by Mary Elizabeth Fry

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.

by Christina Rossetti

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 to 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.

by David Harkins

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 that she has left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her,
Or you can be full of the love that 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 is 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.

by Joyce Grenfell

If I should go before the rest of you,
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone.
Nor when I’m gone speak in Sunday voice,
But the usual selves that I have known.
Weep if you must,
Parting is hell.
But life goes on,
So sing as well.

(a traditional Irish blessing)

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
But life goes on,
So sing as well.

by Christina Rossetti

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 that once we 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 plan
A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick at heart
Go to the friends we know.
Laugh at all the things we used to do
Miss me, but let me go.

When I am dead my dearest
Sing no sad song for me.
Plant thou no roses at my head
Nor shady cypress tree.

Be the green grass above me
With showers and dew drops wet.
And if thou wilt remember
And if thou wilt, forget.

I shall not see the shadows
I shall not fear the rain.
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain.

And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise or set.
Haply I may remember
And haply may forget.

by Henry Scott-Holland

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!

by Frances and Kathleen Coelho

God saw you getting tired,
And a cure was not to be.
So he put His arms around you
And He whispered, ‘Come to me’.

With tearful eyes we watched you,
As you slowly slipped away.
Although we loved you dearly,
We could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard-working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He only takes the best.

by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak, at the funeral of 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?

by Donna Ashworth

Take the love you had for me and turn it into laughter,
Turn it into blinding light to shine on you thereafter.

Take the love you have for me and show it to the world,
Something so amazing needs to blossom and unfurl.

Take the love that made us, keep it burning bright,
Let that fire guide you, let it warm you through the night.

Take the love you shared with me, and spread it out with gladness,
My life will not have been in vain, if you can fight the sadness.

Take the love my darling, it’s yours to carry on,
Grow that love forevermore, and then I won’t be gone.

by Melissa Shreve

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.

by Author Unknown

I thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new.
I thought about you yesterday and days before that too.
I think of you in silence, I often speak your name.
All I have are memories and your picture in a frame.
Your memory is my keepsake with which I’ll never part.
God has you in his keeping, I have you in my heart.

by Author Unknown

When I must leave you for a while, please do not grieve and shed wild tears
And hug your sorrow to you through the years,
But start out bravely with a gallant smile
And for my sake and in my name, live on and do all the things the same.
Feed not your loneliness on empty days, but fill each working hour in useful ways.
Reach out your hand in comfort and in cheer, and I in turn will comfort you and hold you near. And never, never be afraid to die, for I am waiting for you in the sky.