When planning a scattering ashes ceremony, choosing a meaningful poem can create a touching and personal moment. To help make this emotional process easier, we’ve selected short poems that capture various sentiments, from life-affirming reflections to wistful goodbyes.
Life-Affirming Poems
Here are a few life affirming poems.
Not, How Did He Die, But How Did He Live?
Author Unknown
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 birth.
Not, what was his church, nor what was his creed?
But had he befriended those really in need?
Was he ever ready, with word 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.
Because You Have Lived
Author Unknown
To laugh often and much.
To win the respect of intelligent people,
and the affection of children.
To earn the appreciation of honest critics.
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.
To know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
Solemn and Wistful Poems
Here are a series of solemn and wistful poems with full text.
Miss Me But Let Me Go
Author Unknown
When I come to the end of the road,
and the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room,
why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little but not too long
and not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that we once shared
miss me but let me go.
For this is a journey that we all must take
and each must go alone.
It’s all a part of the Master’s plan,
a step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick at heart,
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrow in doing good deeds,
Miss me, but let me go.
Remember
By Christina Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
you tell me of the future that you planned;
Only remember me; you understand
it will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet, if you should forget me for a while
and afterwards, remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
a vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
better by far you should forget and smile
than that you should remember and be sad.
Afterglow
By Helen Lowrie Marshall
I’d like the memory of me
To be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an afterglow
Of smiles when day is done.
I’d like to leave an echo
Whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times, and laughing times
And bright and sunny days.
I’d like the tears of those who grieve
To dry before the sun
Of happy memories I leave
Behind – when day is done.
A Brief Candle
By Charlie Daniels
A brief candle; both ends burning
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine.
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything.
The future, present, and the past.
Fly on proud bird,
You’re free at last.
You Will See Them Someday
By Stephan Banks
When you lose someone it can be hard to take,
the pain that you feel when your heart has to break.
The memories you keep are all in your mind,
as you search your soul for more to find.
The way their skin felt, the smell of their hair,
as you keep thinking over and shedding a tear.
The years may pass, memories fade to grey,
but you’re getting no younger, you’ll see them someday.
Unconditional love is never forgotten,
look deep in your heart, it is there at the bottom.
Alone in the dark sometimes in fear,
voices from loved ones you’re hoping to hear.
More years pass, they soon fly by,
but you’re always looked upon from those in the sky.
Surrounded by clouds and pure white doves,
they listen and watch, sending you love.
Just remember one thing as you sit and you pray,
they will be there to greet you, you will see them someday.
I Must Go Down to the Sea Again
By Spike Milligan
I must go down to the sea again,
to the lonely sea and the sky;
I left my shoes and socks there –
I wonder if they’re dry?
Gaily I Lived
By René François Regnier
Gaily I lived as ease and nature taught,
And spent my little life without a thought,
And am amazed that Death, that tyrant grim,
Should think of me, who never thought of him.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
By Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Cultural and Traditional Poems
These poems carry strong cultural or historical significance.
Stop All the Clocks
By W.H. Auden
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
The Parting
by Annette J Dunlea
Of all the money that ere I had, I’ve spent it in good company,
And of all the harm that ever I’ve done, alas was done to none but me.
And all I’ve done for want of wit, to memory now I cannot recall.
So fill me the parting glass, goodnight and joy be with you all.
Of all the comrades that ere I had, they’re sorry for my going away,
And of all the sweethearts that ere I’ve loved, they would wish me one more day to stay,
But since it falls unto my lot that I should part and you should not,
I’ll gently rise and I’ll softly call, Goodnight and joy be with you all.
A man may drink and not be drunk,
A man may fight and may not be slain
A man may court a pretty girl
And perhaps be welcomed back again.
But since it has so ordered been
For a time to rise, and a time to fall
Come fill to me the Parting glass, goodnight and joy be with you all.
Heart Rendering Poems
For Love
Poems about love and loss.
By David Harkins
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’ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
or you can be full of the love 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’s 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’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
Crossing the Bar
By Alfred Lord Tennyson
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
The Ship
By Bishop Brent
A ship sails and I stand watching till she fades on the horizon,
and someone at my side says, “She is gone.”
Gone where?
Gone from my sight, that is all; she is just as large as when I saw her.
The diminished size and total loss of sight is in me, not in her,
and just at the moment when someone at my side says,
“She is gone,” there are others who are watching her coming,
and other voices take up a glad shout, “There she comes!”
And that is dying.
Gone From My Sight
By Henry Van Dyke
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!”
And that is dying.
To Those Whom I Love and Those Who Love Me
Author Unknown
When I am gone, release me, let me go.
I have so many things to see and do.
You mustn’t tie yourself to me with tears.
Be happy that we had so many years.
I gave you my love, you can only guess
How much you gave me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
But now it’s time I traveled on alone.
So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It’s only for a while that we must part,
So bless the memories within your heart.
I won’t be far away, for life goes on.
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near,
And if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear
All of my love around you soft and clear.
And then, when you must come this way alone,
I’ll greet you with a smile, and say “Welcome Home.”
If I Should Go
By Joyce Grenfell
If I should go before the rest of you,
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone,
Nor, when I’m gone, speak in a Sunday voice,
But be the usual selves that I have known.
Weep if you must:
Parting is hell.
But life goes on,
So sing as well.
We Remember Them
by Sylvan Kamens & Rabbi Jack Riemer
At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them.
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter; We remember them.
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring; We remember them.
At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer; We remember them.
At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn; We remember them.
At the beginning of the year and when it ends; We remember them.
As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as We remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength; We remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart; We remember them.
When we have decisions that are difficult to make; We remember them.
When we have joy we crave to share; We remember them.
When we have achievements that are based on theirs; We remember them.
For as long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as, We remember them.
A Life Well Lived
– Author Unknown
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
The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
When I’m Gone
by Lyman Hancock
When I come to the end of my journey
And I travel my last weary mile
Just forget if you can, that I ever frowned
And remember only the smile
Forget unkind words I have spoken
Remember some good I have done
Forget that I ever had heartache
And remember I’ve had loads of fun
Forget that I’ve stumbled and blundered
And sometimes fell by the way
Remember I have fought some hard battles
And won, ere the close of the day
Then forget to grieve for my going
I would not have you sad for a day
But in summer just gather some flowers
And remember the place where I lay
And come in the shade of evening
When the sun paints the sky in the west
Stand for a few moments beside me
And remember only my best
Let Me Go
by Christina Rossetti
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little, but not for long
And not with your head bowed low
Remember the love that once we shared
Miss me, but let me go.
For this is a journey we all must take
And each must go alone.
It’s all part of the master plan
A step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick at heart
Go the friends we know.
Laugh at all the things we used to do
Miss me, but let me go.
When I am dead my dearest
Sing no sad songs for me
Plant thou no roses at my head
Nor shady cypress tree
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet
And if thou wilt remember
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not fear the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on as if in pain;
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
Footprints in the Sand
– Mary Stevenson
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?”
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”
If Death Is Kind
– Sara Teasdale
Perhaps if Death is kind, and there can be returning,
We will come back to earth some fragrant night,
And take these lanes to find the sea, and bending
Breathe the same honeysuckle, low and white.
We will come down at night to these resounding beaches
And the long gentle thunder of the sea,
Here for a single hour in the wide starlight
We shall be happy, for the dead are free.
