Beneath the Willow beyond the lawn
Lay a ring of fruit left there at dawn
"Here," she said, "where children play
Is where fairy folk avoid the day".
A trinket world among the new
And humdrum growl of towns askew
Is lost within the deep fey night
Life forgotten with long-lost light.
These fairy folk beneath the tree
Were dancing there for Gran and me
And while she spoke and smoothed my hair
I longed to find the fairies there
So out we went, amongst the dew
Senses pricked for stories true
Soft light shafting through the leaves
Fell on tiny, two-winged blossom thieves
Standing there, I felt the cold
My muddied boots and heart of gold
Behold the sight of fairy life
Of fairy man and fairy wife
The cold grew warm and so I turned
To leave this land that I had learned
Gran's hand reached out for me to hold
And guide me back from legends old.
To my side, Gran's warmth grew less
She kissed my head and I was blessed
Like every child held on her knee
And told of fairies below the tree.
As I traced the path to take me home
The sun shone down, I was all alone
For with the light my Gran had left
She, an angel, had gone to rest.
I don't know whether you would want to try your hand at writing one yourself..if so you could take a look at this one I wrote a few years ago when my gran passed away? It's sort of cathartic as well, knowing you've made a personal dedication to someone you loved so much.
Light
At seven years with heart of gold
With mud-ridden boots and love of cold
My beloved Gran took me on her knee
And told of fairies roaming free
Beneath the Willow beyond the lawn
Lay a ring of fruit left there at dawn
"Here," she said, "where children play
Is where fairy folk avoid the day".
A trinket world among the new
And humdrum growl of towns askew
Is lost within the deep fey night
Life forgotten with long-lost light.
These fairy folk beneath the tree
Were dancing there for Gran and me
And while she spoke and smoothed my hair
I longed to find the fairies there
So out we went, amongst the dew
Senses pricked for stories true
Soft light shafting through the leaves
Fell on tiny, two-winged blossom thieves
Standing there, I felt the cold
My muddied boots and heart of gold
Behold the sight of fairy life
Of fairy man and fairy wife
The cold grew warm and so I turned
To leave this land that I had learned
Gran's hand reached out for me to hold
And guide me back from legends old.
To my side, Gran's warmth grew less
She kissed my head and I was blessed
Like every child held on her knee
And told of fairies below the tree.
As I traced the path to take me home
The sun shone down, I was all alone
For with the light my Gran had left
She, an angel, had gone to rest.
Had this read out at my 18 year old sons funeral last month. I found out later it was also read at the Queen Mothers funeral with obviously 'he' replaced by 'she'. Still a lovely poem which many people commented on.
God I miss him!!
REMEMBER ME
To the living, I am gone
To the sorrowful, I will never return
To the angry, I was cheated
But to the happy, I am at peace
And to the faithful, I have never left
I cannot speak, but I can listen
I cannot be seen, but I can be heard
So as you stand upon the shore
Gazing at the beautiful sea, remember me
As you look in awe at a mighty forest
And its grand majesty, remember me
Remember me in your hearts
In your thoughts, and the memories of the
Times we loved, the times we cried, the
Battle we fought and the times we laughed
For if you always think of me, I will
Have never gone.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die.
If tomorrow starts without me, and I’m not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry the way you did today,
while thinking of the many things we didn’t get to say.
I know how much you care for me, and how much I care for you,
and each time that you think of me I know you’ll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,
that an angel came and called my name and took me by the hand,
and said my place was ready in heaven far above,
and that I’d have to leave behind all those I dearly love.
But as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye,
for all life, I’d always thought I didn’t want to die.
I had so much to live for and so much yet to do.
it seemed almost impossible that I was leaving you.
I thought of all the love we shared and all the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday, I thought, just for a while,
I’d say goodbye and hug you and maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realised 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 gates, I felt so much at home.
When 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’s starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow, but today will always last.
and since each day’s the same, there’s no longing for the past.
But you have been so faithful, so trusting, so true.
Though there were times you did some things you knew you shouldn’t do.
And you have been forgiven and now at last you’re free.
So won’t you come and take my hand and share my life with me?"
So if tomorrow starts without me, don’t think we’re far apart,
for every time you think of me, please know I’m in your heart.
Had this read out at my 18 year old sons funeral last month. I found out later it was also read at the Queen Mothers funeral with obviously 'he' replaced by 'she'. Still a lovely poem which many people commented on.
God I miss him!!
Sorry copied and pasted the wrong poem from the order of service.........
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 him
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 him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his 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 and go on.
I read this one at my mother in law's funeral. I chose a deliberatly short one because I knew I'd break down if I had to do 'Death is nothing at all'. It seemed to fit her character perfectly:
Do not weep when I am gone,
Nor shed a tear, nor inscribe a stone,
Nor speak of me in a Sunday voice;
But be the usual selves I have known.
Weep if you must.
Parting is Hell.
But life goes on,
so sing as well.
I read this one at my mother in law's funeral. I chose a deliberatly short one because I knew I'd break down if I had to do 'Death is nothing at all'. It seemed to fit her character perfectly:
Do not weep when I am gone,
Nor shed a tear, nor inscribe a stone,
Nor speak of me in a Sunday voice;
But be the usual selves I have known.
Weep if you must.
Parting is Hell.
But life goes on,
so sing as well.
Attributed to the late Joyce Grenfell, if I remember correctly!!
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.
sorry if this is a bit predicable, but it is my favourite. I am sorry for your loss
Funeral Blues
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 woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
This one I feel is really poignant, and makes so much sense Death is nothing at all
Death is 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
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way 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 we always 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 effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
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.
Nothing is past; 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!
This is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes reading it
My mother died over a decade ago, and this poem is the only message on a sympathy card I remember, it was from one of her closest friends. I'm not particularly religious, but it really touched, and comforted me....
I'll give you Maggie, God said
For you to love while she lives, and mourn for when she's dead.
It may be ten or twenty years, or fourty two or three,
but will you till I call her back, take care of her for me?
She will bring her charms to gladden you, and should her stay be brief,
you'll have her lovely memories as a solace for your grief.
I fancied that I heard you say 'dear Lord thy will be done'.
For all the joy that Maggie will bring, the risk of grief I'll run.
Now will you give her all your love, nor think the labour vain?
Nor hate me when I come to take her back again?
Should the angels call for her much sooner than I planned,
brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.
Comments
That's a beautiful and very poignant poem.
I love this one too:
Rupert Brooke
The Soldier
IF I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by the suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Sorry for you loss Kunash.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die.
That's the one. Beautiful, and it says everything doesn't it?
Death is nothing at all
Death is 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
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way 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 we always 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 effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
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.
Nothing is past; 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!
I've heard people use just the first two lines with the last two lines, as an alternative shorter version. It's used in movies a lot. I think it's perfect. Also, it can be used for any religious etc. beliefs without offending or excluding anyone.
It's by Kate McIlhagga
Go gently on your voyage, beloved.
Slip away with the ebb tide,
And rejoice in a new sunrise.
May the moon make a path across the sea for you,
And the sun provide a welcome.
May the earth receive you and the fire cleanse you
And you go from our love
Into the presence of Love’s completeness.
perfect, i have included that in the service sheet, and a member of the family will be reading it out, thanks
Light
At seven years with heart of gold
With mud-ridden boots and love of cold
My beloved Gran took me on her knee
And told of fairies roaming free
Beneath the Willow beyond the lawn
Lay a ring of fruit left there at dawn
"Here," she said, "where children play
Is where fairy folk avoid the day".
A trinket world among the new
And humdrum growl of towns askew
Is lost within the deep fey night
Life forgotten with long-lost light.
These fairy folk beneath the tree
Were dancing there for Gran and me
And while she spoke and smoothed my hair
I longed to find the fairies there
So out we went, amongst the dew
Senses pricked for stories true
Soft light shafting through the leaves
Fell on tiny, two-winged blossom thieves
Standing there, I felt the cold
My muddied boots and heart of gold
Behold the sight of fairy life
Of fairy man and fairy wife
The cold grew warm and so I turned
To leave this land that I had learned
Gran's hand reached out for me to hold
And guide me back from legends old.
To my side, Gran's warmth grew less
She kissed my head and I was blessed
Like every child held on her knee
And told of fairies below the tree.
As I traced the path to take me home
The sun shone down, I was all alone
For with the light my Gran had left
She, an angel, had gone to rest.
that is a lovely poem
God I miss him!!
REMEMBER ME
To the living, I am gone
To the sorrowful, I will never return
To the angry, I was cheated
But to the happy, I am at peace
And to the faithful, I have never left
I cannot speak, but I can listen
I cannot be seen, but I can be heard
So as you stand upon the shore
Gazing at the beautiful sea, remember me
As you look in awe at a mighty forest
And its grand majesty, remember me
Remember me in your hearts
In your thoughts, and the memories of the
Times we loved, the times we cried, the
Battle we fought and the times we laughed
For if you always think of me, I will
Have never gone.
thats the one I was going to suggest. Lovely.
is flying overhead
The browns, reds and golds of autumn
lie in the gutter, dead
Remember then, that summer birds
with wings of fire flaying
Came to witness springs new hope,
born of leaves decaying.
Just as new life will come from death,
love will come at leisure.
Love of love, love of life and
giving without measure
Gives in return a wonderous yearn
of a promise almost seen.
Live hand-in-hand and together we'll stand
on the threshold of a dream.
The Dream
by The Moody Blues
If tomorrow starts without me, and I’m not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry the way you did today,
while thinking of the many things we didn’t get to say.
I know how much you care for me, and how much I care for you,
and each time that you think of me I know you’ll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,
that an angel came and called my name and took me by the hand,
and said my place was ready in heaven far above,
and that I’d have to leave behind all those I dearly love.
But as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye,
for all life, I’d always thought I didn’t want to die.
I had so much to live for and so much yet to do.
it seemed almost impossible that I was leaving you.
I thought of all the love we shared and all the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday, I thought, just for a while,
I’d say goodbye and hug you and maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realised 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 gates, I felt so much at home.
When 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’s starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow, but today will always last.
and since each day’s the same, there’s no longing for the past.
But you have been so faithful, so trusting, so true.
Though there were times you did some things you knew you shouldn’t do.
And you have been forgiven and now at last you’re free.
So won’t you come and take my hand and share my life with me?"
So if tomorrow starts without me, don’t think we’re far apart,
for every time you think of me, please know I’m in your heart.
God I miss him!!
Sorry copied and pasted the wrong poem from the order of service.........
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 him
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 him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his 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 and go on.
Do not weep when I am gone,
Nor shed a tear, nor inscribe a stone,
Nor speak of me in a Sunday voice;
But be the usual selves I have known.
Weep if you must.
Parting is Hell.
But life goes on,
so sing as well.
Attributed to the late Joyce Grenfell, if I remember correctly!!
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.
Christina Rossetti
Funeral Blues
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 woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
W.H. Auden
This is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes reading it
I'll give you Maggie, God said
For you to love while she lives, and mourn for when she's dead.
It may be ten or twenty years, or fourty two or three,
but will you till I call her back, take care of her for me?
She will bring her charms to gladden you, and should her stay be brief,
you'll have her lovely memories as a solace for your grief.
I fancied that I heard you say 'dear Lord thy will be done'.
For all the joy that Maggie will bring, the risk of grief I'll run.
Now will you give her all your love, nor think the labour vain?
Nor hate me when I come to take her back again?
Should the angels call for her much sooner than I planned,
brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.
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.
this is a lovely poem