Funeral Poetry
Reading poetry at a funeral service can be a lovely way to pay tribute to your loved one.
You may choose to read a poem that was a favourite of your loved one, or that reflects the
relationship that the two of you shared, or your feelings for them.
Please see below for a list of popular funeral verses.
After Glow
I’d like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an after glow
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.
Sense to Soul
From sense to soul my pathway lies before me,
From mist and shadow into Truth’s clear day,
The dawn of all things real is breaking o’er me,
My heart is singing; I have found the way.
I reach mind’s open door,
At its portal I know that where I stand is holy
ground;
I feel the calm and joy of things immortal,
The loveliness of Love is all around.
The way leads upward and its goal draws nearer,
Thought sours enraptured, fetterless and free;
The vision infinite to me grows clearer,
I touch the fringes of eternity.
Daffodils (1804)
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed-and gazed- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Do Not Cry
There is a sunshine for every sunset
and for each night of sorrow there is an ending as the new day dawns
on the horizon called tomorrow.
Don't cry because I have gone but smile because I was here.
God’s Garden
We Will Remember You
God looked around his garden
And he found an empty place,
And then he looked down upon this earth
And saw your tired face.
He put his arm around you
And lifted you to rest.
God’ s garden must be beautiful,
He always takes the best.
He knew that you were suffering,
He knew that you would never
get well on earth again.
He saw the road was getting rough,
And the hills were hard to climb.
So he closed your weary eyelids,
And whispered ‘Peace be thine’.
For an unknown reason he took you up to heaven,
And shielded you with grace.
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.
In the rising of the sun,
And its going down – we will remember you…
In the blowing of the wind,
And in the chill of winter – we will remember you…
In the opening of the buds,
And in the rebirth of spring – we will remember
you…
In the blueness of sky,
And in the warmth of summer, we will remember
you…
In the rustling of leaves,
And in the beauty of autumn – we will remember
you…
In the beginning of the year,
And when it ends – we will remember you…
When we are weary,
And sick at heart – we will remember you…
When we are lost,
And in need of strength – we will remember you…
When we have joys,
We yearn to share – we will remember you…
As long as we live,
You too will live,
For you are a part of us – as long as we remember
you…
Those we love we never lose,
for always they will be,
Loved, Remembered, Treasured,
Always in our memory
Death leaves a heartache
No one can heal,
Love leaves a memory
No one can steal.
Look for me in Rainbows
Time for me to go now, I won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, way up in the sky.
In the morning sunrise when all the world is new,
Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved
you.
Time for me to leave you, I won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, high up in the sky.
In the evening sunset, when all the world is through,
Just look for me and love me, and I'll be close to
you.
It won't be forever, the day will come and then
My loving arms will hold you, when we meet again.
Time for us to part now, we won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, shining in the sky.
Every waking moment, and all your whole life
through
Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved
you.
Just wish me to be near you,
And I'll be there with you.
155 Melville Road,
[Brunswick West VIC 3055
Phone 03 9384 1100
Fax 03 9384 1192
[email protected]
A Mother’s Love
We Will Remember You
A mother’s love is like an island
in life’s ocean vast and wide,
a peaceful, quiet shelter
from the restless, rising tide…
In the rising of the sun,
And its going down – we will remember you…
In the blowing of the wind,
And in the chill of winter – we will remember you…
In the opening of the buds,
And in the rebirth of spring – we will remember
you…
In the blueness of sky,
And in the warmth of summer, we will remember
you…
In the rustling of leaves,
And in the beauty of autumn – we will remember
you…
In the beginning of the year,
And when it ends – we will remember you…
When we are weary,
And sick at heart – we will remember you…
When we are lost,
And in need of strength – we will remember you…
When we have joys,
We yearn to share – we will remember you…
As long as we live,
You too will live,
For you are a part of us – as long as we remember
you…
A mother’s love is like a tower
rising far above the crowd,
and her smile is like the sunshine
breaking through a threatening cloud…
A mother’s love is like a beacon
burning bright with faith and prayer,
and through the changing scenes of life
we can find a haven there…
For a mother’s love is fashioned
after God’s enduring love,
it is endless and unfailing
like the love of him above…
For God knew in His great wisdom
that He couldn’t be everywhere,
so He put His little children
in a loving mother’s care.
‘Loving Promises’ – Helen Steiner Rice
At Rest
Think of me as one at rest for me you should not weep,
I have no pain, no troubled thoughts for I am just asleep.
The living thinking me that was, is now forever still,
And life goes on without me, as time forever will.
If your heart is heavy now because I've gone away,
Dwell not long upon it friend for none of us can stay.
Those of you who liked me I sincerely thank you all,
Those of you who loved me I thank you most of all.
The answer to life's riddle in life I never knew.
I go with hope that now I will and even so will you.
Oh, foolish, foolish me that was, I who was so small,
To have wondered, even worried at the mystery of it all.
And in those span of years as time went rushing by,
I found some time to hesitate, to laugh, to love, to cry.
Matters it now if time began, if time will ever cease?
I was here, I used it all and now I am at peace.