26 Best Meaningful Poems for Funeral

Poems can express a lot of our love and emotions that we would like to say at a funeral. It often has the ability to convey and portray our feeling in a meaningful way.

If you are struggling with finding the best funeral poems that are most fitting for a loved one’s funeral or memorial service, take a look at this article! We are sharing 26 Best Meaningful Funeral Poems. 

Popular Meaningful Funeral Poems

Here are some of the most popular and meaningful funeral poems that are frequently used in a funeral or a memorial service. Take a look.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

by Dylan Thomas

Poem’s Explanation:

Mostly used as an encouragement poem, this poem conveys a powerful message: When death approaches, one needs to know what made life meaningful, and that they should never fear death. (source: literarydevices.net)

Dylan Thomas wrote this poem as an expression to urge his father to fight against death, as his father’s health was declining. 

Dylan believes that goodness comes from fighting against death because by doing so, one will realize the importance of being alive. Here’s the poem:

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Death is Nothing at All

by Henry Scott Holland

Poem’s Explanation:

This poem is designed to relieve those in mourning with the comfort of the past and the optimism of the future. 

Henry Scott-Holland is comforting the reader by expressing that death does not change the past. 

We will still have the memories with our loved ones, and it is something that will not go away. “Your loved one’s death does not diminish the memories you had in any way.” (Source: poetryace.com)

Death is nothing at all.

It does not count.

I have only slipped away into the next room.

Nothing has happened.

Everything remains exactly as it was.

I am I, and you are you,

and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.

Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that 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 an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was.

There is absolute and unbroken continuity.

What is this death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you, for an interval,

somewhere very near,

just round the corner.

All is well.

Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.

One brief moment and all will be as it was before.

How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Funeral Blues

by W H Auden

Poem’s Explanation:

Funeral Blues is a popular funeral poem themed on grief. It is about heartbreak and grief, specifically, about the way that these feelings make people feel isolated from and out of sync with the world around them. (source: litcharts.com)

Grief is difficult to go through. This poem can illustrate that feeling and provide a sense of resonation with the audience. 

The writers express how the world is still moving on its own while they are feeling immense sadness. He wished that all can be put to a pause, requesting all the clocks to be stopped. Anyone who’s in the grief of losing a loved one can definitely relate to this. 

Sometime’s, the most meaningful funeral poem is one that represents the audience’s feelings. It doesn’t always have to be one that has a more positive tone or acceptance. Acknowledging grief and sadness can also be a meaningful poem for a funeral.

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 wood;

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Thanks for lending an ear. Let’s get back to reading,

Because I could not stop for Death

by Emily Dickinson

Poem’s Explanation:

This poem is composed in 1863 and is one of Emily Dickinson’s most celebrated poems. 

In this poem, “death” is personified as a gentleman. Emily is painting a picture of a journey to the afterlife through her poem. 

On line 2, it is written “He ‘kindly’ stopped for me”. Stopping his carriage so that the speaker can climb in to ride with death suggest a certain comfort or at least acceptance of, dying on the part of the speaker. (source: litcharts.com)

This could be a powerful poem to illustrate a perspective that our loved one is on a new journey now to the afterlife that isn’t necessarily gloomy or sad.

Because I could not stop for Death

He 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 labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – ’tis Centuries – and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses’ Heads

Were toward Eternity –

Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep

by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Poem’s Explanation:

This poem was written by Mary Elizabeth Frye to offer comfort to those who would mourn her at her passing. 

The poem is written by Frye in 1932 to give hope and comfort to a young German Jewish girl she lived with. The girl was worried about her mother who lived in Germany. 

In 1939, the U.S Congress published her poem for the United Spanish War Veterans Memorial Service. Many people who had lost a loved one resonate with the poem.

There’s an authoritative tone in the poem that commanded the reader to not be sad and mourning. Could be a perfect choice to honor a loved one that is strong in character, yet also gentle and loving. (source: poemanalysis.com)

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 sunlight 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.

And Death Shall Have No Dominion

by Dylan Thomas

Poem’s Explanation:

“‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’ is a magical look at the ways in which death controls mankind and the fact at even though it is powerful, it cannot control everything.” 

It is an expression by Dylan Thomas, that mankind has the power to stand up against any of the evils of death, and become unified through their moving to the next world. Death does not divide but brings together equally all those that lived apart. (source: poemanalysis.com)

And Death Shall Have No Dominion also matches with Christianity values as Jesus himself rose from the dead, conquering it. You can use this as an empowering funeral poem.

And death shall have no dominion.

Dead man naked they shall be one

With the man in the wind and the west moon;

When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,

They shall have stars at elbow and foot;

Though they go mad they shall be sane,

Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;

Though lovers be lost love shall not;

And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.

Under the windings of the sea

They lying long shall not die windily;

Twisting on racks when sinews give way,

Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;

Faith in their hands shall snap in two,

And the unicorn evils run them through;

Split all ends up they shan’t crack;

And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.

No more may gulls cry at their ears

Or waves break loud on the seashores;

Where blew a flower may a flower no more

Lift its head to the blows of the rain;

Though they be mad and dead as nails,

Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;

Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,

And death shall have no dominion.

Holy Sonnets X; Death, be not proud

by John Donne

Poem’s Explanation:

This poem directly addresses death. It acknowledges that men are fated to die but men themselves are more powerful than death. 

The poem argues that death is nothing more than a rest, and will subsequently be followed by an afterlife, which means that is not a final end. 

The speaker argues against death being treated as something strong and important. John believes that essentially no one is actually dead because they are already moving to the afterlife. There is nothing to fear about death, then. “Death, be not proud”. 

(source: litcharts.com)

Death be not proud, though some have callèd thee

Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,

For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,

Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,

Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,

Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,

And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,

And better than thy stroake; why swell’st thou then;

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Funeral Poems for Dad

Fathers are often our first heroes. They educate us, inspire us, and love us gently. He is reliable and dependable support in our life. 

If you are looking for a funeral poem that is fitting to honor your dad, here are some poems that you can take a look into

Away

by James Whitcomb Riley

Poem’s Explanation:

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. In this Away poem, James is addressing death and the experience of losing someone to it. 

He faces it with gentle acceptance, that a loved one who dies, is not truly dead, but rather are just away to the afterlife (expresses as “an unknown land).

This poem provides comfort and are easy to understand. A great choice for a funeral poem.

I cannot say, and I will not say

That he is dead- . He is just away!

With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand

He has wandered into an unknown land,

And left us dreaming how very fair

It needs must be, since he lingers there.

And you- O you, who the wildest yearn

For the old-time step and the glad return- ,

Think of him faring on, as dear

In the love of There as the love of Here;

And loyal still, as he gave the blows

Of his warrior-strength to his country’s foes- .

Mild and gentle, as he was brave- ,

When the sweetest love of his life he gave

To simple things- : Where the violets grew

Blue as the eyes they were likened to,

The touches of his hands have strayed

As reverently as his lips have prayed:

When the little brown thrush that harshly chirred

Was dear to him as the mocking-bird;

And he pitied as much as a man in pain

A writhing honey-bee wet with rain- .

Think of him still as the same, I say:

He is not dead- he is just away!

To My Father

by Georgia Harkness

Poem’s Explanation:

Georgia paints a father figure with a portrayal of “A giant pine, magnificent and old”. In this poem, a giant pine tree was standing tall and being dependable and reliable protection to the lives surrounding it. 

It protects, and provides a safeguard, with gentle love. The writer illustrates a father’s love through the words like “Within its fold birds safely reared their young.” and “Its towering arms a landmark stood, erect and unafraid, — As if to say, ‘Fear naught from life’s alarms’.”

Though he passed away, their legacy and life continue to inspire those who are left behind. This poem is a wonderful piece to honor the lives of great fathers who had raised us well.

A giant pine, magnificent and old

Stood staunch against the sky and all around

Shed beauty, grace and power.

Within its fold birds safely reared their young.

The velvet ground beneath was gentle,

and the cooling shade gave cheer to passers by.

Its towering arms a landmark stood, erect and unafraid,

As if to say, “Fear naught from life’s alarms”.

It fell one day.

Where it had dauntless stood was loneliness and void.

But men who passed paid tribute – and said,

“To know this life was good,

It left it’s mark on me. Its work stands fast”.

And so it lives. Such life no bonds can hold –

This giant pine, magnificent and old.

Father

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Poem’s Explanation:

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) was considered a popular, rather than a literary poet. Ella was perfectly content to write happy, upbeat poetry which often rhymed and was quite beloved.

This poem is a great appreciation piece to honor and express our gratitude to our father. 

Though it is not written specifically for honoring a father who had just passed away, its expression of gratitude to a father makes it fitting to be used as a funeral poem to appreciate our beloved late father’s life. 

He never made a fortune, or a noise

In the world where men are seeking after fame;

But he had a healthy brood of girls and boys

Who loved the very ground on which he trod.

They thought him just little short of God;

Oh you should have heard the way they said his name –

‘Father.’

There seemed to be a loving little prayer

In their voices, even when they called him ‘Dad.’

Though the man was never heard of anywhere,

As a hero, yet somehow understood

He was doing well his part and making good;

And you knew it, by the way his children had

Of saying ‘Father.’

He gave them neither eminence nor wealth,

But he gave them blood untainted with a vice,

And opulence of undiluted health.

He was honest, and unpurchable and kind;

He was clean in heart, and body, and in mind.

So he made them heirs to riches without price –

This father.

He never preached or scolded; and the rod –

Well, he used it as a turning pole in play.

But he showed the tender sympathy of God.

To his children in their troubles, and their joys.

He was always chum and comrade with his boys,

And his daughters – oh, you ought to hear them say

‘Father.’

Now I think of all achievements ‘tis the least

To perpetuate the species; it is done

By the insect and the serpent, and the beast.

But the man who keeps his body, and his thought,

Worth bestowing on an offspring love-begot,

Then the highest earthly glory he was won,

When in pride a grown-up daughter or a son

Says ‘That’s Father.’

Funeral Poems for Mom

Mom’s love is ever-lasting. Some say that Heaven has a special place for all the mothers in the world. If you are looking for a funeral poem for your beloved mother, take a look at several poems below.

The Mother

by Robert Service

Poem’s Explanation:

This poem is written especially as a form of appreciation from the writer to his mom for her role in caring for her children. The poem appreciates a mother’s strength in raising a child in the best possible way despite the struggles and challenges that the family had faced.

It’s a beautiful poem that is fitting to praise a mother with a positive role, gracefulness, and her outstanding role in one’s life.

There will be a singing in your heart,

There will be a rapture in your eyes;

You will be a woman set apart,

You will be so wonderful and wise.

You will sleep, and when from dreams you start,

As of one that wakes in Paradise,

There will be a singing in your heart,

There will be a rapture in your eyes.

There will be a moaning in your heart

There will be an anguish in your eyes;

You will see your dearest ones depart,

You will hear their quivering good-byes.

Yours will be the heart-ache and the smart,

Tears that scald and lonely sacrifice;

There will be a moaning in your heart,

There will be an anguish in your eyes.

There will come a glory in your eyes,

There will come a peace within your heart;

Sitting ‘neath the quiet evening skies,

Time will dry the tear and dull the smart.

You will know that you have played your part;

Yours shall be the love that never dies:

You, with Heaven’s peace within your heart,

You, with God’s own glory in your eyes.

Sonnets Are Full of Love

by Christina Rossetti

Poem’s Explanation:

Written as a funeral poem from a daughter to her mother, it’s a poem that celebrates the ever-giving love of the mother for her child.

Christina Rossetti (1830-94) was one of the Victorian era’s greatest and most influential poets.

This poem paints the unconditional, reciprocated love of a mother for her daughter, which her daughter also returns. (source: interestingliterature.com). 

If you are looking for a funeral to express a mother-daughter bond, this can be a great choice.

Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome

Has many sonnets: so here now shall be

One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me

To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,

To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee

I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;

Whose service is my special dignity,

And she my loadstar while I go and come

And so because you love me, and because

I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath

Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honoured name:

In you not fourscore years can dim the flame

Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws

Of time and change and mortal life and death.

Irish Funeral Prayer

by Unknown

You can only have one mother

Patient kind and true;

No other friend in all the world,

Will be the same to you.

When other friends forsake you,

To mother you will return,

For all her loving kindness,

She asks nothing in return.

As we look upon her picture,

Sweet memories we recall,

Of a face so full of sunshine,

And a smile for one and all.

Sweet Jesus, take this message,

To our dear mother up above;

Tell her how we miss her,

And give her all our love.

Empowering Funeral Poems 

These poems selected below are grouped as empowering funeral poems. The poems have empowering tone for the bereaved.

If I Should Go 

by Joyce Grenfell

Poem’s Explanation:

An empowering and very uplifting poem. This poem expresses the feeling of separation in grief really well, while simultaneously urging the bereaved to carry on with life and ‘sing’.

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.

Life

by Charlotte Bronte

Poem’s Explanation:

The last stanza of this poem where it’s the longest, is minimizing the power of Death. The author is expressing that though it may take loved ones away hope will always rebound and win out against the darkness. 

Charlotte Bronte concludes the poem by stating that there is nothing in life that can quell courage, not even death. (Source: poemanalysis.com).

Life, believe, is not a dream

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day.

Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,

But these are transient all;

If the shower will make the roses bloom,

O why lament its fall?

Rapidly, merrily,

Life’s sunny hours flit by,

Gratefully, cheerily

Enjoy them as they fly!

What though Death at times steps in,

And calls our Best away?

What though sorrow seems to win,

O’er hope, a heavy sway?

Yet Hope again elastic springs,

Unconquered, though she fell;

Still buoyant are her golden wings,

Still strong to bear us well.

Manfully, fearlessly,

The day of trial bear,

For gloriously, victoriously,

Can courage quell despair!

God’s Garden 

by D. W. MCCONWAY

Poem’s Explanation:

This poem offers the reader a feeling of comfort. It illustrates an event in heaven (God’s garden) where God is inviting our loved ones to his eternal garden because it’s time for them to have their best rest forever in peace.

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 that 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 did not go alone…

For part of us went with you

The day God called you home.

Comforting Funeral Poems

Losing a loved one is a difficult experience. Sometimes a comforting poem is the best funeral poem for the audience of your loved one’s funeral service.

I’ll be There

by Maude Hurford, Guernsey Poet

Poem’s Explanation:

I’ll be there provides a sense of peace to the reader. The writer wrote the poem as if he’s the one who passed away and is providing assurance to those who are left behind is, that he’s in a better place.

The afterlife, with a magical journey on its own as described in words like “I’ll ride on the wind, I’ll float on the clouds” and “I’ll shine with the sun as it circles the earth”. It also requests the bereaved to not be sad about their passing; “A world of my own, please don’t cry for me.”

I’ve come to the end of life’s busy road

I’ve put down the burden, I’ve cast off my load.

My spirit is free, my soul has wings

I’ll pour from the throat of a bird that sings.

I’ll ride on the wind, I’ll float on the clouds

I’ll twinkle with stars in night’s velvet shroud.

I’ll shine with the sun as it circles the earth

I’ll be there at dawn when the new day gives birth.

I’ll be with the snow fluttering down

Silently, softly, nature’s crown.

I’ll be in the rain as it falls on the earth

Cleansing, refreshing, priceless worth.

I’ll ride on the ether, silent and free

A world of my own, please don’t cry for me. 

A Song of the Living 

by Amelia Josephine Burr

Poem’s Explanation:

A Song of the Living by Amelia is a comforting funeral poem. It expresses gratitude for a well-lived life. 

The phrase “Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.” is repeated thrice in this poem to portray put the importance of the feeling of peace that the writer (portrayed as the deceased here with the use of “I”) is going through. 

This is a good funeral poem to comfort others that our loved ones will not want us to be sad. They assured us that there is no place for sorrow in their death. 

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

I have sent up my gladness on wings to be lost in the blue of the sky,

I have run and leaped with the rain, I have taken the wind to my breast.

My cheek like a drowsy child to the face of the earth I have pressed

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

I have kissed young love on the lips, I have heard his song to the end.

I have struck my hand like a seal, in the loyal hand of a friend,

I have known the peace of Heaven, the comfort of work done well.

I have longed for death in the darkness and risen alive out of Hell.

Because I have loved life, I have no sorrow to die.

I give a share of my soul to the world where my course is run.

I know that another shall finish the task that I leave undone.

I know that no flower, no flint, was in vain on the path I trod.

As one looks on a face through a window, through life, I have looked on God.

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.

Chapter 3

From the Bible, Ecclesiastes

To everything there is a season,

And a time to every purpose under the heaven;

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to get, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time of war and a time of peace.

Turn Again to Life

by Mary Lee Hall

Poem’s Explanation:

Turn Again to Life is a poem about making meaning out of death in a way that allows the person that has lost somebody to not be in a constant state of grief, but to embrace the joys of life again. (Source: scalar.fas.harvard.edu)

This poem was read by Princess Diana’s elder sister at Lady Diana’s funeral.

If I should die and leave you here awhile

Be not like others sore undone

Who keeps long vigil by the silent dust.

For my sake turn again to life and smile

Nerving the heart and trembling hand

To do something to comfort other hearts than thine.

Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine

And I perchance may therein comfort you.

Funeral Poems for Grandma

The funeral poem below is fitting to honor our beloved grandmother.

Nanny

by Laura White

Poem’s Explanation:

This poem is specifically created to honor the many beloved grandmothers that one had to lose. It portrays a good appreciation for the grandma.

Such wonderful memories of Nanny

The Nanny we all used to know

We kept you too long and there waiting

The angels have said you can go

Bright golden gates that are shining

Full of family to bid you hello

So blow us a kiss as you’re leaving

Our sadness we’ll try not to show

Such wonderful memories of Nanny

We all have our favourites you see

As you enter those gates you’ll be thinking

They’re all there thinking of me!

Funeral Poems for Grandfather

The funeral poem below is fitting to honor our beloved grandfather.

His Journey’s Just Begun

by Ellen Brenneman

Poem’s Explanation:

This poem is fitting as a funeral poem for a grandfather. It is a comforting poem that assures the reader that “he” is in a better place. 

It asks us to think and remember our grandfather as just resting in peace in Heaven.

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.

Funeral Poems for a Friend

These funeral poems are fitting to honor a friend’s life. There’s a friendly tone within these poems, and it is mostly easy to understand. 

Remember

by Christina Rosettii

Poem’s Explanation:

In ‘Remember,’ Christina Rossetti touches on the themes of life, memory, forgetting, loss or death, and love. There are many repetitions of the word ‘remember”, implying that memories of a loved one are important to be cherished.

This is a very simple poem with a great message that all of us should apply to our lives. It is written in very simple language. The readers can easily access and identify. (source: poemsanalysis.com)

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 plann’d: 

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.

Epitaph on my Own Friend

by Robert Burns

Poem’s Explanation:

The final of the poem provides a beautiful closing thought of the deceased. “If there’s another world, he lives in bliss; If there is none, he made the best of this.”

The poem is popular and frequently used at funerals.

An honest man here lies at rest,

As e’er God with His image blest:

The friend of man, the friend of truth;

The friend of age, and guide of youth:

Few hearts like his, with virtue warm’d,

Few heads with knowledge so inform’d:

If there’s another world, he lives in bliss;

If there is none, he made the best of this.

Farewell my Friends

by Rabindranath Tagore

Poem’s Explanation:

A beautiful goodbye poem. It is a poem that appreciates the good life and are accepting their death with peace and no grudge. 

The Farewell my Friends poem is written from the perspective of the deceased that is reminiscing on life. 

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 heavy with sleep

ever moist eyes.

The smile, in spite of a

lump in the throat

and the strings pulling

at the heart and soul.

The strong arms

that held me up

when my own strength

let me down.

Each morsel that I was

fed with was full of love divine.

At every turning of my life

I came across

good friends.

Friends who stood by me

even when the time raced 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

think of me

for that’s what I’d like.

When you live in the hearts

of those you love,

remember then….

you never die. 

Pardon Me For Not Getting Up

by Kelly Roper

Poem’s Explanation:

The poem is friendly and isn’t as somber. It has little sense of humor within it. This is a good funeral poem to be used in a friend’s funeral or memorial service, especially if he is known to be a funny person.

Oh dear, if you’re reading this right now,

I must have given up the ghost.

I hope you can forgive me for being

Such a stiff and unwelcoming host.

Just talk amongst yourself my friends,

And share a toast or two.

For I am sure you will remember well

How I loved to drink with you.

Don’t worry about mourning me,

I was never easy to offend.

Feel free to share a story at my expense

And we’ll have a good laugh at the end.

End of Article

Thank you for reading through. We hope this article helps you to find meaningful funeral poems for your loved one’s funeral service. 

Poems can describe what mere words can’t portray. It expresses our love in a meaningful way. Which poems do you end up using? Do you have any other poems fitting for funerals that you’d like to share?

Let us know in the comment box below.