POEMS

There are so many poems that are suitable for a funeral service.  Below are some examples that could be included in the service for your loved one…

 

When Tomorrow Starts Without Me 

 

When 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 love me,

As much as I love 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.

 

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.

 

*

 

 

He/She Is Gone

 

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.

 

*

 

The Dash

 

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke of the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth

And now only those who loved her

Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,

The cars, the house, the cash,

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;

Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what’s true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect

And more often wear a smile,

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read

With your life’s actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

 

*

 

Feel No Guilt In Laughter

 

Feel no guilt in laughter, he’d know how much you care.

Feel no sorrow in a smile that he is not here to share.

You cannot grieve forever; he would not want you to.

He’d hope that you could carry on the way you always do.

So, talk about the good times and the way you showed you cared,

The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared.

Let memories surround you, a word someone may say

Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour or a day,

That brings him back as clearly as though he were still here,

And fills you with the feeling that he is always near.

For if you keep those moments, you will never be apart

And he will live forever locked safely within your heart.

 

*

 

All Is Well

 

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.

 

*

 

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 his call,

I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,

To laugh, to love, to work, to play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way,

I’ve found that peace at the close of the day.

If my 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 sorrow,

I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.

My Life’s been full, I savoured much,

Good 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 heart and share with me,

God wanted me now, He set me free.

 

*

 

I’m There Inside Your Heart

 

Right now I’m in a different place,

And though we seem apart,

I’m closer than I ever was…

I’m there inside your heart.

 

I’m with you when you greet each day

And while the sun shines bright,

I’m there to share the sunsets, too…

I’m with you every night.

 

I’m with you when the times are good,

To share a laugh or two,

And if a tear should start to fall…

I’ll still be there for you.

 

And when that day arrives

That we no longer are apart,

I’ll smile and hold you close to me…

Forever in my heart.

 

*

 

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

 

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.

 

*

 

One 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 now,

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

And those of you who loved me,

I thank you most of all.

And in my fleeting lifespan,

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.