Funeral Poetry  Whether religious or non religious, the reading of a poem or verse at the funeral can be a very powerful and moving sentiment, especially if read by a friend or family member. There are of course hundreds of poems to choose from, you may have your own favourite, or wish to write something new, or have something especially new written, but if inspiration is alluding you, here we have a suitable selection to help you get started.

She Is Gone (He Is Gone)
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. 
(David Harkins)

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep
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's 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 Frye)

Success
To laugh often and love much;
to win the respect of intelligent persons
and the affection of children;
to earn the approbation of honest critics
and to endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to give of one’s self;
to leave the world a little better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to have played and laughed with enthusiasm
and sung with exultation;
to know that even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived –
this is to have succeeded.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Let Me Go
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 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 songs for me 
Plant thou no roses at my head 
Nor shady cypress tree 
Be the green grass above me 
With showers and dewdrops 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 nor set, 
Haply I may remember, 
And haply may forget.

Funeral Blues
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 crêpe 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 for ever: 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)

Remember
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 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. 
(Christina Rossetti)

Death Is Nothing At All
Death is nothing at all 
I have only slipped away into 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 to me in the easy way 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 we always 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 effort 
Without the ghost of a shadow in it 
Life means all that it ever meant 
It is the same as it ever was 
There is absolute unbroken continuity 
What is death but a negligible accident? 
Why should I be out of mind 
Because I am out of sight? 
I am waiting for you for an interval 
Somewhere very near 
Just around the corner 
All is well. 
Nothing is past; 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! 
(Canon Henry Scott-Holland)

There is no night without a dawning 
No winter without a spring 
And beyond the dark horizon 
Our hearts will once more sing .... 
For those who leave us for a while 
Have only gone away 
Out of a restless, care worn world 
Into a brighter day
(Helen Steiner Rice) 

Our memories build a special bridge
When loved ones have to part 
To help us feel were with them still 
And soothe a grieving heart 
They span the years and warm our lives 
Preserving ties that bind 
Our memories build a special bridge 
And bring us peace of mind
(Emily Mathews)

You've just walked on ahead of me 
And I've got to understand 
You must release the ones you love 
And let go of their hand.

I try and cope the best I can 
But I'm missing you so much 
If I could only see you 
And once more feel your touch.

Yes, you've just walked on ahead of me 
Don't worry I'll be fine 
But now and then I swear I feel 
Your hand slip into mine.

If I should die before the rest of you 
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone 
Nor, when I'm 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.
(Joyce Grenfell)
 
 
If I should die and 
Leave you here awhile 
Be not like others sore undone, 
Who keep long vigils 
By the silent dust and weep. 
For my sake turn again 
To life and smile 
Nerving thy 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.
(Mary Lee Hall) 

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)

Not, how did he die, but how did he live?
Not, what did he gain, but what did he give?
These are the units to measure the worth
Of a man as a man, regardless of his birth.
Nor what was his church, nor what was his creed?
But had he befriended those really in need?
Was he ever ready, with words of good cheer,
To bring back a smile, to banish a tear?
Not what did the sketch in the newspaper say,
But how many were sorry when he passed away?
(Anonymous)

When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget..

I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain;
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember
And haply may forget.
(Christina Rossetti)

Man in the Arena
It is not the critic that counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who at best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.
(Theodore Roosevelt)

A Reflection on an Autumn Day
I took up a handful of grain and let it slip flowing through my fingers, and I said to myself

This is what it is all about. There is no longer any room for pretence. At harvest time the essence is revealed - the straw and chaff are set aside, they have done their job. The grain alone matters - sacks of pure gold.

So it is when a person dies the essence of that person is revealed. At the moment of death a person's character stands out happy for the person who has forged it well over the years. Then it will not be the great achievement that will matter, nor, how much money or possessions a person has amassed. These like the straw and the chaff, will be left behind. It is what he has made of himself that will matter. Death can take away from us what we have, but it cannot rob us of who we are.

Irish Blessing
May the roads 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.
(Anon)

Tis only we who grieve 
They do not leave 
They are not gone 
They look upon us still 
They walk among the valleys now 
They stride upon the hill 
Their smile is in the summer sky 
Their grace is in the breeze 
Their memories whisper in the grass 
Their calm is in the trees 
Their light is in the winter snow 
Their tears are in the rain 
Their merriment runs in the brook 
Their laughter in the lane 
Their gentleness is in the flowers 
They sigh in autumn leaves 
They do not leave 
They are not gone 
Tis only we who grieve
(Anon)

If only we could see the splendour of the land 
To which our loved ones are called from you and me 
We'd understand 
If only we could hear the welcome they receive 
From old familiar voices all so dear 
We would not grieve 
If only we could know the reason why they went
We'd smile and wipe away the tears that flow 
And wait content.
(Anon)

For a Burial
Into the darkness and warmth of the earth 
We lay you down 
Into the sadness and smiles of our memories 
We lay you down 
Into the cycle of living and dying and rising again 
We lay you down 
May you rest in peace, in fulfilment, in loving 
May you run straight home in God's embrace 
(Ruth Burgess)

For a Cremation
Into the freedom of wind and sunshine 
We let you go 
Into the dance of the stars and the planets 
We let you go 
Into the wind's breath and the hands of the star maker 
We let you go 
We love you, we miss you, we want you to be happy 
Go safely, go dancing, go running home 
(Ruth Burgess)
The Road Not Taken~ by Robert Frost
 
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Gates of Prayer
As long as we live, they too will live;
For they are now a part of us:
As we remember them!
At the rising sun and at its going down we remember them.
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter we remember them.
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring we remember them.
At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer we remember them.
At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn we remember them.
At the beginning of the year and when it ends we remember them.
As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us. As we remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength we remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart we remember them.
When we have decisions that are difficult to make we remember them.
When we have joy we crave to share we remember them.
When we have achievements that are based on theirs we remember them.
For as long as we live, they too will live,
For they are now a part of us, as we remember them.
 
The Final Flight-Also called " I'm Free"  ~ by Anonymous
Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free,
I’m following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard his call,
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I’ve found that peace at the close of the day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah yes, these things I too will miss. Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My Life’s been full, I savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch,

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.
 
Memory Can Tell Us Only What We Were~ by Richard Fife
Memory can tell us only what we were,
In company with those we loved;
It cannot help us find out what each of us,
Alone, must now become.
Yet, no person is really alone;
Those who live no more still echo
Within our thoughts and words,
And what they did has become
Woven into what we are.

After Glow ~by Anonymous
I'd like the memory of me
to be a happy one,
I'd like to leave an afterglow
of smiles when life is done.
I'd like to leave and echo
whispering 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
Of happy memories that I leave
When life is done. Remember Me ~ by Anonymous
To the Living, I am gone,
To the sorrowful, I will never return;
To the angry, I was cheated.
But to the happy, I am at peace.
To the faithful, I have never left.
Talk to me, and I will hear,
your prayers, they comfort me,
your laughter makes me laugh,
but don't weep for me as I have my reward,
I am with the Father and he will never let me perish,
The Lord comforts me, and longs to comfort you.
So be happy my family and don't despair,
I am in good hands, waiting for the day when
the Lord calls you to come home.
 
God's Garden  ~ by Anonymous
God looked around his garden
And He found an empty place.
And then He 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.

Miss Me, but Let Me Go  ~ by Anonymous
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 too long,
and not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that was 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 a part of the master's plan,
a step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick of heart,
go to the hills we know.
And bury your sorrow among the trees there.
Miss me - but let meTurn Again to Life ~ by Mary Lee Hall
If I should die and leave you here a while,
be not like others sore undone,
who keep long vigil by the silent dust.
For my sake turn again to life and smile,
nerving thy 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
 
Nothing Gold Can Stay  ~ by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
by Emily Dickinson
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 grew 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 but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.
 
Death is Nothing at All
by Henry Scott Holland
Death is nothing at all...
I have only slipped away into 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 to me in the easy way 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 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 effort,
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....
Why should I be out of your mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval,
Somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well Vanished
by Emily Dickinson
She died, – – this was the way she died;
And when her breath was done,
Took up her simple wardrobe
And started for the sun.
Her little figure at the gate
The angels must have spied,
Since I could never find her
Upon the mortal side.
She is Gone
by Anonymous
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'll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she's 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'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on. 'Tis All that Heaven Allows. (To My Dear Loving Husband)
by Anne Bradstreet
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompetence.
Thy love is such I can no way repay.
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in Love
by Isla Paschal Richardson
If I should ever leave you,
Whom I love
To go along the silent way...Grieve not.
Nor speak of me with tears.
But laugh and talk of me
As if I were beside you there.
(I'd come... I'd come,
Could I but find a way!
But would not tears and
And grief be barriers?)
And when you hear a song
Or see a bird I loved,
Please do not let the thought of me
Be sad...for I am loving you
Just as I always have...
You were so good to me!
There are so many things
I wanted still to do...
So many things I wanted to say
to you... Remember that
I did not fear... It was
Just leaving you
That was so hard to face.
We cannot see beyond...
But this I know:
I loved you so...
'twas heaven here with you

I Have a Rendezvous with Death
by Alan Seeger
I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade
When Spring comes round with rustling shade
And apple blossoms fill the air.
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.
It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath;
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow flowers appear.
God knows 'twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear...
But I've a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous Requiem
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you gave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

The Journey
by Emily Dickinson
Our journey had advanced;
Our feet were almost come
To that odd fork in Being's road,
Eternity by term.
Our pace took sudden awe,
Our feet reluctant led.
Before were cities, but between,
The forest of the dead.
Retreat was out of hope, – –
Behind, a sealed route,
Eternity's white flag before,
And God at every gate

Not in Vain
by Emily Dickinson
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain:
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain. 

It Was Not Death, for I Stood Up
by Emily Dickinson
It was not death, for I stood up,
And all the dead lie down;
It was not night, for all the bells
Put out their tongues, for noon.
It was not frost, for on my flesh I felt siroccos crawl,
– – Nor fire, for just my marble feet
Could keep a chancel cool.
And yet it tasted like them all;
The figures I have seen
Set orderly, for burial,
Reminded me of mine,
As if my life were shaven
And fitted to a frame,
And could not breathe without a key;
And it was like midnight, some,
When everything that ticked has stopped,
And space stares, all around,
Or grisly frosts, first autumn morns,
Repeal the beating ground.
But most like chaos,– – stopless, cool,– –
Without a chance or spar,
– – Or even a report of land

​To justify despair Sympathy Poem
by Anonymous
Birth is a beginning
and death a destination
And life is a journey:
From childhood to maturity
and youth to age;
From innocence to awareness
and ignorance to knowing;
From foolishness to desecration
and then perhaps to wisdom.
From weakness to strength or
from strength to weakness
and often back again;
From health to sickness
and we pray to health again.
From offense to forgiveness
from loneliness to love
from joy to gratitude
from pain to compassion
from grief to understanding
from fear to faith.
From defeat to defeat to defeat
until looking backwards or ahead
We see that victory lies not
at some high point along the way
but in having made the journey
step by step a sacred pilgrimage.
Birth is a beginning
and death a destination
And life is a journey;
A sacred journey to life everlasting
If There Are Any Heavens
by E.E. Cummings
if there are any heavens my mother will(all by herself)have
one. It will not be a pansy heaven nor
a fragile heaven of lilies-of-the-valley but
it will be a heaven of black red roses
my father will be(deep like a rose
tall like a rose)
standing near my
(swaying over her silent)
with eyes which are really petals and see
nothing with the face of a poet really which
is a flower and not a face with
hands
which whisper
This is my beloved my
(suddenly in sunlight
he will bow,
& the whole garden will bow)Beloved, my beloved
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Beloved, my Beloved, when I think
That thou wast in the world a year ago,
What time I sat alone here in the snow
And saw no footprint, heard the silence sink
No moment at thy voice, but, link by link,
Went counting all my chains as if that so
They never could fall off at any blow
Struck by thy possible hand,--why, thus I drink
Of life's great cup of wonder! Wonderful,
Never to feel thee thrill the day or night
With personal act or speech,--nor ever cull
Some prescience of thee with the blossoms white
Thou sawest growing! Atheists are as dull,
Who cannot guess God's presence out of sight

Let Me Go
by Anonymous
We've known lots of pleasure,
At times endured pain;
We've lived in the sunshine
And walked in the rain.
But now we're separated
And for a time apart,
But I am not alone-
You're forever in my heart.
Death always seems so sudden,
And it is always sure,
But what is oft' forgotten-
It is not without a cure.
I'm walking now with someone,
And I know He'll always stay,
I know He's walking with you too,
Giving comfort everyday.
There may be times you miss me,
I sort of hope you do,
But smile when you think of me,
For I'll be waiting for you.
Now there's many things for you to do,
And lots of ways to grow,
So get busy, be happy, and live your life,
Miss me, but let me go. 
 
If Death is Kind
by Sara Teasdale
Perhaps if death is kind, and there can be returning,
We will come back to earth some fragrant night,
And take these lanes to find the sea, and bending
Breathe the same honeysuckle, low and white.
We will come down at night to these resounding beaches
And the long gentle thunder of the sea,
Here for a single hour in the wide starlight
We shall be happy, for the dead are free.
  
Footprints in the sandOne night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints;
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied,
"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you”.

I'm Free
by Anonymous
Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path God has laid you see.
I took His hand when I heard him call
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found that peace at the close of day.
If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life's been full, I savored much
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free.

In the presence of death
by Rodney Murphy
In the presence of death we stand awkward, and ill at ease;
For death is a well-known stranger whom we recognize,
but do not wish to know;
But death is not a thing in itself, but a stage in the journey of life,
through which all must pass.
It may come swiftly and catch us unawares,
or slowly with leaden feet;
but death comes to all who live, and in so doing
heightens the understanding of the one we know.


The Bride
by Anna Latitia Barbauld
 
My love looks like a girl tonight,
But she is old.
The plaits that lie along her pillow
Are not gold,
But threaded with filigree,
And uncanny cold.
She looks like a young maiden, since her brow
Is smooth and fair,
Her cheeks are very smooth, her eyes are closed,
She sleeps a rare
Still winsome sleep, so still, and so composed.
Nay, but she sleeps like a bride, and dreams her dreams
Of perfect things.
She lies at last, the darling, in the shape of her dream,
And her dead mouth sings
By its shape, like the thrushes in clear evenings.
On Death
by Kahlil Gibran
 
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honor.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance
A Thought on Death
by W. H. Auden
 
When life as opening buds is sweet,
And golden hopes the fancy greet,
And Youth prepares his joys to meet, – –
Alas! how hard it is to die!
When just is seized some valued prize,
And duties press, and tender ties
Forbid the soul from earth to rise, – –
How awful then it is to die!
When, one by one, those ties are torn,
And friend from friend is snatched forlorn,
And man is left alone to mourn, – –
Ah then, how easy ’tis to die!
When faith is firm, and conscience clear,
And words of peace the spirit cheer,
And visioned glories half appear, – –
'Tis joy, 'tis triumph then to die.
When trembling limbs refuse their weight,
And films, slow gathering, dim the sight,
And clouds obscure the mental light, – –
'Tis nature's precious boon to die.
Remembrance
~ by Anonymous
Remembrance is a golden chain
Death tries to break,
but all in vain.
To have, to love, and then to part
Is the greatest sorrow of one's heart.
The years may wipe out many things
But some they wipe out never.
Like memories of those happy times
When we were all together. 

God Saw You Getting Tired ~ by Anonymous
God saw you getting tired
when a cure was not to be.
So He wrapped His arms around you,
And whispered, "Come unto me".
You didn't deserve what you went through,
And so He gave you rest.
God's garden must be beautiful,
He only takes the best.
So when I saw you sleeping,
So peaceful and free from pain.
I could not wish you to come back,
to suffer that all again.


Crossing The Bar ~ by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night ~by Dylan Thomas
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 there 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 learned, 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.

My Heart Is In the Highlands ~by Robert Burns 
My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands a—chasing the deer--
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North
The birth place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.
Farewell to the mountains high cover'd with snow;
Farewell to the straths and green valleys below;
Farewell to the forests and wild—hanging woods;
Farwell to the torrents and loud—pouring floods.
My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer
Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe;
My heart's in the Highlands, where ever I go.


Gone From My Sight ~by Henry Van Dyke 
I am standing upon the seashore
A ship at my side spreads her white
sails to the morning breeze and starts
for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come
to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says;
"There, she is gone!"
"Gone where?"
Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull
and spar as she was when she left my side
and she is just as able to bear her
load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
 
And just at the moment when someone
at my side says, "There, she is gone!"
There are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout;
"Here she comes!"
And that is dying

 I Live On 
Don’t cry for me in sadness; don’t weep for me in sorrow,
For I will be beside you, as sure as comes tomorrow.
My body has gone but my spirit lives on, as does my love
For you.
Just as in life. I’ll watch over you, I always will be true.
My blood lives on in my children, how I’ve watched them
grow up with pride.
I’ll live on within them, always by their side.
I know my jokes weren’t always funny and jobs weren’t
Always done.
Just try and always remember the good times the days when
We had fun.
Reach out if you need me, for I will always be near.
Just talk to me, as if I am there, I promise I will hear.
For I’ll live on, with in your mind, we’ll never be apart,
As long as you keep my memory, deep within your heart.
So lift up your hearts, don’t be sad, my spirit hasn’t gone.
While your still there, so am I, I really will live on
 
Letting Go
To "let go" does not mean to stop caring. It means I can't do it for someone else.
To "let go" is not to cut myself off. It's the realization that I can't control another.
To "let go" is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another. It's to make the most of myself.
To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.
To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To "let go" is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.
To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.
To "let go" is not to nag, scold, or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.
To "let go" is to fear less and to love more.


Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where this is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not seek to be consoled
as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life

Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
 
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
 
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields

Take up our quarrels with the foe,
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields



Little Boy Blue ~ by Eugene Field 
The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket molds in his hands,
Time was when the little toy dog was new
And the soldier was passing fair,
And that was the time when our Little boy blue
Kissed them and put them there.

"Now don’t you go till I come,” he said
And don’t you make any noise!
So toddling off to his trundle bed
He dreamed of the pretty toys.
And as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awaken our little boy blue’-
Oh the years are Many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true.

Ay. Faithful to little Boy Blue they stand,
Each in the same old place,
Awaiting the touch of a little hand..
The smile of a little face.
And they wonder, as waiting these long years through,
In the dust of that little chair.
What has become of our little boy Blue
Since he kissed them and put them there.

Poem of Life ~ Author Unknown
Life 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.


To Those Whom I love & Those Who Love Me
When I am gone, release me, let me go.
I have so many things to see and do,
You mustn't tie yourself to me with too many tears,
But be thankful we had so many good years.

I gave you my love, and you can only guess
How much you've given me in happiness.
I thank you for the love that you have shown,
But now it is time I traveled on alone.
 
So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It is only for a while that we must part,
So treasure the memories within your heart.
I won't be far away for life goes on.
And if you need me, call and I will come.
 
Though you can't see or touch me, I will be near.
And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear,
All my love around you soft and clear.
 
And then, when you come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile and a 'Welcome Home'.
 
Remember it all
When I no longer stand here by your side,
At night beneath the moonlit milky way;
When I no longer kneel with you and pray,
And swear to you with stern, unshaking pride
That I will never travel far away...
When I my faithful promises betray,
And on the far side of the earth I hide;
When all my words of poetry have died,
And there is nothing more for me to say,
When I have left you, though I swore I'd stay...
Remember me, though fires within me play,
Though you no longer hold me in your trust.
Remember me in anger, if you must.
Remember though our books of lore shall lay
Forgotten, lost, and blanketed in dust.
Only then will rubies turn to rust,
And lava roll and pour with flaming coal
From the pits of your volcanic soul,
While destruction paints my heartbeat black.
Remember me. Remember I'll come back.
And I will kneel again with you and pray,
And I will stand again with you one day,
A thousand words, then, there will be to say...
At night beneath the moonlit milky way.
- Anna Williams
 
Poem of Life
Life 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
 
Miss Me, But Let Me Go
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 we once shared,
Miss me, but let me go.
For this journey that we all must take
And each must go alone;
It's all a part of the Master's plan
A step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick at heart
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.
Miss me, but let me go.

- Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)
Death ends a life, not a relationship.
 
When you were born, you cried, and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. ~Kabir
 
Earth has one angel less, and heaven one more since yesterday. Already, kneeling at the throne, she has received her welcome, and is resting on the bosom of her Saviour. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne


Death is the quiet haven of us all. ~William Wordsworth
 God’s finger touched him, and he slept. ~Alfred Tennyson
There are things that we don’t want to happen but have to accept, things we don’t want to know but have to learn, and people we can’t live without but have to let go. ~Author Unknown
 Do not fear death, fear the unlived life. ~Natalie Babbitt
Every man dies. Not every man lives. ~Tim Robbins

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there light is from within. ~Elizabeth Kubler Ross

To the unbeliever, death is the end; to the believer, the beginning ~Author Unknown
 
It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees
 
Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile.
 
Inspirational Quotes:
Funeral Quotes and Headstone Sayings below may be used in a eulogy, memorial service, funeral program, or ideas for a headstone inscription

If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I’d walk right up to heaven and bring you home again. ~Unknown
 

Let no one weep for me or celebrate my funeral with mourning, for I still live as I pass to and from through the mouths of men. ~Quintus Ennius

If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master. ~Michelangelo 

Our care should not be to have lived long as to have lived enough. ~Seneca


Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

Remember sadness is always temporary. This, too, shall pass. ~Chuck T. Falcon
 
He who has hope has everything. ~Arabian Proverb
 

Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there.
What you choose to do with them is up to you. ~Richard Bach
 

Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy. ~Eskimo legend
 

Say not in grief: "He is no more", but live in thankfulness that he was. ~Hebrew Proverb
 

I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace.
~Helen Keller
 

A death is not the extinguishing of a light, but the putting out of the lamp because the dawn has come.

Life is given to us, we earn it by giving it.

Let the dead have the immortality of fame, but the living the immortality of love. ~Tagore
 
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. ~Soren Kierkegaard
 

Hope is like a bird that senses the dawn and carefully starts to sing while it is still dark. ~Anonymous
 
Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can. ~Henry Drummond

Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are. ~Bernice Johnson Reagon

Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They're what make the instrument stretch--what make you go beyond the norm. ~Anonymous
 
A person's true wealth is the good he or she does in the world. ~Mohammed
 It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. ~Chinese Proverb
 
I look at life as a gift of God. Now that he wants it back, I have no right to complain. ~Joyce Cary
 
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. ~Cherokee Expression
 
Whoever brought me here, will have to take me home. ~Rumi
 
The gods conceal from men the happiness of death, that they may endure life. ~Lucan
Death--the last sleep? No, the final awakening. ~ Walter Scott


 
Good men must die, but death can not kill their names. ~ Proverbs
 


It is good to die before one has done anything deserving death. ~ Anaxandrides
 
There is a dignity in dying that doctors should not dare to deny. ~ Anonymous
 
I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. ~ Winston Churchill
 
Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.
 ~ Dag Hammarskjöld
 
We cannot banish dangers, but we can banish fears. We must not demean life by standing in awe of death.~ David Sarnoff
 
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.~ Harriet  Beecher Stowe
 
God's finger touched him, and he slept. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson
 
Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't. ~ Richard Bach
Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
 ~ William Shakespeare



Lord, now lettest thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.
 ~ Luke 2:29
 
For death begins with life's first breath, and life begins at the touch of death ~ John Oxenham
 


As men, we are all equal in the presence of death. ~ Publilius Syrus

Death -- the last voyage, the longest and the best. ~ Thomas Wolfe
 
Nothing you can lose by dying is half as precious as the readiness to die, which is man's charter of nobility. ~ George Santayana
 


There is but one freedom,
To put oneself right with death.
After that everything is possible.
I cannot force you to believe in God.
Believing in God amounts to coming to terms with death.
When you have accepted death, the problem of God will be solved--and not the reverse. ~ Albert Camus
 
Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean. ~ David Searls
 
Knowledge by suffering entereth, and life is perfected by death. ~ Elizabeth Barret Browning
 
If God hath made this world so fair,
Where sin and death abound,
How beautiful beyond compare
Will paradise be found!
 ~ James Montgomery
 
Death came with friendly care;
The opening bud to heaven conveyed,
And bade it blossom there.
 ~ Samuel Taylor
 
There is no death! What seems so is transition;
This life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the life elysian,
Whose portal we call Death.
 ~ Henry W. Longfellow
 
In death a hero, as in life a friend! ~ Alexander Pope
 
Life is a great sunrise. I do not see why death should not be an even greater one. ~ Vladimir Nobokov
 
Death is a delightful hiding place for weary men. ~ Herodotus
 
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than anything I have ever done;
it is a far, far, better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.
 ~ Charles Dickens
 
I am going to seek the great Perhaps. ~ Francois Rabelais
 
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
 ~ George S. Patton, Jr.
 
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~ E. E. Cummings
 


A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. ~ Charles Darwin
 
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein
 
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
 ~ Robert Frost
 
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. ~ Helen Keller
 
Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death. ~ Ayn Rand
 
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
 ~ Henry David Thoreau
 


Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~ Teddy Roosevelt
 
Everyone must row with the oars he has. ~ English Proverb
 
God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas, but for scars. ~ Elbert Hubbard
 
Until you know that life is interesting--and find it so--you haven't found your soul. ~ Geoffrey Fisher
 
It is not length of life, but depth of life. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact. ~ William Jones
 
To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground. ~ Stephen R. Covey
 
It's the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, 'till we find our place, on the path unwinding. ~ Elton John
 
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
 ~ Frank Herbert
 
The greater the obstacle, the more the glory in overcoming it. ~ Moliere
 
The world is your mirror and your mind is a magnet.
What you perceive is in this world is largely a reflection of your own attitudes and beliefs.
Life will give you what you attract with your thoughts think, act and talk negatively and your world will be negative.
Think and act and talk with enthusiasm and you will attract positive results. ~ Michael LeBeuf
 
To reach a great height a person needs to have great depth.
Anonymous
 


People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
 ~ Elizabeth Kubler Ross
 
Those who wish to sing always find a song. ~ Swedish Proverb
 
And life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. ~ Grandma Moses
 
It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, not touched, but are felt in the heart.
 ~ Helen Keller
 
If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help someone else.
 ~ Chinese Proverb
 
I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another. ~ Thomas Jefferson
 
If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
 ~ Chinese Proverb
 




Greatness and goodness are not means, but ends!
Hath he not always treasures, always friends,
The good great man? Three treasures -- love and light,
And calm thoughts, regular as infants' breath;
And three firm friends, more sure than day and night
-- Himself, his Maker, and the angel Death.
 ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
 
Life let us cherish, while yet the taper glows,
And the fresh flow'ret pluck ere it close;
Why are we fond of toil and care?
Why choose the rankling thorn to wear?
 ~ J. M. Usteri
 
That best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.
William Wordsworth

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The soul that rises with us, our life's star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar.
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory, do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy.
 ~ William Wordsworth
 
It's often said that life is strange. But compared to what?
Steve ForbertTo laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because
you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
If you learn from your suffering, and really come to understand the lesson you were taught,
you might be able to help someone else who's now in the phase you may have just completed.
Maybe that's what it's all about after all.
 ~ Anonymous
 
The journey is the reward. ~ Tao Saying
 
Nothing is so strong as gentleness and nothing is so gentle as real strength. ~ Ralph W. Sockman
 
Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and repeat to yourself, the most comforting words of all: This, too, shall pass. ~ Ann Landers
 
God shall wipe all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. ~ Revelation 21:4
 
Bear patiently, my heart, for you have suffered heavier things. ~ Homer
 
I think only through suffering all our wonderful human qualities come out in us. Unless and until you suffer, how will you understand other's suffering? ~ Sree Chakravarti
 
It requires more courage to suffer than to die. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
 
That which does not kill me makes me stronger. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
 
I walked a mile with Pleasure.
She chattered all the way.
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow
And ne'er a word said she;
But oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me!
 ~ Robert Browning
 
Honest listening is one of the best medicines we can offer the dying and the bereaved. ~ Jean Cameron
 
You never know till you try to reach them how accessible men are; but you must approach each man by the right door. ~ Henry Ward Beecher
 
Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. ~ Helen Keller
 
There is nothing the body suffers which the soul may not profit by. ~ George Meredith
 
Sometimes, when one person is absent, the whole world seems depopulated ~ Allphonse de Lamartine
 
Grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger links than common joys. ~ Alphonse de Lamartine
 
Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings. ~ Elie Weisel
 
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. ~ Mark Twain
 
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. ~ Helen Keller
 
One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller
 
Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing. ~ George Sheehan
 
People living deeply have no fear of death. ~ Anais Nin
 
Happiness depends upon ourselves. ~ Aristotle
 I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. ~ Gilda Radner
 Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it. ~ Somerset Maughan



 
Trials give you strength, sorrows give understanding and wisdom. ~ Chuck T. Falcon
Men fear death, as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other. -Francis Bacon


Fear not death, for the sooner we die the longer we shall be immortal. -Benjamin Franklin
For what is it to die, but to stand in the sun and melt into the wind? And when the Earth has claimed our limbs, then we shall truly dance. -Kahlil Gibran
Death is the most beautiful adventure in life. -Charles Frohman
If you should die before me, ask if you could bring a friend. - Stone Temple Pilots
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome. -Isaac Asimov
Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come. - Rabindranath Tagore
While we are mourning the loss of our friend, others are rejoicing to meet him behind the veil. -John Taylor
A man is not completely born until he is dead. -Benjamin Franklin
Is death the last sleep? No--it is the last and final awakening. - Sir Walter Scott.
Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. -Mark Twain
Death is simply a shedding of the physical body, like the butterfly coming out of a cocoon. It is a transition into a higher state of consciousness, where you continue to perceive, to understand, to laugh, to be able to grow, and the only thing you lose is something you don't need anymore . . . your physical body. It's like putting away your winter coat when spring comes. -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come! -William Shakespeare
Poems
Do not stand at my grave and weep, by Mary Frye 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.
I Only Wanted You, author unknown They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.
A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.
In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.
If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I'd walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.
Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.
All is well… , Author unknown Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped away into 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 to me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced 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 effort, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well…
Traditional Irish Blessing, by anonymous May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
A Stone I died, by J.Rumi A stone I died and rose again a plant;
A plant I died and rose an animal;
I died an animal and was born a man.
Why should I fear? What have I lost by death?
Poem for funeral, by Sri Chinmoy "Life is a journey.
Death is the continuation of the journey.
Heaven is a temporary rest.
For the commencement and fulfillment
Of a new life, a new hope
And a new promise"
A Bridge Called Love, author unknown It takes us back to brighter years,
to happier sunlit days,
and to precious moments
that will be with us always.
And these fond recollections
are treasured in the heart
to bring us always close to those
from whom we had to part.
There is a bridge of memories
from earth to Heaven above...
It keeps our dear ones near us
It's the bridge that we call love.
My Secret and Sacred Bird, by Sri Chinmoy My secret and sacred bird now flies 
To meet the Spirit's vacancy. 
All chaos of life today dissolved; 
In me a surge of ecstasy.
Gold flames within my longing heart 
Invoke the cosmos' Parent-Sun. 
A tapestry of Truth unseen 
Bursts forth within; the Play is begun.
Death is at once, by Sri Chinmoy Death is at once
The end of the body's 
Old journey 
And the beginning of the soul's 
New journey.

A gardener’s last wish, by Joyce Fothergill Don’t carry me off in a brass-handled coffin
With a wreath on my chest I won’t be ‘at rest’
There’s nothing much worse than a ride in a hearse
To a hole in the ground with just strangers around
No! bury me deep in the compost heap
Or pop me right under a nice floribunda
Its really much wiser to become fertilizer
Then I can grow roses as I decomposes.
Because I Could Not Stop For Death, by Emily Dickinson 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 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.
Do not stand at my grave and weep, by Mary Frye 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 glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush 
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!
On Death, by Khalil Gibran Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
And he said: You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honor.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Poems for Loss of a Loved One, by Sri Chinmoy Death is not the end. 
Death can never be the end. 
Death is the road. 
Life is the traveller. 
The soul is the guide.
---
I know I will love death. 
Why? 
Because death too 
Is God's creation 
And because death reminds me 
Of the existence of her sister: 
Infinity's Life immortal.
---
The body has death, but not the soul. 
The body sleeps, the soul flies. 
The soul-stirring words on death and the soul in this chapter of the Gita, let us recollect.
"Even as man discards old clothes for the new ones, so the dweller in the body, the soul, 
leaving aside the worn-out bodies, enters into new bodies. 
The soul migrates from body to body. 
Weapons cannot cleave it, nor fire consume it, nor water drench it, nor wind dry it. 
This is the soul and this is what is meant by the existence of the soul.
Verses Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)
 
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
 
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
 
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:4).
 
But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (Luke 18:16)
 
They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy. ~ Psalm 126:6

The Lord God will wipe all tears from all their faces. ~ Isaiah 25:8

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. ~ Matthew 5:4