Readings and Poems for Funerals

Death is nothing at all...

I have only slipped away to 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 it to me in the same way you always used.

Put no difference into your tone,

Wear no false 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 ghost of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was.

There is absolutely unbroken continuity.

What is this death but a negligible accident.

I am but waiting for you for an interval

Somewhere very near

Just around the corner.

All is well.

Henry Scott Holland 1847 - 1918

Canon of St Paul's, London

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 is a journey we all must take,

And each must go alone 

It’s all 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. 

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 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 stars that shine at night. 

Do not stand at my grave and cry, 

I am not there; I did not die.

Mary Elizabeth Frye - 1932

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

its happy memories I leave you my friends, when life is done.

We trust that beyond absence there is a presence.

That beyond the pain there can be healing.

That beyond the brokenness there can be wholeness.

That beyond the anger there may be peace.

That beyond the hurting there may be forgiveness.

That beyond the silence there may be the word.

That beyond the word there may be understanding.

That through understanding there is love.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads my beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

For You are with me, your rod and staff they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

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 there was only one set of footprints. 

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of 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 in 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 precious, precious child, I Love you and I 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.

It was beautiful as long as it lasted

The journey of my life.

I have no regrets whatsoever

save the pain I'll leave behind.

Those dear hearts who love and care...

And the strings pulling at the heart and soul...

The strong arms that held me up

When my own strength let me down.

At every turning of my life I came across good friends,

Friends who stood by me,

Even when the time raced me by.

Farewell, farewell my friends

I smile and bid you goodbye.

No, shed no tears for I need them not

All I need is your smile.

If you feel sad do think of me

for that's what I'll like when you live in the hearts

of those you love, remember then

you never die. 

~ Rabindranath Tagore

You can shed tears that she is gone

or you can smile because she has lived. 

You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back

or you can open your eyes and see all she has 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 would want:

smile, open your eyes, love and go on

David Harkins

How would we know the sun was bright if we never saw the rain

How would we know we feel so well, If we never suffered pain

How would we know we were happy, If we never had heartaches to bear

And how would we know we were needed, If we never had someone to care

How would we know what faith is, If nothing ever went wrong

How would we know what rest is, If the road had not been long

And how would we know what laughter is, If we never shed some tears

And how would we know what courage is, If we never witnessed fears?

How would we know what hate is, If we haven't given love

And how would we know what life is, If there were no love.

Grandmother, we'll always remember that special smile,

 that caring heart, that warm, embrace, you always gave us.

 You being there for all of us through good and bad times, no matter what.

 We'll always remember you, Grandmother,

 because there will never be another one to replace you in our hearts.

 and the love we will always have for you.

Time is too slow for those who wait,  

too swift for those who fear, 

too long for those who grieve, 

too short for those who rejoice, 

but for those who love, time is eternity

You meant so much to all of us

You were special and that's no lie

You brightened up the darkest day

And the cloudiest sky

Your smile alone warmed hearts

Your laugh was like music to hear

I would give absolutely anything

To have you well and standing near

Not a second passes

When you're not on our minds

Your love we will never forget

The hurt will ease in time

Many tears I have seen and cried

They have all poured out like rain

I know that you are happy now

And no longer in any pain.

Cassie Mitchell

God's Lent Child 

I’ll lend you for a little while, a child of mine, God said

For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he’s dead.

It may be six or seven years, or forty-two or three

But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?

He’ll bring his charms to gladden you and should his stay be brief

You’ll always have his memories as a solace in your grief.

I cannot promise he will stay, since all from earth return,

But there are lessons taught below I want this child to learn.

I’ve looked this whole world over in my search for teachers true

And from the folk that crowd Life’s lane I have chosen you.

Now will you give him all your love and not think the labour vain,

Nor hate me when I come to take this lent child back again?

I fancy that I heard them say “Dear God, thy will be done.

For all the joys this child will bring the risk of grief we’ll run.

We will shelter him with tenderness, we’ll love him while we may

And for all the happiness we’ve ever known, we’ll ever grateful stay.

But should the angels call him much sooner than we’d planned

We will brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand."

The Dash 

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on the tombstone

From the beginning...to the end

He noted that first came the date of birth

And spoke 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 they spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved them

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 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?

Linda Ellis

My life is but a weaving

between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colours

He weaves so steadily.

Often He weaves in sorrow

But I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

And I, the lower side.

But the dark threads are as needful

in the weaver's skilful hand

as the threads of gold and silver

in the pattern He has planned.

Not till the loom is silent

and the bobbins cease to fly,

Shall He unroll the canvas

and explain the reason why.

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! 

Ecclesiastes 3, 1-8

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die,

A time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

I am standing on the seashore,
A ship sails and spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
And starts for the ocean.
She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her till at last 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 in the masts, hull and spurs, as she was when I saw her,
and just as able to bear her load of living freight to its destination.
The diminished size, the total loss of 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, and other voices take up the glad shout.
“here she comes.”
And that is DYING