Which poems are popular?

A celebrant can help you choose a suitable poem that best reflects your loved one.

Whether religious or non-religious, the reading of a poem or short verse is a common part of a funeral – and can a very powerful and moving sentiment, especially if read by a friend or family member.

Choosing just the right poem for a funeral can help those attending to reflect deeply on the life that they have come together to share, and in addition, can also stay in the hearts and minds of people indefinitely.

There are of course hundreds of poems to choose from, but here is small collection of popular funeral poems (click the titles to expand) that may be a fitting tribute to your loved one:

• She is Gone (He 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.

  David Harkins

• Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep

  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 rain.

  When you awaken in the morning hush,

  I am the swift uplifting rush

  Of quiet birds in circled flight.

  I am the soft star-shine at night.

  Do not stand at my grave and cry,

  I am not there. I did not die.

  Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004)

• Afterglow

  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.

  Helen Lowrie Marshall

• 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

  which you have 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.

  Let my name be ever the household word

  that it always was.

  Let it be spoken without effort.

  Without a trace of a shadow in 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.

  Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918)

• Remember

  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.

  Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894

• I Heard Your Voice in the Wind Today

  I heard your voice in the wind today

  and I turned to see your face;

  The warmth of the wind caressed me

  as I stood silently in place.

  I felt your touch in the sun today

  as its warmth filled the sky;

  I closed my eyes for your embrace

  and my spirit soared high.

  I saw your eyes in the window pane

  as I watched the falling rain;

  It seemed as each raindrop fell

  it quietly said your name.

  I held you close in my heart today

  it made me feel complete;

  You may have died...but you are not gone

  you will always be a part of me.

  As long as the sun shines...

  the wind blows...

  the rain falls...

  You will live on inside of me forever

  for that is all my heart knows.

  Anon

• Angel

  Teardrops, slow and steady,

  The pain so real and true.,

  God took another angel,

  And that angel, dear, was you.

  Angel wings, upon the clouds,

  Your body softly sleeps,

  Hush now little angel,

  No more tears you have to weep.

  Little prayers are sent to you,

  The short life you led;

  Your family will never forget you,

  So rest your little head.

  I know God will look after you,

  Now you are truly alive,

  Your spirit soars beyond the moon,

  Your legacy will survive.

  You’re beautiful, you’re endless,

  Now stretch your wings and fly,

  You’re loved by so many,

  It will never be goodbye.

  Close your pretty eyes,

  No more tears, just go and rest,

  Let your soul lie peacefully,

  We know you did your best.

  F. Kondis

• Too Soon

  This was a life that had hardly begun

  No time to find your place in the sun

  No time to do all you could have done

  But we loved you enough for a lifetime.

  No time to enjoy the world and its wealth

  No time to take life down off the shelf

  No time to sing the song of yourself

  Though you had enough love for a lifetime.

  Those who live long endure sadness and tears

  But you’ll never suffer the sorrowing years

  No betrayal, no anger, no hatred, no fears

  Just love — Only love — In your lifetime.

  Mary Yarnall

• Woodland Burial

  Don’t lay me in some gloomy churchyard shaded by a wall,

  Where the dust of ancient bones has spread a dryness over all,

  Lay me in some leafy loam where, sheltered from the cold

  Little seeds investigate and tender leaves unfold.

  There kindly and affectionately, plant a native tree

  To grow resplendent before God and hold some part of me.

  The roots will not disturb me as they wend their peaceful way

  To build the fine and bountiful, from closure and decay.

  To seek their small requirements so that when their work is done

  I’ll be tall and standing strongly in the beauty of the sun.

  Pam Ayers

• Your Spirit

  I know that no matter what

  You will always be with me.

  When life separates us

  I’ll know it is only your soul

  Saying goodbye to your body

  But your spirit will be with me always.

  When I see a bird chirping on a nearby branch

  I will know it is you singing to me.

  When a butterfly brushes gently by me so care freely

  I will know it is you assuring me you are free from pain.

  When the gentle fragrance of a flower catches my attention

  I will know it is you reminding me

  To appreciate the simple things in life.

  When the sun shining through my window awakens me

  I will feel the warmth of your love.

  When I hear the rain pitter patter against my window sill

  I will hear your words of wisdom

  And will remember what you taught me so well’

  That without rain trees cannot grow

  Without rain flowers cannot bloom

  Without life’s challenges I cannot grow strong.

  When I look out to the sea

  I will think of your endless love for your family.

  When I think of mountains, their majesty and magnificence

  I will think of your courage for your country.

  No matter where I am

  Your spirit will be beside me

  For I know that no matter what

  You will always be with me.

  Tram-Tiara T. Von Reichenbach

• Song

  When I am dead, my dearest,

  Sing no sad songs for me;

  Plant thou no roses at my head,

  Nor shady cypress tree:

  Be the green grass above me

  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,

  Happily I may remember,

  And happily may forget.

  Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

• Miss Me But Let Me Go

  When I come to the end of the road,

  And the sun has set for me,

  I want no rites in a gloom-filled room,

  Why cry for a soul set free?

  Miss me a little — but not for long

  And not with your head bowed low.

  Remember the love that we once shared,

  Miss me, but let me go.For this is a journey that we all must take

  And each must go alone;

  It’s all a part of the nature’s plan,

  A step on the road to home.When you are lonely and sick of heart,

  Go to the friends we know,

  And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.

  Miss me, but let me go.

  Glyn Shipton

• Traditional Irish Blessing

  May the road rise up to meet you.

  May the wind be always at your back.

  May the sun shine warm upon your face;

  the rains fall soft upon your fields.

  And until we meet again.

  May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

  May the road rise up to meet you

  May the wind be always at your back

  May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home

  And may the hand of a friend always be near.

  May green be the grass you walk on,

  May blue be the skies above you,

  May pure be the joys that surround you,

  May true be the hearts that love you.

  Author Unknown

• A Silent Tear

  Just close your eyes and you will see

  All the memories that you have of me

  Just sit and relax and you will find

  I’m really still there inside your mind.

  Don’t cry for me now I’m gone

  For I am in the land of song

  There is no pain, there is no fear

  So dry away that silent tear.

  Don’t think of me in the dark and cold

  For here I am, no longer old

  I’m in that place that’s filled with love

  Known to you all, as “Up Above”.

  Gaynor Llewellyn

• When I'm Gone

  When I come to the end of my journey

  And I travel my last weary mile.

  Just forget if you can, that I ever frowned

  And remember only the smile.

  Forget unkind words I have spoken;

  Remember some good I have done.

  Forget that I ever had heartache

  And remember I’ve had loads of fun.

  Forget that I’ve stumbled and blundered

  And sometimes fell by the way.

  Remember I have fought some hard battles

  And won, ere the close of the day.

  Then forget to grieve for my going,

  I would not have you sad for a day,

  But in summer just gather some flowers

  And remember the place where I lay.

  And come in the shade of evening

  When the sun paints the sky in the west

  Stand for a few moments beside me

  And remember only my best.

  Lyman Hancock

• A Song of Living

  Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

  I have sent up my gladness on wings, to be lost in the blue of the sky.

  I have run and leaped with the rain,

  I have taken the wind to my breast.

  My cheek like a drowsy child

  to the face of the earth, I have pressed.

  Because I have loved life,

  I shall have no sorrow to die.

  Amelia Josephine Burr