Funeral Poems for Son

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.

— Mark Twain / Robert Richardson

If tears could build a stairway And memories a lane, I'd walk right up to Heaven And bring you home again.

— Unknown

I will lend you for a little time a child of mine, He said, For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he's dead. It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three, But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me? He'll bring his charms to gladden you, and should his stay be brief, You'll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief. I cannot promise he will stay since all from earth return, But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn. I've looked the wide world over in my search for teachers true, And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes I have selected you. Now will you give him all your love, nor think the labour vain, Nor hate me when I come to call to take him back again? I fancied that I heard them say, Dear Lord, Thy will be done, For all the joy Thy child shall bring, the risk of grief we'll run. We'll shelter him with tenderness, we'll love him while we may, And for the happiness we've known, forever grateful stay. But should the angels call for him much sooner than we'd planned, We'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.

— Edgar A. Guest

Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

— Robert Frost

If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to wander, A body of England's, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home. And think, this heart, all evil shed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no less Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given; Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

— Rupert Brooke, 1914 and Other Poems (1915)

I know that I shall meet my fate Somewhere among the clouds above; Those that I fight I do not hate, Those that I guard I do not love; My country is Kiltartan Cross, My countrymen Kiltartan's poor, No likely end could bring them loss Or leave them happier than before. Nor law, nor duty bade me fight, Nor public men, nor cheering crowds, A lonely impulse of delight Drove to this tumult in the clouds; I balanced all, brought all to mind, The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance with this life, this death.

— W.B. Yeats

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy. Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay, Exacted by thy fate, on the just day. O could I lose all father now! for why Will man lament the state he should envy, To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's rage, And, if no other misery, yet age? Rest in soft peace, and asked, say, "Here doth lie Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry."

— Ben Jonson

The time you won your town the race We chaired you through the market-place; Man and boy stood cheering by, And home we brought you shoulder-high. To-day, the road all runners come, Shoulder-high we bring you home, And set you at your threshold down, Townsman of a stiller town. Smart lad, to slip betimes away From fields where glory does not stay, And early though the laurel grows It withers quicker than the rose. Eyes the shady night has shut Cannot see the record cut, And silence sounds no worse than cheers After earth has stopped the ears: Now you will not swell the rout Of lads that wore their honours out, Runners whom renown outran And the name died before the man. So set, before its echoes fade, The fleet foot on the sill of shade, And hold to the low lintel up The still-defended challenge-cup. And round that early-laurelled head Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead, And find unwithered on its curls The garland briefer than a girl's.

— A.E. Housman

The little toy dog is covered with dust, But sturdy and staunch he stands; And the little toy soldier is red with rust, And his musket moulds in his hands. Time was when the little toy dog was new, And the soldier was passing fair; And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue Kissed them and put them there. "Now, don't you go till I come," he said, "And don't you make any noise!" So, toddling off to his trundle-bed, He dreamt of the pretty toys; And, as he was dreaming, an angel song Awakened our Little Boy Blue — Oh! the years are many, the years are long, But the little toy friends are true! Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand, Each in the same old place — Awaiting the touch of a little hand, The smile of a little face; And they wonder, as waiting the long years through In the dust of that little chair, What has become of our Little Boy Blue, Since he kissed them and put them there.

— Eugene Field

An angel in the book of life Wrote down my baby's birth. Then whispered as she closed the book, "Too beautiful for earth."

— Unknown

Like a comet blazing 'cross the evening sky, Gone too soon. Like a rainbow fading in the twinkling of an eye, Gone too soon. Shiny and sparkly and splendidly bright, Here one day, gone one night. Like the loss of sunlight on a cloudy afternoon, Gone too soon. Like a castle built upon a sandy beach, Gone too soon. Like a perfect flower that is just beyond your reach, Gone too soon. Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight, Here one day, gone one night. Like a sunset dying with the rising of the moon, Gone too soon.

— Unknown

When tomorrow starts without me, and I'm not there to see, If the sun should rise and find your eyes all 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.

— David Romano

Copyright David Romano.

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam, And for a brief moment its glory and beauty Belong to our world. But then it flies on again, And though we wish it could have stayed, We feel so lucky to have seen it.

— Unknown

There were tiny footprints in heaven today, Where an angel got their wings. A precious soul had arrived up there Among such beautiful things. The angels gathered all around, And gently took their hand, And led them through the golden gates To a peaceful, promised land. Though their time on earth was brief, Their memory will live on, In every sunset, every star, In every breaking dawn. So when you see a butterfly Or hear a robin sing, Remember tiny footprints And an angel with new wings.

— Unknown

We thought of you with love today, But that is nothing new. We thought about you yesterday And days before that too. We think of you in silence And often speak your name. Now all we have are memories And your picture in a frame. Your memory is our keepsake With which we'll never part. God has you in his keeping, We have you in our hearts. The special years will not return When we were all together, But with the love within our hearts You'll walk with us forever.

— Unknown

We are connected, my child and I, By an invisible cord not seen by the eye. It's not like the cord that connects us at birth— This cord can't be seen by anyone on earth.

— Lesley Regan

Copyright Lesley Regan.

When you see a star tonight, Shining way up high, Know it's me looking down on you, From my home up in the sky. I'm watching over you always, And though we're far apart, Know I'm right there beside you, Forever in your heart.

— Unknown

We never know how high we are Till we are called to rise; And then, if we are true to plan, Our statures touch the skies. The heroism we recite Would be a daily thing, Did not ourselves the cubits warp For fear to be a king.

— Emily Dickinson

You were a son like no other, Strong and kind and true. The world was richer for the time That it was shared with you. You had a laugh that filled the room, A heart that knew no bounds, And everywhere you walked in life, You left love on the ground. We were not ready for goodbye, We wanted so much more— More days, more nights, more of the light You brought through every door. But what you gave in your short time Will last our whole lives through. No finer son has ever lived— The world was blessed by you.

— Unknown

Though your time was brief, Your life was complete. You were loved from the start With every heartbeat. You taught us that love Needs no words to be spoken, That a bond can be whole Even when hearts are broken. You'll bloom in the garden We carry inside, Forever our baby, Forever our pride.

— Unknown

Don't remember me with sadness, Don't remember me with tears, Remember me with all the fun We shared throughout the years. Remember me for my bad jokes, The music that I played, Remember every birthday cake And every mess I made. Remember how I drove you mad With questions every day, But most of all remember this: I loved you all the way. So when you think about me, Please don't think about the end. Think of the laughter and the life Of your child, your child, your friend.

— Unknown

When I see the brightest star Shining in the sky, I know that you are up there Watching from on high.

— Robyn O'Connell

Copyright Robyn O'Connell.

He was summer in December, Sunlight after rain, He was everything worth having, And worth having once again. He was laughter in the silence, Courage when we feared, He was all the things we treasure In the years since he appeared. Now the house is full of shadows Where his footsteps used to be, But his love remains forever Like an anchor in the sea.

— Unknown