Here you will find a small selection from the vast collection of Poems & Readings that are available for Funeral and Memorial Services

 

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.

 

S/he is Gone

You can shed tears that s/he is gone

or you can smile because she has lived.

 

You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back

or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.

 

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her

or you can be full of the love 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's 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'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

​

Life Goes On

If I should go before the rest of you

Break not a flower

Nor inscribe a stone

Nor when I am gone

Speak in a Sunday voice

But be the usual selves

That I have known

Weep if you must

Parting is hell

But life goes on

So .... sing as well

 

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 1,000 winds that blow

I am the diamond glints on snow

I am the sun on ripened grain

I am the gentle autumn rain

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight

I am the soft star that shines at night

Do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there; I did not die.

​

Indian Prayer

When I am dead

Cry for me a little

Think of me sometimes

But not too much.

Think of me now and again

As I was in life

At some moments it's pleasant to recall

But not for long.

Leave me in peace

And I shall leave you in peace

And while you live

Let your thoughts be with the living.

​

God’s garden

God looked around his garden

And found an empty place,

He then looked down upon the earth

And saw your tired face.

He put his arms 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 you were in pain.

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'.

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.

​

His/Her Journey's Just Begun

Don't think of him as gone away

his journey's just begun,

life holds so many facets

this earth is only one.

 

Just think of him as resting

from the sorrows and the tears

in a place of warmth and comfort

where there are no days and years.

 

Think how he must be wishing

that we could know today

how nothing but our sadness

can really pass away.

 

And think of him as living

in the hearts of those he touched...

for nothing loved is ever lost

and he was loved so much.

​

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 we once shared,

Miss me, but let me go!

For this a journey we all must take,

And each must go alone;

It's all a part of the master'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.

​

A ship sails

A ship sails and I stand watching till she fades on the horizon

and someone at my side says She is gone

Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all.

She is just as large now as when I last saw her.

Her diminished size and total loss from my sight is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says she is gone

there are others who are watching her coming over their horizon

and other voices take up a glad shout There she comes!

That is what dying is.

An horizon and just the limit of our sight.

​

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 in 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 never have gone.

​

When I am gone away

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 planned:

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.

​

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene , he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life, that there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him, and he questioned the Lord about it. " Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times of my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed you most you would leave me".

 

The Lord replied " My Son, My precious child. I Love You, and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you".

 

For what is it to die?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides,

that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance…

​

A Gaelic Farewell

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

May the rain fall softly upon your fields until we meet again,

And may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

​

Weep not for me

Weep not for me though I am gone into that gentle night.

Grieve if you will, but not for long upon my soul's sweet flight.

I am at peace, my soul's at rest

There is no need for tears.

For with your love I was so blessed.

For all those many years.

There is no pain, I suffer not,

The fear now all is gone.

Put now these things out of your thoughts,

In your memory I live on.

Remember not my fight for breath

Remember not the strife.

Please do not dwell upon my death,

But celebrate my life.

​

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.

 

Memories

They say memories are golden,

Well, maybe that is true.

But we never wanted memories,

We only wanted you.

A million times we’ve needed you.

A million times we’ve 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 special place

No one could ever fill.

If tears could build a staircase,

And heartache could build a lane,

We’d walk the path to Heaven

And bring you back again.

Our family chain is broken,

And nothing seems the same.

But as Good calls us one by one,

The chain will link again

​

Not, how did he die, but how did he live?

Not, how did he die, but how did he live?

Not, what did he gain, but what did he give?

These are the units to measure the worth

Of a man as a man, regardless of his birth.

Nor what was his church, nor what was his creed?

But had he befriended those really in need?

Was he ever ready, with words 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 he passed away.

​

Where do they go to

Where do they go to, the people who leave?

Are they around us, in the cool evening breeze?

Do they still hear us, and watch us each day?

I'd like you to think of them with us that way.

 

Where do they go to, when no longer here?

I think that they stay with us, calming our fear

Loving us always, holding our hands

Walking beside us, on grass or on sand.

 

Where do they go to, well it's my belief

They watch us and help us to cope with our grief

They comfort and stay with us, through each of our days

Guiding us always through life's mortal maze.

 

I'm 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 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 end 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 too I 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' 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.

 

If

IF you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

 

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

​

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in. my heart)

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it (anywhere

i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear

no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want

no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

 

Tis only we who grieve

They do not leave

They are not gone

They look upon us still

They walk among the valleys now

They stride upon the hill

Their smile is in the summer sky

Their grace is in the breeze

Their memories whisper in the grass

Their calm is in the trees

Their light is in the winter snow

Their tears are in the rain

Their merriment runs in the brook

Their laughter in the lane

Their gentleness is in the flowers

They sigh in autumn leaves

They do not leave

They are not gone

Tis only we who grieve

​

So many different lengths of time

So, how long does a man live after all?

And how much does he live while he lives?

We fret and ask so many questions -

then when it comes to us

the answer is so simple after all.

 

A man lives for as long as we carry him inside us,

for as long as we carry the harvest of his dreams,

for as long as we ourselves live,

holding memories in common, a man lives.

 

His lover will carry his scent, his touch:

his children will carry the weight of his love.

One friend will carry his arguments,

another will hum his favourite tunes,

another will still share his terrors.

 

And the days will pass with baffled faces,

then the weeks, then the months,

then there will be a day when no question is asked,

and the knots of grief will loosen in the stomach

and the puffed faces will calm.

And on that day he will not have ceased

but will have ceased to be separated by death.

 

How long does a man live after all?

A man lives so many different lengths of time.

​

We Remember Him (We Remember Her)

When we are weary and in need of strength,

When we are lost and sick at heart,

We remember him.

When we have a joy we crave to share

When we have decisions that are difficult to make

When we have achievements that are based on his

We remember him.

At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter

At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring,

We remember him.

At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer

At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn,

We remember him.

At the rising of the sun and at its setting,

We remember him.

As long as we live, he too will live

For he is now a part of us,

As we remember him.

​

Don’t cry for me in sadness

Don’t cry for me in sadness; don’t weep for me in sorrow,

For I will be beside you, as sure as comes tomorrow.

My body has gone but my spirit lives on, as does my loveFor you.

Just as in life. I’ll watch over you, I always will be true.

My blood lives on in my children, how I’ve watched themgrow up with pride.

I’ll live on within them, always by their side.

I know my jokes weren’t always funny and jobs weren’tAlways done.

Just try and always remember the good times the days whenWe had fun.

Reach out if you need me, for I will always be near.

Just talk to me, as if I am there, I promise I will hear.

For I’ll live on, with in your mind, we’ll never be apart,

As long as you keep my memory, deep within your heart.

So lift up your hearts, don’t be sad, my spirit hasn’t gone.

While you’re still there, so am I, I really will live on