12 Best Funeral Poems

A funeral or celebration of life is a time to pause, reflect, and honor the loved one who has died, and funeral poems have a way of allowing us space to grief and process due to their creative nature. During times of grief and sadness, it’s normal to struggle to maintain normal rhythms and routines.

In fact, in customs all around the world, the period of mourning is an important state to go through to show respect to the deceased, and to honor the role they played in people’s lives. Because a funeral or memorial is meant to bring people to together to honor and mourn the lost, poetry holds a rightful place as a creative medium that has been used to honor the dead for millennia.

In this article, I hope you find a special poem that resonates with you as you work with an officiant to build a meaningful funeral service.

#1 – Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

–From the NIV Bible on BibleGateway.com

#2 – 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 to

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!

–Henry Scott Holland

#3 – When Tomorrow Starts Without Me

When tomorrow starts without me
And I’m not here to see
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
Are filled with tears for me

I wish so much you wouldn’t cry
The way you did today
While thinking of the many things
We didn’t get to say

I know how much you love me
As much as I love you
And each time you think of me
I know you’ll miss me too

But when tomorrow starts without me
Please try to understand
That an angel came and called my name
And took me by the hand

And said my place was ready
In Heaven far above
And that I’d have to leave behind
All those I dearly love

But when I walked through Heaven’s gate
I felt so much at home
When God looked down and smiled at me
From His great golden throne

He said this is eternity
And all I promised you
Today your life on earth is past
But here it starts anew

I promise no tomorrow
For today will always last
And since each day’s the same way
There’s no longing for the past

So when tomorrow starts without me
Don’t think we’re far apart
For every time you think of me
I’m right here in your heart

–David M. Romano

#4 – Love Lives On

Those we love remain with us
for love itself lives on,
and cherished memories never fade
because a loved one’s gone.

Those we love can never
be more than a thought apart,
for as long as there is memory,
they’ll live on in the heart.

–Unknown

#5 – 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.’

–Anonymous

#6 – When I am Gone

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 tears,
Be happy that we had so many years.

I gave you my love, you can only guess
How much you gave to me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
But now it’s time I traveled on alone.

So grieve a while for me if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It’s only for a time that we must part,
So bless the memories within your heart.

I won’t be far away, for life goes on.
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near—
And if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear
All my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way alone,
I’ll greet you with a smile and say “Welcome home.”

–Anonymous

#7 – Safely Home

I am home in Heaven, dear ones;
Oh, so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty 
In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over,
every restless tossing passed;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in Heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly
trod the valley of the shade?
Oh! but Jesus’ love illumined
every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus’ arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still
Try to look beyond earth’s shadows,
Pray to trust our Father’s Will.

There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idly stand;
Do it now, while life remaineth
­You shall rest in Jesus’ land.

When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you Home;
Oh, the rapture of that meeting,
Oh, the joy to see you come!

–Anonymous

#8 – God of the Open Air

These are the things I prize
And hold of dearest worth:
Light of the sapphire skies,
Peace of the silent hills,
Shelter of forests, comfort of the grass,
Music of birds, murmur of little rills,
Shadow of clouds that swiftly pass,
And, after showers,
The smell of flowers
And of the good brown earth,–
And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.

So let me keep
These treasures of the humble heart
In true possession, owning them by love;
And when at last I can no longer move
Among them freely, but must part
From the green fields and from the waters clear,
Let me not creep
Into some darkened room and hide
From all that makes the world so bright and dear;
But throw the windows wide
To welcome in the light;
And while I clasp a well-beloved hand,
Let me once more have sight
Of the deep sky and the far-smiling land,–
Then gently fall on sleep,
And breathe my body back to Nature’s care,
My spirit out to thee, God of the open air.

–Henry Van Dyke

#9 – Crossing the Bar

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 cross’d the bar

–Alfred Lord Tennyson

Read the poem I wrote to honor my grandmother, Gift of You

#10 – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, 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 for war, and a time for peace

–From the NIV translation on BibleGateway.com

#11 – Afterglow

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 an echo whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.
I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun;
Of happy memories that I leave when life is done.

–Helen Lowry Marshall

#12 – The Rose Beyond the Wall

Near a shady wall a rose once grew,
Budded and blossomed in God’s free light,
Watered and fed by the morning dew,
Shedding it’s sweetness day and night.

As it grew and blossomed fair and tall,
Slowly rising to loftier height,
It came to a crevice in the wall
Through which there shone a beam of light.

Onward it crept with added strength
With never a thought of fear or pride,
It followed the light through the crevice’s length
And unfolded itself on the other side.

The light, the dew, the broadening view
Were found the same as they were before,
And it lost itself in beauties new,
Breathing it’s fragrance more and more.

Shall claim of death cause us to grieve
And make our courage faint and fall?
Nay! Let us faith and hope receive–
The rose still grows beyond the wall,

Scattering fragrance far and wide
Just as it did in days of yore,
Just as it did on the other side,
Just as it will forever-more.

–A. L. Frink

I pray these 12 funeral poems bring you comfort and peace. Many times, a family member will step of to officiate a service for the family. But, this is very hard to do because even the family member is grieving. If you or your family would like help from a professional celebrant, I am available to help build a custom service – either from afar for your family to read during the services – or in Northern California if you would like me to officiate on behalf of your family.