Funeral poems to read at the service
A good funeral poem takes a minute or two to read and sounds like the person you're remembering. Christina Rossetti's Remember, Henry Scott Holland's Death Is Nothing at All and Tennyson's Crossing the Bar have been read at services for many years. They're printed below with 11 more, each with its source and a note on who it suits.
Updated October 17, 2026
Each poem below is printed in full, or as the part read at funerals, with where it first appeared. All of them are out of copyright in the UK and the US, so you can print them in the order of service or put a few lines on a slide.
Classic funeral poems
Death Is Nothing at All
An extract from a sermon, spoken in the voice of the one who has died: laugh, use my name, carry on. Families choose it for a mum, a dad or a friend who would hate long faces.
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!
Remember
A sonnet to the one left behind, often read for a husband, wife or partner. It ends by asking you to forget and smile rather than remember and be sad.
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.
Crossing the Bar
Death as a calm voyage out to sea, with the hope of meeting the Pilot face to face. For a person of faith, a sailor, or anyone who died peacefully in old age.
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 crost the bar.
Song (When I am dead, my dearest)
The one who has died asks for no sad songs: remember me, or forget. It suits a mum or a gran who never wanted a fuss.
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 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.
John Anderson my Jo
A wife to her husband after a long life together: they climbed the hill side by side, and now go down it hand in hand.
John Anderson my jo, John,
When we were first Acquent;
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bony brow was brent;
But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snaw;
But blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson my Jo.John Anderson my jo, John,
We clamb the hill the gither;
And mony a canty day John,
We've had wi' ane anither:
Now we maun totter down, John,
And hand in hand we'll go;
And sleep the gither at the foot,
John Anderson my Jo.
The Scots words in John Anderson my Jo
Jo is sweetheart, acquent is acquainted, bony is handsome, brent is smooth, beld is bald, snaw is snow and pow is head. Clamb is climbed, the gither is together, canty is cheerful, ane anither is one another and maun is must.
Non-religious funeral poems
These three have no religion in them. Neither do When I am dead, my dearest and John Anderson my Jo, above.
Requiem
For someone who loved the sea, the hills or the open air. The last three lines are the epitaph Stevenson wrote for himself.
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 grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
Katrina's Sun-dial
Written for a sundial. The second verse is often read on its own as Time Is, and it fits a card or a slide.
Hours fly,
Flowers die:
New days,
New ways:
Pass by!
Love stays.Time is
Too Slow for those who Wait,
Too Swift for those who Fear,
Too Long for those who Grieve,
Too Short for those who Rejoice;
But for those who Love,
Time is not.
Peace, my heart
A gentle goodbye that asks for the parting to be sweet. For a long life, or after a long illness.
Peace, my heart, let the time for the parting be sweet.
Let it not be a death but completeness.
Let love melt into memory and pain into songs.
Let the flight through the sky end in the folding of the wings over the nest.
Let the last touch of your hands be gentle like the flower of the night.
Stand still, O Beautiful End, for a moment, and say your last words in silence.
I bow to you and hold up my lamp to light you on your way.
Spiritual funeral poems
They speak of eternity and of what remains, without belonging to any one church.
On Death
An extract from The Prophet, for a family who wants something spiritual without a church service. Many read only the last part, from "For what is it to die".
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 honour.
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.
Splendour in the Grass
An extract from a long ode, about finding strength in what remains after a loss. Hopeful, and not a prayer, though it speaks of faith.
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind,
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be,
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering,
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.
Because I could not stop for Death
Death as a kind gentleman who drives her, unhurried, towards eternity. For someone who loved poetry; read it through first, as the house in the fourth verse is the grave.
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 't is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.
Short funeral poems
Under half a minute each, and short enough for a card, a headstone or the last slide of a video.
Warm Summer Sun
The lines on the headstone of Mark Twain's daughter Susy, who died in 1896 at 24. Gentle words for a daughter, a mum or a gran.
Warm summer sun shine kindly here;
Warm southern wind blow softly here;
Green sod above lie light, lie light
Good night, dear heart, good night, good night.
If I can stop one heart from breaking
For a nurse, a carer, a volunteer, or a mum who looked after everyone.
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.
A poem for a soldier or veteran
For the Fallen
For anyone who served. This verse is an extract, read on its own at Remembrance services, where everyone repeats the last line: We will remember them.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Short lines for a slide, a card or the order of service
Each line below is quoted exactly from a poem on this page. Tap Copy to keep it. On a slide or a card, start a new line where you see a slash. If you're making the slideshow yourself, our slideshow guide shows where the closing words go.
How to choose and read a funeral poem
- Start with them
Think of a poem they liked, a poet they learned at school, or lines that sound like something they would say. That matters more than finding the most famous poem.
- Keep it short
One or two minutes is plenty, and most poems on this page take less. A long poem is hard to read steadily when you're upset.
- Choose who reads
Ask someone who wants to and can read steadily. A grandchild can read a short poem. Agree beforehand that the minister or celebrant will carry on if the reader's voice goes.
- Read it aloud beforehand
Read it aloud three or four times in the days before, slowly, to someone if you can. Mark where you'll take a breath. Old words like crost or canty are easier once you've said them.
- Print a large copy
Print the poem in large type on a single sheet, and give a spare to the funeral director or celebrant. Paper is steadier in the hand than a phone.
- Put it in the order of service
If there's room, print the poem in the order of service with the poet's name, so people can follow it and take it home.
- Check with the church
In a church, ask the minister or priest first. Some keep the service for Bible readings and suggest a poem at the vigil, the graveside or the gathering afterwards.
If your voice goes
Stop, breathe and look down at the page, not at the room. Everyone there will wait for you. A glass of water within reach helps.
Poems you may be looking for
Some of the best-known funeral poems aren't printed here:
- Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep, by Mary Elizabeth Frye: still in copyright.
- Funeral Blues (Stop all the clocks), by W. H. Auden: still in copyright, and in collections of his poems.
- She Is Gone, also read as He Is Gone, by David Harkins: still in copyright.
- The Dash, by Linda Ellis: still in copyright.
- Miss Me, But Let Me Go: nobody knows who wrote it.
- Gone From My Sight, the one about a ship sailing out of view: nobody has settled who wrote it.
Ask your funeral director or celebrant for a copy, and ask the publisher before you print a poem that's still in copyright.
More poems and readings
Poems chosen for a father, and Bible readings for the service:
Poems for DadFuneral poems for Dad, printed with their sources: Kipling's If, Invictus, the poem Burns wrote for his own father and more, with short lines for a slide.
Bible versesBible verses for a funeral, all in the King James Version: comfort in grief, heaven, verses for a mother or a father, and short ones for a program or slide.
Questions about funeral poems
What is a good poem to read at a funeral?
One you can read in a minute or two that sounds like the person, or like something they would have said to you. Remember by Christina Rossetti, Death Is Nothing at All by Henry Scott Holland and Crossing the Bar by Tennyson have been read at funerals for many years and suit most families. If they had a poet they loved, start there.
What is a good short funeral poem?
Warm Summer Sun and the fourth verse of Binyon's For the Fallen have four lines each, and Henry van Dyke's Time Is and Emily Dickinson's If I can stop one heart from breaking have seven. Each takes less than half a minute to read, and fits a card or the last slide of a video.
What poem can I read at my mum's funeral?
Christina Rossetti's Remember and When I am dead, my dearest suit a mum who would want you to smile rather than grieve. Death Is Nothing at All sounds like a mum telling everyone to carry on, and If I can stop one heart from breaking fits a mum who looked after everybody. For music, see songs for her funeral.
What are some non-religious funeral poems?
Requiem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Time Is by Henry van Dyke, Peace, my heart by Rabindranath Tagore and When I am dead, my dearest by Christina Rossetti have no religion in them, and nor does John Anderson my Jo. Death Is Nothing at All is gentle and mostly secular, though it asks once for prayer.
How long should a funeral reading be?
One to three minutes is usual. Read slowly, a 14-line poem like Remember takes about a minute. A crematorium service has a fixed length, so ask the funeral director how much time there is for readings and music. If several people want to read, two short poems work better than one long one.
Can we print a poem in the order of service?
Yes, if it's out of copyright, like every poem on this page. For a modern poem, ask the publisher or your funeral director before you print it. Either way, put the poet's name under the poem.
What do you say before reading a poem at a funeral?
A sentence or two is enough: who you are, the title and the poet, and why you chose it. For example: "I'm Sarah, Joan's granddaughter. Gran loved Christina Rossetti, and this is Remember." Then read slowly, and pause at the end before you sit down.
You may also find helpful
- Bible versesBible verses for a funeral, all in the King James Version: comfort in grief, heaven, verses for a mother or a father, and short ones for a program or slide.
Funeral hymnsFuneral hymns families choose for church and crematorium services, with a line on each and tips on choosing them and printing the words in the order of service.
Funeral songsThe funeral songs families choose most often, old and new, each with a line on why it fits. Listen to any of them, copy the name or add it to their video.
Birthday in heavenHappy birthday in heaven messages to copy for a parent, a sibling, a partner, a child or a friend, and quiet ways to spend their birthday.
Funeral slideshow guideA step-by-step guide for families: gathering and scanning photos, putting them in order, music, closing words, free tools and playing it at the service.- Poems for DadFuneral poems for Dad, printed with their sources: Kipling's If, Invictus, the poem Burns wrote for his own father and more, with short lines for a slide.