Poem for mum at funeral

[Borntobeamum]

My DH is writing the eulogy for my mum and we are looking for a beautiful poem to end it on.
Can any suggest anything suitable.

Many thanks x

I'm very sorry for your loss 💐

"For Grief" by John Donohue?

I'm sorry for your loss. This isn't particularly uncommon, but it is lovely:

Do not stand at my grave and weep'

Mary Elizabeth Frye

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.

You don’t move on after loss, but you must move with. You must shake hands with grief, welcome her in, for she lives with you now. Pull her a chair at the table and offer her comfort. She is not the monster you first thought her to be. She is love. And she will walk with you now, stay with you now, peacefully. If you let her. And on the days when your anger is high, remember why she came, remember who she represents. Remember. Grief came to you my friend because love came first. Love came first.

The Dash. We had it at my Mums funeral.

The Dash Poem (By Linda Ellis)
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
From the beginning...to the end

He noted that first came the date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
That they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
Know what that little line is worth

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars...the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering this special dash
Might only last a little while

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent YOUR dash?

We changed anger to sadness, because believe it or not the anger does wane.

Or this:

Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Everything remains as it was.
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 sorrow in your tone.
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
effort
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 but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around 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.

Remember. Christina Rossetti.

My mum died recently and we chose Do not stand at my grave & weep. Our celebrant sent me a few suggestions and that was the one we liked.

We had this for my dad but you could personalise it.

Not, How Did He Die, But How Did He Live?
Not, how did he die, but how did he live?
Not, what did he gain, but what did he give?
These are the units to measure the worth
Of a man as a man, regardless of his birth.
Nor what was his church, nor what was his creed?
But had he befriended those really in need?
Was he ever ready, with words of good cheer,
To bring back a smile, to banish a tear?
Not what did the sketch in the newspaper say,
But how many were sorry when he passed away?

I’m sorry for your loss. I would keep it to a short poem myself, something that summed her up rather than verse after verse, and something original rather than the usual poems.
There are a couple of things here that might be suitable
www.funeralguide.co.uk/blog/loss-of-mother-poems

We had this for my mum.

‘The Garden at Dusk’, Joyce Grenfell

In the cool of a garden when evening draws in Serenity waits where the shadows begin.
In the fragrance of dusk and the murmur of clover
The cares that we carry pass peacefully over. Flowers in the fullness shed blessings about
And the turmoil of living fades quietly out.
Hope glimmers through with the evening star
And anxieties shrink to the size that they are.

Sorry about the formatting, I’m not sure what happened there.

Sorry for your loss. This is my favourite one to read.

A SONG OF LIVING:

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 give a share of my soul to the world where my course is run.
I know that another shall finish the task I 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.

I've always loved this one:

A Dirge, by Christina Rossetti

Why were you born when the snow was falling?
You should have come to the cuckoo’s calling,
Or when grapes are green in the cluster,
Or, at least, when lithe swallows muster
For their far off flying
From summer dying.

Why did you die when the lambs were cropping?
You should have died at the apples’ dropping,
When the grasshopper comes to trouble,
And the wheat-fields are sodden stubble,
And all winds go sighing
For sweet things dying.

But I don't know if it's quite right for a Eulogy, nor do I think it is the sort of thing everyone would love, so I hope it doesn't make you sad(der).

I'm very sorry for the loss of your mum.

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 will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
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 her and only that she is 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 would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Oh @suzyscat that one is truly beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.

@WhenAGrapeIsBorn

I read that poem (He is Gone by David Harkins) at my Dad's funeral, it really summed up how I felt about him.

Still miss him 13 years later.

Thank you x x
I think we’ve found the one x

💗 Grape x

Sorry for your loss. My mum passed in August last year. My uncle read 'She is gone' but we replaced she with mum's name. It was beautiful and the words are so true.

I’m a wreck after reading this, just lovely.
Thank you for sharing.

My son read this at DM's funeral a few weeks back. It was perfect ❤

We had this at my mum's funeral last year. My daughter read it. I'm in bits reading it again. It's truly beautiful