Funeral Poems And Verses

Funeral Poems and verses

Funeral poems and verses can bring comfort during such an upsetting and difficult time. Some poems for funerals can be uplifting, whilst others may be quite emotional or even funny. Here are some suggestions for anyone wishing to choose a moving poem or verse for their loved one’s funeral.

In this guide:

• Popular funeral poems and verses
• Funny funeral poems
• Short funeral poems
• Non-religious funeral poems

Popular funeral poems and verses

The following verses are among the most popular for a funeral. Similar to funeral songs and hymns, there are a number of poems and verses which are frequently chosen for funeral services.

Some of the most popular funeral poems include:

• She Is Gone (He Is gone)
• Remember Me
• Don't Cry for Me
• Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep
• Let Me Go
• Angel
• Come With Me
• Gone, But Not Forgotten
• How Did They Live?

She Is Gone (He Is Gone)

You can shed tears that she is goneOr you can smile because she has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that she will come backOr you can open your eyes and see all that she has left

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see herOr you can be full of the love that you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterdayOr you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember her and only that she is goneOr you can cherish her memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your backOr you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

David Harkins

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 a shore gazing at a beautiful sea, As you look upon a flower and admire its simplicity, Remember me.

Remember me in your heart: Your thoughts, and your memories, Of the times we loved, The times we cried, The times we fought, The times we laughed. For if you always think of me, I will never have gone.

Margaret Mead

Don't Cry for Me

Don't cry for me now I have died, for I'm still here I'm by your side,My body's gone but my soul is here, please don't shed another tear,I am still here I'm all around, only my body lies in the ground.I am the snowflake that kisses your nose,I am the frost, that nips your toes.I am the sun, bringing you light,I am the star, shining so bright.I am the rain, refreshing the earth,I am the laughter, I am the mirth.I am the bird, up in the sky,I am the cloud, that's drifting by.I am the thoughts, inside your head,While I'm still there, I can't be dead.

Anon

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weepI 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 rushOf 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.

Mary Frye

Let Me Go

When I come to the end of the roadAnd the sun has set for meI want no rites in a gloom filled roomWhy cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little, but not for longAnd not with your head bowed lowRemember the love that once we sharedMiss me, but let me go. 

For this is a journey we all must takeAnd each must go alone.It's all part of the master planA step on the road to home. 

When you are lonely and sick at heartGo to the friends we know.Laugh at all the things we used to doMiss me, but let me go.

Christina Rossetti

Angel

Tear drops, 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.

Anon

Come with me

God saw you getting tiredAnd a cure was not to beSo He put His arms around youAnd whispered ‘Come with Me.’

With tearful eyesWe watched you sufferAnd saw you fade away,Although we loved you dearlyWe could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,Hard working hands at rest,God broke our hearts to proveHe only takes the best.

It’s lonesome here without you,We miss you more each day,Life doesn’t seem the sameSince you’ve gone away.

When days are sad and lonelyAnd everything goes wrong,We seem to hear you whisper‘Cheer up and carry on.’

Each time we see your picture,You seem to smile and say‘Don’t cry, I’m in God’s keepingWe’ll meet again someday.’

You never said ‘I’m leaving’,You never said goodbye,You were gone before we knew it,And only God knew why.

A million times we needed you,A million times we cried,If love alone could have saved you,You never would have died.

In life we loved you dearly,In death we love you still ,In our hearts you hold a place,That no one could ever fill.

It broke our hearts to lose you,But you didn’t go alone,For part of us went with you,The day God took you home.

Rhonda Braswell

Gone, But Not Forgotten

Don’t think of her/him as gone awayHer/His journey’s just begun,Life holds so many facetsThis earth is only one.

Just think of her/him as restingFrom the sorrows and the tearsIn a place of warmth and comfortWhere there are no days and years.

Think how she/he must be wishingThat we could know todayHow nothing but our sadnessCan really pass away.

And think of her/him as livingIn the hearts of those she/he touchedFor nothing loved is ever lostAnd she/he was loved so much.

Ellen Brenneman

How Did They Live? 

Not, how did they die, but how did they live?Not, what did they gain, but what did they give?These are the units to measure the worthOf a person as a person, regardless of birth.

Not, what was their church, nor what was their creed?But had they befriended those really in need?Were they ever ready, with a word of good cheer,To bring back a smile, to banish a tear?

Not, what did the sketch in the newspaper say,But how many were sorry when they passed away?

Anon

Funny funeral poems

A funeral poem or verse doesn’t necessarily have to be sad. There are a number of happy and funny funeral poems which can help celebrate the life of your loved one and comfort those left behind:

• Afterglow
• All Is Well
• Pardon Me for Not Getting Up
• I Am Free

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.

Anon

All Is Well

Death is nothing at all,I have only slipped into the next roomI am I and you are youWhatever 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 usedPut no difference in your tone,Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrowLaugh 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.

Henry Scott Holland

Pardon Me for Not Getting Up

Oh dear, if you're reading this right now,I must have given up the ghost.I hope you can forgive me for beingSuch a stiff and unwelcoming host.

Just talk amongst yourself my friends,And share a toast or two.For I am sure you will remember wellHow I loved to drink with you.

Don't worry about mourning me,I was never easy to offend.Feel free to share a story at my expenseAnd we'll have a good laugh at the end.

Anon

I Am Free 

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free,I’m following the path God laid for me.I took His hand when I heard Him call,I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day, to laugh,To love, to work or play.Tasks undone must stay that wayI’ve found that peace at the close of the day.

If parting has left a void,Then fill it with remembered joy.A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,Ah, yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrowI wish for you the sunshine of tomorrow.My life’s been full, I savoured muchGood friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.Lift up your hearts and share with me,God wants me now, He set me free.

Shannon Lee Moseley

Short funeral poems

If you feel anxious about reading a long poem or want to keep the service as short as possible, you may wish to choose a short funeral poem which is still a touching tribute to your loved one and the life they have left behind. Here are a few short funeral poems:

• If I Should Go Tomorrow
• A Song of Living
• The Star
• Because I Love You So

If I Should Go Tomorrow

If I should go tomorrowIt 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.

Anon

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 childto the face of the earth I have pressed.Because I have loved life,I shall have no sorrow to die.

Amelia Josephine Burr

The Star

A light went out on Earth for meThe day we said goodbyeAnd on that day a star was born,The brightest in the skyReaching through the darknessWith its rays of purest whiteLighting up the HeavensAs it once lit up my lifeWith beams of love to healThe broken heart you left behindWhere always in my memoryYour lovely star will shine

Anon

Because I Love You So

Time will not dim the face I love,The voice I heard each day,The many things you did for me,In your own special way.All my life I’ll miss you,As the years come and go,But in my heart I’ll keep you,Because I love you so.

Anon

Non-religious funeral poems

If your loved one didn’t have any religious beliefs, you may wish to choose a non-religious funeral poem or verse:

• I'm There Inside Your Heart
• To Those Whom I Love & Those Who Love Me
• One At Rest
• Funeral Blues

I’m There Inside Your Heart

Right now I’m in a different placeAnd though we seem apartI’m closer than I ever was,I’m there inside your heart.

I’m with you when you greet each dayAnd while the sun shines brightI’m there to share the sunsets, tooI’m with you every night.

I’m with you when the times are goodTo share a laugh or two,And if a tear should start to fallI’ll still be there for you.

And when that day arrivesThat we no longer are apart,I’ll smile and hold you close to me,Forever in my heart.

Anon

To Those Whom I love & Those Who Love Me

When I am gone, release me, let me go.I have so many things to see and do,You mustn't tie yourself to me with too many tears,But be thankful we had so many good years.

I gave you my love, and you can only guessHow much you've given me in happiness.I thank you for the love that you have shown,But now it is time I travelled on alone.

So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must,Then let your grief be comforted by trust.It is only for a while that we must part,So treasure the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away for life goes on.And if you need me, call and I will come.

Though you can't see or touch me, I will be near.And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear,All my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you come this way alone,I'll greet you with a smile and a 'Welcome Home'.

Anon

One At Rest

Think of me as one at rest,for me you should not weepI have no pain no troubled thoughtsfor I am just asleep

The living thinking me that was,is now forever stillAnd life goes on without me now,as time forever will.

If your heart is heavy nowbecause I've gone awayDwell not long upon it friendFor none of us can stayThose of you who liked me,I sincerely thank you allAnd those of you who loved me,I thank you most of all.

And in my fleeting lifespan,as time went rushing byI found some time to hesitate,to laugh, to love, to cryMatters it now if time beganIf time will ever cease?I was here, I used it all,and now I am at peace.

Anon

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 drumBring out the coffin, let the mourners come.Let airplanes circle moaning overheadScribbling 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 wrongThe 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

W. H. Auden