Poem for mums eulogy

[Borntobeamum]

My DH is doing the eulogy for my lovely mum who passed away at the age of 90.

Can anyone suggest something beautiful and fitting please?

Many thanks x x

Sorry for your loss. What about this one?

Weep not for me though I have gone
Into that gentle night
Grieve if you will, but not for long
Upon my soul’s sweet flight

I am at peace, my soul’s at rest
There is no need for tears
For with your love I was so blessed
For all those many years

There is no pain, I suffer not
The fear is now all gone
Put now these things out of your thoughts
In your memory I live on

Remember not my fight for breath
Remember not the strife
Please do not dwell upon my death
But celebrate my life

That's lovely @HelloDaisy.

Warm Summer Sun by Mark Twain

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.

What is this thing that men call death,
This quiet passing in the night?
'Tis not the end, but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch thou my aching heart,
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change,
With recompense for vict'ry won.
The gift of him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One.

We read this at my uncle's funeral and for some reason it has really struck a chord with me.

I love this poem which has a different mood too:

Everything is Going to be All Right

How should I not be glad to contemplate
the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window
and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?

There will be dying, there will be dying,
but there is no need to go into that.
The poems flow from the hand unbidden
and the hidden source is the watchful heart.

The sun rises in spite of everything
and the far cities are beautiful and bright.
I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the day break and the clouds flying.

Everything is going to be all right.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=uvWkkZT6c04

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!

Life Well Lived

A life well lived is a precious gift
Of hope and strength and grace,
From someone who has made our world
A brighter, better place
It’s filled with moments, sweet and sad
With smiles and sometimes tears,
With friendships formed and good times shared And laughter through the years.
A life well lived is a legacy
Of joy and pride and pleasure,
A living, lasting memory
Our grateful hearts will treasure

I read this one for at my father's funeral. It was written by Henry van Dyke who was an American Presbyterian Minister in the 1800s. Although I was a bit worried what the 'living freight' might be given when it was written (I think I just said freight) I liked the images it conjured up and that fact that death can be seen from different perspectives. Dad wasn't religious but I know he woould have liked it. I am going to ask that it be read at mine as well.

Gone From My Sight

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving 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 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,
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 at the moment when someone 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!"

I really love this
Gone from my sight
Very reassuring

These are very lovely.

Quite a number do rather rely on a belief in an afterlife. Is that something you and your family are ok with, OP? I know for my mum’s funeral I needed to find something more in keeping with her (lack of) beliefs.

I rather liked this one.

David Harkins

You can shed tears

You can shed tears that he is gone

Or you can smile because he lived,

You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back

Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him

Or you can be full of the love that 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 him and only that he is gone,

Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on;

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

Or you can do what he would want:

smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

I am not gone
I am in the hearts and bodies of my children
I am in the raising of my children and their children to come,
I am in their laughter and in their eyes
Following a lifelong pattern I have set before them,
I am in their caring and in their strength,
I am in the minds of everyone that has known me,
Search your hearts for good memories,
And then you will know,
I am not gone.

Anon

We used this for my dad's funeral also but changed the wording to he.

My darling mum passed away last night. I saw this post and has given me so many lovely options for readings/poems.

We had 'remember me' by Anthony howden

I am sorry for your loss. X

‘Darling’

You might forget the exact sound of her voice

Or how her face looked when sleeping.

You might forget the sound of her quiet weeping

Curled into the shape of a half moon,

When smaller than her self, she seemed already to be leaving

Before she left, when the blossom was on the trees

And the sun was out, and all seemed good in the world.

I held her hand and sang a song from when I was a girl –

Heil Ya Ho Boys, Let her go Boys

And when I stopped singing she had slipped away,

Already a slip of a girl again, skipping off,

Her heart light, her face almost smiling.

And what I didn’t know, or couldn’t see then,

Was that she hadn’t really gone.

The dead don’t go till you do, loved ones.

The dead are still here holding our hands.

Copyright Jackie Kay. Reprinted with kind permission from the author.

@ÉireannachÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ

That was the reading I did at my parents funeral, they both went at the same time and it seemed to explain how they were still together.

I’m so sorry. It’s such a blow, losing your mum. My heart goes out to you.

We had this for our mum , and it still brings me comfort ,
sorry for your loss

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

I'm sorry to learn of the loss of both your parents. X
I imagine they are still together somewhere and of course they live on in you.

We little knew that day,

God was going to call your name.
In life we loved you dearly,

In death, we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you.
You did not go alone.

For part of us went with you,

The day God called you home.

You left us beautiful memories,

Your love is still our guide.

And although we cannot see you,
You are always at our side.

Our family chain is broken,

And nothing seems the same,
But as God calls us one by one,
The chain will link again.

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!

God looked around his garden
And found an empty place,
He then looked down upon the earth
And saw your tired face.
He put his arms around you
And lifted you to rest.
God’s garden must be beautiful
He always takes the best.
He knew that you were suffering
He knew you were in pain.
He knew that you would never
Get well on earth again.
He saw the road was getting rough
And the hills were hard to climb.
So he closed your weary eyelids
And whispered, ‘Peace bethine’.
It broke our hearts to lose you
But you didn’t go alone,
For part of us went with you
The day God called you home.

A wife, a mother, a grandma too,

This is the legacy we have from you

You taught us love and how to fight

You gave us strength, you gave us might.

A stronger person would be hard to find,

And in your heart you were always kind.

You fought for us all in one way or another

Not just as a wife not just as a mother.

For all of us you gave your best

And now the time has come for you to rest.

So go in peace, you’ve earned your sleep,

Your love in our hearts we’ll eternally keep.

You’ve Just Walked On Ahead of Me

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

Your hand slip into mine.