My mum passed away recently, at the age of 90 (after many years with severe dementia). I was trying to find a reading or poem that was appropriate for her - something to recognise that her death came as a bit of a blessing, and that she'd had a long and eventful life. Eventually, I found this one. I really like it and both the funeral director and celebrant said they'd not heard it before, which makes me think it might not be well known. I'm not religious but my mum was, so it worked well. Here it is, in case someone else finds it helpful.
A SONG OF LIVING (Amelia Josephone Burr)
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.
I have sent up my gladness on wings,
to be lost in the blue of the sky.
I have run and leaped with the rain,
I have taken the wind to my breast.
My cheek like a drowsy child
to the face of the earth I have pressed.
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.
I have kissed young love on the lips,
I have heard his song to the end,
I have struck my hand like a seal
in the loyal hand of a friend.
I have known the peace of heaven,
the comfort of work done well.
I have longed for death in the darkness
and risen alive out of hell.
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.
I gave a share of my soul to the world,
when and where my course is run.
I know that another shall finish the task
I surely must leave undone.
I know that no flower, nor flint
was in vain on the path I trod.
As one looks on a face through a window,
through life I have looked on God.
Because I have loved life,
I shall have no sorrow to die.