Best Poems for Funerals

Finding the best poems for funerals is very personal. Here are a few  I really connected with.

Also see the Funeral Thank You Notes page.

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

by Mary Elizabeth Frye

This spiritual, though not overtly religious poem, is spoken from the departed’s viewpoint.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.

Funeral Blues

W.H. Auden

One of the best poems for funerals. It’s not uplifting like the poem above but instead conveys the loss and anguish of those still living.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling 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 wrong.

The 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 woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

God Saw You Getting Tired

anonymous

After a long illness.

God saw you getting tired,
and a cure was not to be.
So He wrapped his arms around you,
and whispered, “Come to me.”

With tearful eyes we watched you
and saw you pass away
and although we love you dearly
we could not make you stay.

A Golden heart stopped beating
When He gave you rest.
God’s garden must be beautiful;
He only takes the best.

When I’m Gone

Unknown Author

One of the more uplifting funeral poems.

Release me, let me go.
I have so Many things to see and do.
You mustn’t tie your self to me with tears,
Be happy that we had so many years.

I gave you my love and you can only guess,
How much you gave me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
Buth now it’s time I traveled on alone.

So grieve awhile for me, if grieve you must
then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It’s only for awhile that we must part
So bless the memories whit’in your heart.

I won’t be far away, for life goes on,
So, if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near,
and if you listen with your heart,
you’ll hear all my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way alone,
I’ll greet you with a smile and say, welcome home.

More of the best poems for funerals…

By Helen Keller

Short but sweet, this would be a nice ending to a eulogy.

The best and most beautiful
Things in the world cannot
Be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.

Psalm 23

The Bible

This classic biblical poem reminds people that God is always with them, even when it is difficult to feel that connection.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.