Popular Funeral Poems and How to Choose the Right One

A poem can say something you cannot quite put into your own words. It can offer comfort, make room for quiet reflection, bring warmth or humour, or gently change the tone after an emotional tribute. There is no requirement to choose a traditional funeral poem, or even to include poetry at all.

A few ideas to start with

There is no single right funeral poem. The feeling you want to express can give you a useful starting point, whether that is comfort, gratitude, sorrow or a connection with the person's beliefs and interests. These are suggestions to explore, not a ranking.

Two readings that have stayed with us

She Is Gone / He Is Gone, by David Harkins

This is a particularly popular choice among the families we help at Wealden Funeral Services. Its appeal is understandable: it acknowledges the loss while turning attention towards the life that was shared and the memories that remain.

It can work well in a celebration-of-life service, especially when the family wants to leave people with a sense of gratitude alongside their sadness. The words are familiar to many people without being explicitly religious. The versions known as She Is Gone and He Is Gone allow families to choose the appropriate wording.

It is worth reading the whole piece before deciding. Its encouragement to look towards life can feel reassuring to one family and a little too soon for another. Either response is understandable.

Remember Me, often attributed to Margaret Mead

We heard this reading at a recent funeral and found it particularly poignant. Written from the perspective of the person who has died, it connects remembrance with the everyday lives and memories of those left behind.

It is relatively concise, emotional without being relentlessly sombre, and can sit naturally within a personal service or towards the end of a eulogy. Its focus on an enduring place in people's lives may appeal more than language about a particular religious belief.

The authorship is uncertain, so we use “often attributed to Margaret Mead” rather than presenting that attribution as established fact. Several different poems share the title Remember Me; make sure everyone preparing the service has the same version.

Short readings with warmth and reassurance

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

This has become a familiar funeral reading through its wide circulation in memorial collections and services. It imagines a continuing presence in the natural world, offering reassurance that a person's significance is not confined to their grave. For some families, its images of weather, light and birds make remembrance feel close to ordinary life, especially when the person loved being outdoors.

Its authorship has a complicated history. It is often attributed to Mary Elizabeth Frye, but the earliest known printed version appeared as Immortality in The Gypsy in December 1934, credited to Clare Harner. Later versions and attributions vary, so check the wording and credit of the version you choose rather than assuming every online attribution is reliable.

If I Should Go, by Joyce Grenfell

This brief poem makes room for sadness while encouraging people to remain themselves and continue living. Its plain-speaking warmth may suit someone who disliked fuss or would have wanted familiar voices and personalities to be part of their farewell. It has a lightness of touch, but it does not pretend that parting is easy.

Requiem, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Only eight lines long, Requiem pictures death as a homecoming after a full life. Its images of a sailor and a hunter may have a particular connection for someone who loved travel, the sea or the outdoors. The direct references to dying and burial are worth considering carefully, even though the overall mood is one of acceptance.

Traditional poems about memory and farewell

Funeral Blues, by W. H. Auden

This is a markedly different choice from She Is Gone. Its force lies in expressing the scale and intensity of grief: the sense that a person's death has changed the whole world for someone who loved them.

Sometimes a family wants words that acknowledge how devastating a death feels, without trying immediately to find reassurance or celebrate a life. Funeral Blues can make room for that honesty. It is an emotionally strong reading, so consider who will read it and where it will sit in the service. There can still be warmth and lighter memories elsewhere in the ceremony.

Remember, by Christina Rossetti

This sonnet begins with a wish to be remembered, then makes space for the happiness of the person who remains. It can suit a reflective service where the family wants to acknowledge a close bond without suggesting that grief must occupy every moment of the future. Its older language benefits from an unhurried reading.

Song (When I am dead, my dearest), by Christina Rossetti

A different Rossetti poem, this uses images of grass, rain and birdsong rather than elaborate mourning. Its quiet, restrained character may suit someone who preferred simplicity. There is an openness about remembering and forgetting which some people find freeing, while others may prefer a more definite message of continuing connection.

Crossing the Bar, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Tennyson imagines the final journey as a passage out to sea. It is a measured, dignified choice, particularly where sailing or the coast mattered to the person. The ending has a spiritual dimension, with the hope of meeting a guiding presence beyond death. It is worth discussing that meaning if you are planning a non-religious service.

Words of faith, hope and the natural world

Psalm 23

For a Christian service, this familiar biblical reading offers reassurance through images of care, guidance and companionship in danger. It may hold memories of church, school or family worship. Ask the minister which translation or service version they suggest, as familiar wording matters and versions differ. Religious readings should reflect the person's beliefs and the family's wishes.

Hope is the thing with feathers, by Emily Dickinson

This short poem pictures hope as a bird that continues through hardship. It does not need to mention death to earn its place in a funeral. It may offer a gentle pause in a non-religious ceremony, or recall someone whose resilience and encouragement helped other people through hard times.

The Peace of Wild Things, by Wendell Berry

Berry describes finding a temporary release from worry in the natural world. For someone who felt most at home watching birds, walking or spending time outdoors, that connection may matter more than an explicit farewell. It can provide a quiet breathing space between a personal tribute and the next part of the service.

How to choose a funeral poem that feels right

Start with the person, rather than the list. Did they enjoy a particular writer? Were they direct, thoughtful, mischievous, religious or happiest outdoors? A useful question is whether you can imagine them liking the words, or whether the reading expresses something honest about your relationship.

Then think about the feeling you want at that point in the ceremony. Reflective, uplifting, humorous, traditional and spiritual readings can all have a place. Humour works best when it recalls the person's character and will be understood by those listening. There is no need to make every part of the service equally solemn.

Consider the reader as well as the reading. A close relative may feel comfortable with a short poem but find several pages too much to manage emotionally. Shorter can be better: a few lines read with room to pause can mean just as much as a longer contribution.

Look at the poem alongside the eulogy and music. If the tribute already ends with a strong message about continuing memories, another reading on exactly that theme might feel repetitive. Alternatively, a quiet poem before a lively piece of music can help the service move naturally from reflection towards celebration.

For a religious ceremony, speak with the minister about where a personal poem can fit. For a non-religious or mixed service, be clear about any spiritual references you do or do not want. Our guide to what a funeral celebrant does explains how that conversation can help shape the ceremony.

Choose two or three possibilities and read them aloud before settling on one. Popularity can be a useful starting point, but the right choice is the one that means something to you. You do not need to select a poem simply because it is often used at funerals.

You do not have to choose a “funeral poem”

A favourite book, a family letter or a few sentences written especially for the occasion can be equally meaningful. You might choose words connected with gardening, sport, travel or another interest, an appropriate religious reading, or a short reflection suggested by the celebrant or minister.

Something written by a family member does not need to rhyme or sound literary. A small, recognisable memory can say a great deal. Our funeral ideas page has other ways to bring a person's interests and character into the day.

A note about copying poems and readings

We have described these choices rather than reproduced their texts. Modern poems and book passages can be protected by copyright, and finding the words online does not automatically give permission to print or publish them. Before including a reading in an order of service, on a website or in a recording, ask us or the officiant to help check the relevant permissions. The same care applies to Bible translations and adapted versions of older poems.

Reading the poem at the service

Print the words clearly in a comfortable font size, with space between lines, and practise aloud. Read a little more slowly than you would in conversation. Marking a few places to pause can help, particularly if you tend to speed up when nervous.

It is completely acceptable to stop briefly if emotion takes over. You can arrange a backup reader and give them a copy in advance. A celebrant, minister or funeral director can also read on your behalf if you would prefer. Choosing the words is itself a personal contribution; you do not have to deliver them yourself.

If you are arranging a funeral, we can talk through the readings you are considering and how they might fit into the service. You do not need to arrive with a finished selection.