Funeral Poems
There Is No Night Without A Dawning
by Helen Steiner Rice
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
You'Ve Just Walked On Ahead Of Me
by Joyce Grenfell
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
......
To Laugh Often And Much
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of the 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;
......
A Fantasy
by Louise Gluck
I'll tell you something: every day
people are dying. And that's just the beginning.
Every day, in funeral homes, new widows are born,
new orphans. They sit with their hands folded,
trying to decide about this new life.
Then they're in the cemetery, some of them
for the first time. They're frightened of crying,
sometimes of not crying. Someone leans over,
tells them what to do next, which might mean
......
So Many Different Lengths Of Time
by Brian Patten
How long does a man live after all?
A thousand days or only one?
One week or a few centuries?
How long does a man spend living or dying
and what do we mean when we say gone forever?
Adrift in such preoccupations, we seek clarification.
We can go to the philosophers
but they will weary of our questions.
We can go to the priests and rabbis
......
New Reality
by Nicholas Kolaric
I am tired,
A life has expired
A person who I deeply admired.
The future that was selected
Came when I least expected.
I don't know what tonight will be,
Little did I know that she would be free.
The sound of a rattling diesel engine
did catch my attention - I knew that machine wasn't beeping.
......
The Clock Cell
by Rosa Jamali
Something happens to die
And the sunlight which has been soaking is wet and obscure
If I carry on the lines
The frozen object which has been captured in your hands will drop
Otherwise, the day has come to an end.
Void
When I get home; staring at all those cubical shapes;
Standstill current of water
And the sunlight which is never damp
......
open casket funeral
by Bogdan Dragos
what would be the reason
to have an open casket funeral?
Why should the living
see the dead?
He addressed the questions to no one
in particular
but his dead wife answered from the
picture on the wall
......
Deletions
by J. J.deleted
Continue readingHelen Of Troy
by Sara Teasdale
Wild flight on flight against the fading dawn
The flames' red wings soar upward duskily.
This is the funeral pyre and Troy is dead
That sparkled so the day I saw it first,
And darkened slowly after. I am she
Who loves all beauty -- yet I wither it.
Why have the high gods made me wreak their wrath --
Forever since my maidenhood to sow
Sorrow and blood about me? Lo, they keep
Their bitter care above me even now.
......
