Poems For Funeral Services And For Those Grieving

Poetry is a wonderful thing, it eases our burdens and helps us to express our deepest emotions. Here is a compilation of poems about death and peoples beliefs about what happens to our loved one's after death. 

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VESPERS

I know the night is near at hand:  The mists lie low on hill and bay, the autumn sheaves are dewless dry; but I have had the day.  Yes I have had, dear Lord, the day; when at thy call I have the night brief but the twilight as I pass from light to dark from dark to light.

-S. Weir Mitchell

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THE HERO DEAD

Time brings not death, it brings but changes; I know he rides, but rides afar and camps tonight upon a star where all his other comrades are.  Today some other planet ranges to all eternity he binds us;  He links the planet and the star, he rides ahead, the trail he finds us and where he is and where we are will never seem again so far.

-Douglas Malloch

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"INTO FOREVER"

 

They’ll never know me while I’m young, the children I mean.  Oh, they’ll have vague memories of outings and birthday parties and reprimands; but they won’t recall the face of a young mother bending near their fevered brows or a young hand smoothing back their windswept hair.  When they first fall in love they’ll think I couldn’t possibly understand that I never felt the glow of a summer romance.  And when they are past knowing me as a need meter only, the hand they hold will be older, lined with experience, not the softer, more slender hand that clasped theirs as we ran along the beach or shared tiny teacups and tiny prayers or listened to the night sounds together.  The eyes that seek not to reflect clarity of thought and judgment regarding their care and happiness will be dimmed and weary perhaps turning to them for inspiration.  The shoulders that held aloft their troubled worlds may willingly shift the load to younger, stronger ones.  The time, strength and vision will fade, but my love for them can only grow in depth and breadth and into forever.  I gladly exchange the young hands and clear eyes for the treasure of time given me to be a mother.

-Gloria A. Foster

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ON EAGLE’S WINGS

And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, Make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand.

              -Michael  Joncas                  

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WHEN I QUIT

When I quit this mortal share, and mosey round this earth no more, don’t weep don’t sigh, don’t grieve, don’t sob; I may have struck a better job.  Don’t go and buy a large bouquet, for which you’ll find it hard to pay.  Don’t hang round me looking blue; I may be better off than you.  Don’t tell folks I was a saint, or anything you know I ain’t.  If you have stuff like that to spread, please hand it out before I’m dead.  If you have roses bless your soul just pin one on my button hole. But do it while I’m at my best, instead of when I’m safe at rest.

-Laura V. Brown

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THE BEST IS YET TO COME

The race is long, sometimes I stumble.

He helps me up each time I fall.

When I lose hope he gives me courage,

so I’ll press on and give my all.

I know I’ll never have to run alone, and I can hardly wait to make it home.  The best is yet to come, the promise of heaven awaits.  I’ll finally see my Lord and Savior face to face, for he has set me free for all eternity.  When my life on earth is done, the best is yet to come.

In every joy, in every trial I need to keep my eyes on him.  He is the way, my soul provider, no matter how the road may bend.  When earthly treasures cloud my point of view, he reminds me that I’m only passing through.

Nothing can compare to what’s in store when we will join the angels singing “Holy is the Lord.”

I know I’ll never have to run alone, and I can hardly wait to make it home.  The best is yet to come, the promise of heaven awaits.  I’ll finally see my Lord and Savior face to face, for he has set me free for all eternity.  When my life on earth is done, the best is yet to come.

- Scott Krippayne and Steve Siler

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Surely Jesus loves fishermen

For He chose them for His own,

to be with Him and learn from Him

and someday share His home.

It must have been their trust in God and patience He found rare,

that keeps them very near His heart

and ever in His care.

-Anne Kujawa

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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 that bear me far,

I hope to see my pilot face to face,

when I have crossed the bar.

-Alfred Tennyson

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OH MY FATHER

Oh my Father, thou that dwellest

in the high and glorious place,

when shall I regain thy presence

and again behold thy face.

In thy holy habitation

did my spirit once reside?

In my first primeval childhood,

was I nurtured by thy side?

For a wise and glorious purpose

thou has placed me here on earth,

and with-held the recollection

of my former friends and birth.

Yet oft times a secret something

whispered, “You’re a stranger here.”

And I felt that I had wandered

from a more exalted sphere.

I had learned to call thee, Father,

through thy spirit from on high;

but until the key of knowledge

was restored I know not why.

In the heavens are parents single?

No; the thought makes reason stare!

Truth is reason; truth eternal

tells me I’ve a mother there.

When I leave this frail existence,

When I lay this mortal by,

Father, Mother, may I meet you

In thy royal courts on high?

Then at length, when I’ve completed

all you sent me forth to do, 

with you mutual approbation

let me come and dwell with you.

-Eliza R. Snow

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THE PEACE PRAYER

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is error, the truth;

Where there is doubt, the 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 so much 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. Amen.

-Saint Francis of Assisi

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SHE 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’ll come back,

or you can open your eyes

and see all that 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.

-David Harkins

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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 forevermore.

- A. L. Frink  

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What a friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

all because we do not carry

everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,

cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In his arms he'll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.

- Joseph M. Scriven

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O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;
O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,
Thou Love that guards the nestling's faltering flight!
Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.

Love is our refuge; only with mine eye
Can I behold the snare, the pit, the fall:
His habitation high is here, and nigh,
His arm encircles me, and mine, and all.

O make me glad for every scalding tear,

For hope deferred, ingratitude, disdain!

Wait, and love more for every hate, and fear

No ill,--since God is good, and loss is gain.

Beneath the shadow of His mighty wing;

In that sweet secret of the narrow way,

Seeking and finding, with the angels sing:

"Lo, I am with you alway,"--watch and pray.

     No snare, no fowler, pestilence or pain;

No night drops down upon the troubled breast,

When heaven's aftersmile earth's tear-drops gain,

And mother finds her home and heav'nly rest.

       -Mary Baker Eddy   

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 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 still are.

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.

Pray, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word that it always

was, let it be spoken without effect, without the

trace of a 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 round the corner.

All is well.

—Henry Scott Holland

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Leaf after leaf drops off,

flower after flower,

Some in the chill,

some in the warmer hour:

Alive they flourish,

and alive they fall,

And the Earth who nourished them

receives them all.

Should we, her wiser sons,

be less content

To sink into her lap

when life is spent?

-Walter Savage Landor

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MYSTERY

What is this mystery that men call death?

My friend before me lies; in all save breath

He seems the same as yesterday. His face

So like to life, so calm, bears not a trace

Of that great change which all of us so dread.

I gaze on him and say: He is not dead,

But sleeps; and soon he will rise and take

Me by the hand. I know he will awake

And smile on me as he did yesterday;

And he will have some gentle word to say,

Some kindly deed to do; for loving thought

Was warp and woof of which

his life was wrought.

He is not dead. Such souls forever live

In boundless measure of the love they give.

—Jerome B. Bell

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REQUIEM

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 long’d to be;

Home is the sailor, home from the sea,

And the hunter home from the hill.

—Robert Louis Stevenson

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Death be not proud,

though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful,

for thou art not so:

For those whom thou think’st

thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor death,

nor yet canst thou kill me.

One short sleep past,

we wake eternally,

And Death shall be no more:

Death, thou shalt die.

—John Donne

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Death is only an old door

Set in a garden wall.

On quiet hinges it gives at dusk,

When the thrushes call.

Along the lintel are green leaves,

Beyond, the light lies still;

Very weary and willing feet

Go over that sill.

There is nothing to trouble any heart,

Nothing to hurt at all.

Death is only an old door

In a garden wall.

-Nancy Byrd 

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If this were my last day I’m almost sure

I’d spend it working in my garden. I

Would dig about my little plants, and try

To make them happy, so they would endure

Long after me. Then I would hide secure

Where my green arbor shades me from the sky,

And watch how bird and bee and butterfly

Came hovering to every flowery lure.

Then, as I rested, perhaps a friend or two,

Lovers of flowers would come,

and we would walk

About my little garden paths and talk

Of peaceful times when all the world

seemed true.

This may be my last day, for all I know;

What a temptation just to spend it so!

                          

-Anne Higginson Spicer   

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               The butterfly emerges

from its silken shell---

Reborn, it arises,

no longer bound to earth.

Free at last, the butterfly glides

to heights unknown before.

So do our loved ones find

a beautiful release

as, earthbound no more,

they leave our sight and joyfully rise

to a garden of matchless beauty,

a place of light and peace.

–Evelyn Phillips

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                THERE IS NO DEATH

There is a plan far greater than the plan you know;

There is a landscape broader than the one you see.

There is a haven where storm-tossed souls may go—

You call it death—we, immortality.

You call it death—this seeming endless sleep;

We call it birth—the soul at last set free.

’Tis hampered not by time or space—you weep.

Why weep at death? ’Tis immortality.

Farewell, dear voyageur—’twill not be long.

Your work is done—now may peace rest with thee.

Your kindly thoughts and deeds—they will live on.

This is not death—’tis immortality.

Farewell, dear voyageur—the river winds and turns;

The cadence of your song wafts near to me,

And now you know the thing all men learn:

There is no death—there’s immortality.

—Unknown

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THE CHRISTIAN'S “Good-night”

Sleep on, beloved, sleep, and take thy rest;

Lay down thy head upon thy Saviour’s breast;

We love thee well, but Jesus loves thee best—

Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

Calm is thy slumber as an infant’s sleep,

But thou shalt wake no more to toil and weep;

Thine is a perfect rest, secure and deep—

Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

Until the Easter glory lights the skies;

Until the dead in Jesus shall arise,

And He shall come, but not in lowly guise—

Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

Until made beautiful by Love Divine,

Thou, in the likeness of thy Lord shalt shine,

And He shall bring that golden crown of thine—

Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

Only “Good-night,” beloved—not “Farewell!”

A little while, and all His saints shall dwell

In hallowed union, indivisible—

Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

Until we meet again before His throne,

Clothed in the spotless robes He gives His own;

Until we know even as we are known—

Good-night! Good-night! Good-night!

—Sarah Doudney

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TO A WATERFOWL

There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast—

The desert and limitless air—

Lone wandering, but never lost.

And soon that toil shall end;

Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,

And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend,

Soon, o’er thy sheltered rest.

He who, from zone to zone,

Guides through the boundless sky

thy certain flight,

In the long way that I must tread alone,

Will lead my steps aright.

—William Cullen Bryant

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NATURE

As a fond mother, when the day is o’er,

Leads by the hand her little child to bed,

Half willing, half reluctant to be led,

And leave his broken playthings on the floor,

Still gazing at them through the open door,

Nor wholly reassured and comforted

By the promises of others in their stead,

Which, though more splendid,

may not please him more;

So Nature deals with us, and takes away

Our playthings one by one, and by the hand

Leads us to rest so gently, that we go

Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay,

Being too full of sleep to understand

How far the unknown transcends

the what we know.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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HOMECOMING

I believe there is Someone waiting for me,

Waiting to say: “Welcome Home!”

Someone I have never seen, but whom I will recognize

in the depths of my heart because He has lived

there since the beginning of time.

Someone who has never doubted my return, never failed

to still my doubts about my return.

I believe there is Someone who knows me so intimately,

loves me so totally, that joy will spark

spontaneously when we reunite in the land of

immortal Birth.

Tears will be wiped away; Sadness and fear will

disappear as mist when it meets the morning sun.

This is whom I seek, who seeks me.

He has never left me alone.

For He is Self of my self,

Soul of my soul,

Life of my very life.

—Sr. Joan Metzner

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I felt the light of heaven

it was shining down on me,

I heard His voice, He called my name,

“my child, come follow Me;”

There is no pain, there is no hurt

nor sadness anywhere,

In heaven there is joy and love

and I’ll be waiting there;

For on the day I left this earth

I felt your many tears,

And now I watch you from above

and keep you very near;

It hurts to be apart from me, but

be patient for the day,

When we meet again in love and peace

when you too come this way.

—Stephanie Clarke

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AMAZING GRACE

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind but now I see.

Through many dangers, toils and snares,

I have already come;

’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we’d first begun!

—John Newton, John P. Rees

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                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

together 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 as the moment when someone at

her 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!”

-Anonymous

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COMFORT

There is a tower of strength

For you and for meÊ—Ê

Tis that which we call faith.

And as the sea

Oft dashes on the rocks

To no avail

So storms may come to us;

But in the gale

We lean upon that faith

And soon once more

We see a beacon light-

It is the shore.

-Franklin Lee Stevenson

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FINAL HARVEST

He was bound to the land from the day of his birth

His roots anchored deep in the fertile earth

Nurtured, sustained, by the soil he grew

And his life, like his furrows, ran straight and true.

In faith, each spring, he planted the seeds

In hope, to reap his family’s needs

With patience, he waited for the harvest to come

To gather the fruits of his labor home.

Ever turning seasons, the years sped past

Til the final harvest came at last

Then claimed anew by beloved sod

He was gathered home to be with God.

—Barbara W. Weber

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ETERNAL COLOR

In spring, tree’s leaves were merely buds

when everything was new.

They couldn’t shade, nor hide a bird,

but every day they grew.

Now autumn’s here, and leaves have turned

from summertime’s full bloom.

They separate from branch, their home,

and snow will be their tomb.

How sad that when they’re at their peak

it’s time for them to go.

Yet, how colorful they made this world;

it was God’s plan, I know.

Your life, too, was most beautiful;

how brightly shown your heart.

For now, my friend, you’ve joined the leaves,

and from us, did depart.

Separated from us on earth

you’ve joined the Lord above.

We’ll miss you here, our dearest friend,

but glad you taught us love.

-LeeAnn Abell

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SUCCESS

He has achieved success who has lived well,

laughed often, and loved much; who has

enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect

of intelligent men and the love of little

children; who has filled his niche and

accomplished his task; who has left the

world better than he found it, whether an

improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued

soul; who has always looked for the best in

others and given them the best he had; whose

life was an inspiration; whose memory a

benediction.

-Bessie Anderson Stanley

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They that love beyond

the world cannot be

separated by it.

Death is but crossing

the world,

as friends do the seas;

they live in

one another still.

—William Penn

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                                               On this wondrous sea,

Sailing silently,

Ho! pilot, ho!

Knowest thou the shore

Where no breakers roar,

Where the storm is o’er?

                   In the silent west

Many sails at rest,

Their anchors fast;

Thither I pilot thee—

Land, ho! Eternity!

Ashore at last!

-Emily Dickenson

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Life, believe, is not a dream,

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day:

Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,

But these are transient all;

If the shower will make the roses bloom,

Oh, why lament its fall?

Rapidly, merrily,

Life’s sunny hours flit by;

Gratefully, cheerily,

Enjoy them as they fly.

What though death at times steps in,

And calls our Best away?

What though Sorrow seems to win,

O’er hope a heavy sway?

Yet Hope again elastic springs,

Unconquered, though she fell,

Still buoyant are her golden wings,

Still strong to bear us well.

Manfully, fearlessly,

The day of trial bear,

For gloriously, victoriously,

Can courage quell despair!

-Charlotte Brontë

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                   ABOU BEN ADHEM

Abou ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw — within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich and like a lily in bloom —
An angel, writing in a book of gold.
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?" — The vision raised its head,
And, with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

    The angel wrote and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.Abou Ben Adhem 

- James Henry Leigh Hunt

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 REMEMBER

Remember me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can go 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

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Epitaph Upon A Child That Died

Here she lies, a pretty bud,
Lately made of flesh and blood:
Who as soon as fell fast asleep
As her little eyes did peep.
Give her strewings, but not stir
The earth that lightly covers her.

   -Robert Herrick 

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LOOK FOR ME IN RAINBOWS

 

 

Time for me to go now, I won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, way up in the sky.
In the morning sunrise when all the world is new,
Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved you.

Time for me to leave you, I won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, high up in the sky.
In the evening sunset, when all the world is through,
Just look for me and love me, and I'll be close to you.

It won't be forever, the day will come and then
My loving arms will hold you, when we meet again.

Time for us to part now, we won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, shining in the sky.
Every waking moment, and all your whole life through
Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved you.

Just wish me to be near you,
And I'll be there with you.

Music and lyrics: Conn Bernard (1990). Vicki Brown

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TURN AGAIN TO LIFE

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.

--Mary Lee Hall 

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MY PRECIOUS SON

Unendingly I mourn my precious son

Too early yet this earthly home he left,
Perfidious sleep confounded nature's order
To leave his loves perpetually bereft.

Those golden dreams and aspirations,
The seed of yesterday a withered bloom,
Those baubles which are cause to celebrate
In death now mock us gently from his tomb.

How treacherous death does steal on youth's exuberance,
To wreak such havoc from the ecstasy of life,
Where once was only joy and future promise
Tormented hearts endure eternal strife.

-Pamela Davies

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EPITAPH TO A FRIEND

An honest man here lies at rest,
The friend of man, the friend of truth,
The friend of age, and guide of youth:
Few hearts like his, with virtue warm'd,
Few heads with knowledge so inform'd;
If there's another world, he lives in bliss;
If there is none, he made the best of this.

-Robert Burns 

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SO GO AND RUN FREE

So go and run free with the angel

                                                           Dance around the golden clouds                                             

                  For the lord has chosen you to be with him

And we should feel nothing but proud
Although he has taken you from us
And our pain a lifetime will last
Your memory will never escape us
But make us glad for the time we did have
Your face will always be hidden
Deep inside our hearts
Each precious moment you gave us
Shall never, ever depart
So go and run free with the angels
As they sing so tenderly
And please be sure to tell them
To take good care of you for me

-Author unknown.

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FOR KATRINA'S SUN DIAL

Time is too slow for those that wait,
Too swift for those that fear,
Too long for those that grieve,
Too short for those who rejoice,
But for those who love, time is Eternity.

-Henry Van Dyke 

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INSIDE OUR DREAMS 

Where do people go to when they die?
Somewhere down below or in the sky?
'I can't be sure,' said Grandad, 'but it seems
They simply set up home inside our dreams.'

-Jeanne Willis 

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WHERE DO THEY GO TO?

Where do they go to, the people who leave?
Are they around us, in the cool evening breeze?
Do they still hear us, and watch us each day?
I'd like you to think of them with us that way.

Where do they go to, when no longer here?
I think that they stay with us, calming our fear
Loving us always, holding our hands
Walking beside us, on grass or on sand.

Where do they go to, well it's my belief
They watch us and help us to cope with our grief
They comfort and stay with us, through each of our days
Guiding us always through life's mortal maze.

-KevF - 21st August 2007

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NOT IN VAIN

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.

-Emily Dickinson

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