Short funeral poem needed for brother

[hopelessbusiness]

Hello
I lost my lovely brother in the early hours of this morning. He was only 55 and died after a short and brutal illness. I want to read a short poem at his funeral - I've looked online at all the usual suspects but none is quite right. Does anybody have any different ones? Must be

• short
• Non religious
• Not 'old' language (Shakespeare, Donne etc)

Thanks in advance .

We had the dash at my mothers. Everyone after the service said how much they wanted to have it read at their own.

@CharlotteStreetW1 losing a sibling is so hard, isn't it...it's the shared memories, and the intuitive understanding you have.
I know that if I asked my brother 'do you remember when...' or 'what was the name of...' or ' where was ....?' he'd know and now no-one else would. Feels like I've lost a whole bank of memories and part of myself.

Another vote for this, it was read at my aunt's funeral

Sorry, wrong one. I was thinking Do not go gently.... Dylan Thomas

Another Mumsnetter suggested this once:

Now I am free and with the wind I get to walk the borders of time.

I am the glitter of the stars, the flight of the clouds, the tender drop of the morning dew.

I am not gone, I come back to you in every rising morning.

And in every darkening evening I wish you goodnight

(I'm so sorry you lost your brother 💐)

I love "When tomorrow starts without me" by David Romano

When tomorrow starts without me
And I’m not here to see
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
Are filled with tears for me
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry
The way you did today
While thinking of the many things
We didn’t get to say
I know how much you love me
As much as I love you
And each time you think of me
I know you’ll miss me too
But when tomorrow starts without me
Please try to understand
That an angel came and called my name
And took me by the hand
And said my place was ready
In Heaven far above
And that I’d have to leave behind
All those I dearly love
But when I walked through Heaven’s gate
I felt so much at home
When God looked down and smiled at me
From His great golden throne
He said this is eternity
And all I promised you
Today your life on earth is past
But here it starts anew
I promise no tomorrow
For today will always last
And since each day’s the same way
There’s no longing for the past
So when tomorrow starts without me
Don’t think we’re far apart
For every time you think of me
I’m right here in your heart

hopelessbusiness, so sorry for your loss.

PauliesWalnuts, the poem is beautiful, and you're absolutely right about the last four words.

Walt Whitman
'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.'

Stevenson's 'Give me a song of a lad that is gone'

'Farewell my Friends' by Tagore
It was beautiful
as long as it lasted
the journey of my life.
I have no regrets
whatsoever save
the pain I’ll leave behind.
Those dear hearts
who love and care
and the heavy with sleep
ever moist eyes.
The smile, in spite of a
lump in the throat
and the strings pulling
at the heart and soul.
The strong arms
that held me up
when my own strength
let me down.
Each morsel that I was
fed with was full of love divine.
At every turning of my life
I came across
good friends.
Friends who stood by me
even when the time raced by.
Farewell, Farewell
my friends.
I smile and bid you goodbye.
No, shed no tears,
for I need them not
All I need is your smile.
If you feel sad
think of me
for that’s what I’d like.
When you live in the hearts
of those you love,
remember then….
you never die.

WH Auden what is this world if we have no time to stand and Stare we had it at my Fathers funeral.

Sorry WH Davies.

My mum passed away at the start of the year and we chose, Do not Stand at my grave & weep.
Im so sorry for your loss.

I read this at my dad’s funeral last year. It summed him up perfectly, I apologise if it seems a bit flippant though:

Oh dear, if you’re reading this right now,
I must have given up the ghost.
I hope you can forgive me for being
Such a stiff and unwelcoming host.

Just talk amongst yourself my friends,
And share a toast or two.
For I am sure you will remember well
How I loved to drink with you.

Don’t worry about mourning me,
I was never easy to offend.
Feel free to share a story at my expense
And we’ll have a good laugh at the end.

OP, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. This poem is actually called Loss and is by Joanna Ashworth

When I go
don't learn to live without me
just learn to live with my live
in a different way.

And if you need to see me
close your eyes
or look in your shadow
when the sun shines

I'm there.

Sit with me in the quiet
and you will know
that I did not leave.

There is no leaving
when one soul is blended
with another.

When I go
don't learn to live without me
just learn to look for me
in the moments.

I will be there.

Here's another short one. I don't know the author.

I am grateful for your life...
even as I mourn your death.
I laugh at the memories...
even as I cry for those not made.
I recognise the beauty in life...
even as I experience its ugliness.
I embrace hope and joy...
even as my heart breaks.
I live....even as I grieve.

Sorry I made a typo. In the first poem the third line should read "just learn to live with my love"

We used this poem. I liked that it was quite positive. Not religious and not too heavy.

Re being too upset to read something- keep
read and reading it until the emotion leaves it. I managed to read a eulogy that way, despite crying my eyes out the first dozen times I read it!

We had this for my dad recently, it felt beautiful to us. So sorry for your brother passing op.

A 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

• Author Unknown

I read this at my Dad's funeral

He is Gone by David Harkins

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

Wow.
Just lost my darling sister and this has really resonated with me. So much so I went and ordered the book.
I'm drowning in grief atm.
So thank you for sharing I hope the poems go someway in helping

Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own:
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.
Be fair or foul or rain or shine
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not Heaven itself upon the past has power,
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.

From the moment I was born you were already there
Eagerly waiting to lay all your big brother knowledge bare

I quickly learnt that if I stuck with you
Your advice and support would get me through

For all this time I have only ever known life with you as my home
But this part of my journey I have to travel alone

Until one day I reach my end

and there you'll be

eagerly waiting

to meet me again.

Hope that's a little more what you were after

Late Fragment
Raymond Carver

And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.

@Mrsweasleysclock you've made me cry (not that it's difficult at the moment)

💓

I read out this prom at the end of a eulogy I wrote for my brother 5 years ago. So sorry for your loss.

https://www.funeralinspirations.co.uk/funeral-poems/his-journeys-just-begun-poem/

@MrsScrubbingbrush I think you've cracked it. That's beautiful.