Inspirational Free Funeral PoemsLike the my other free funeral poems collection these bereavement verses also represent a wide cross section of cultures and time periods. Is your time to find a suitable poem limited? Then you may like to consider Lucie Storr's instantly available downloadable PDF (e-book). Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep: over 250 sympathy poems, quotations and readings for funerals, memorial services and inner peace This is NOT free however it is a beautifully compiled collection indexed by theme (loss of child, loss of parent...), author and, opening line. How do I know it's good? Because I've got it myself and will only ever recommend something of genuine value to my readers. It could be on your screen in 5 minutes. Funeral BluesStop 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 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 wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good. W. H. Auden Hear a reading of Funeral Blues
Because I could not stop for DeathBecause I could not stop for DeathHe kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves And Immortality. We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away My labour, and my leisure too, For his civility. We passed the school where children played, Their lessons scarcely done; We passed the fields of gazing grain, We passed the setting sun. We paused before a house that seemed A swelling of the ground; The roof was scarcely visible, The cornice but a mound. Since then 'tis centuries; but each Feels shorter than the day I first surmised the horses' heads Were toward eternity. Emily Dickinson I measure every grief...I measure every grief I meetWith analytic eyes; I wonder if it weighs like mine, Or has an easier size. I wonder if they bore it long, Or did it just begin? I could not tell the date of mine, It feels so old a pain. I wonder if it hurts to live, And if they have to try, And whether, could they choose between, They would not rather die. I wonder if when years have piled-- Some thousands--on the cause Of early hurt, if such a lapse Could give them any pause; Or would they go on aching still Through centuries above, Enlightened to a larger pain By contrast with the love. The grieved are many, I am told; The reason deeper lies,-- Death is but one and comes but once And only nails the eyes. There's grief of want, and grief of cold,-- A sort they call 'despair,' There's banishment from native eyes, In sight of native air. And though I may not guess the kind Correctly yet to me A piercing comfort it affords In passing Calvary, To note the fashions of the cross Of those that stand alone Still fascinated to presume That some are like my own. Emily Dickinson
No Coward Soul is MineNo coward soul is mine,No trembler in the worlds storm-troubled sphere: I see Heavens glories shine, And faith shines equal, arming me from fear. O God within my breast. Almighty, ever-present Deity! Life -- that in me has rest, As I -- Undying Life -- have power in Thee! Vain are the thousand creeds That move mens hearts: unutterably vain; Worthless as withered weeds, Or idlest froth amid the boundless main, To waken doubt in one Holding so fast by Thine infinity; So surely anchored on The steadfast Rock of immortality. With wide-embracing love Thy Spirit animates eternal years, Pervades and broods above, Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears. Though earth and man were gone, And suns and universes ceased to be, And Thou wert left alone, Every existence would exist in Thee. There is not room for Death, Nor atom that his might could render void: Thou -- Thou art Being and Breath, And what Thou art may never be destroyed. Emily Bronte Poem OF LifeLife is but a stopping place,A pause in what's to be, A resting place along the road, to sweet eternity. We all have different journeys, Different paths along the way, We all were meant to learn some things, but never meant to stay... Our destination is a place, Far greater than we know. For some the journey's quicker, For some the journey's slow. And when the journey finally ends, We'll claim a great reward, And find an everlasting peace, Together with the lord Author unknown Time does not bring reliefTime does not bring relief; you all have liedWho told me time would ease me of my pain! I miss him in the weeping of the rain; I want him at the shrinking of the tide; The old snows melt from every mountain-side, And last year's leaves are smoke in every lane; But last year's bitter loving must remain Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide. There are a hundred places where I fear To go - so with his memory they brim. And entering with relief some quiet place Where never fell his foot or shone his face I say, 'There is no memory of him here!' And so stand stricken, so remembering him. Edna St Vincent Millay Your grief for what you've lost holds a mirrorYour grief for what you've lost holds a mirrorup to where you're bravely working. Expecting the worst, you look and instead, here's the joyful face you've been wanting to see. Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings. Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) After Their DeathYou might be coveredby eyelids closed over your whole being, or reach with desperation for something alive to hold onto. Your fingertips will hide in a fist. No more palms open to life. Humbled, the very ground will seem so large. Someday the earth will own you. Or you see theres no time to waste, and plow into previously feared goals. Try to be patient if it takes you years to return. This is the exit from Eden, when you have chosen life while wanting to die. This is the fall that gives wisdom, perspective, gratefulness. It is worth the crawl, back to life. Judith Pordon No Longer Mourn for MeNo longer mourn for me when I am deadThen you shall hear the surly sullen bell Give warning to the world that I am fled From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell: Nay, if you read this line, remember not The hand that writ it; for I love you so That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot If thinking on me then should make you woe. O, if, I say, you look upon this verse When I perhaps compounded am with clay, Do not so much as my poor name rehearse. But let your love even with my life decay, Lest the wise world should look into your moan And mock you with me after I am gone. William Shakespeare If you're still looking for something apt do browse through this large and beautiful collection of inspirational quotations drawn from widely varied sources. Or if you've found the poem you want, click the link for suggestions on how to read a poem aloud Would you like to read a Sample Eulogy? The link will take you to two I wrote myself. Or maybe you'd like to know how to support someone who has recently been bereaved? This e-book 'If There's Anything I Can Do' is full of practical suggestions. That sense of helpless awkwardness that so often gets in the road of expressing our concern and desire to assist doesn't have to be there. 'If There's Anything I Can Do' shows you how to put it aside and do what you want to do - support in the most meaningful and practical way you can. Written out of personal experience, the author deals with all the potential minefields a newly bereaved person must cope with: legal, social, if there are children; parenting alone, the daily housework, house maintenance, holidays... She has practical suggestions to meet each of them. This book will help you help the way you want to. Stop feeling helpless now and find out what you can do here Return to the Top of the Page Calm, Comfort & Heal: Inspirational Quotations Bereavement support - a free series of inspirational messages How to write your own poem in free verse How to read a poem aloud Listen to readings of funeral poems Sample Eulogies Go to another collection of Free Funeral Poems Return to how to prepare & deliver a eulogy Return to Home Page Click for a complete Sitemap
|
