Graveside Poems
About Graveside Poems
The graveside service is often the most intimate part of a funeral -- a small gathering at the burial site for final words before the coffin is lowered. Poems for graveside services tend to be short, direct, and deeply personal. They should carry in open air and hold attention without a microphone.
Featured Graveside Poems
These established graveside poems are practical starting points for a service. Check the wording, length, and any faith or venue requirements before making a final choice.
“Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” — Mary Elizabeth Frye
Written specifically about a grave. Its opening line speaks directly to the mourners standing at the burial site. The most appropriate funeral poem for a graveside reading.
Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow.
“Safely Home” — Unknown
A Christian poem offering assurance that the deceased has arrived safely "home." Its direct, conversational tone carries well outdoors.
I am home in Heaven, dear ones; Oh, so happy and so bright! There is perfect joy and beauty In this everlasting light.
“God's Garden” — Unknown
The garden metaphor feels literal at a graveside, surrounded by cemetery grounds. Its short, simple lines work without a microphone.
God looked around his garden And found an empty place. He then looked down upon the earth, And saw your tired face.
“A Silent Tear” — Gaynor Llewellyn
Brief and comforting, designed to be spoken in a quiet, intimate setting. Its gentleness matches the hushed atmosphere of a graveside service.
Just close your eyes and you will see All the memories that you have of me. Just sit and relax and you will find I'm really still there inside your mind.
“Warm Summer Sun” — Mark Twain / Robert Richardson
Just four lines, originally inscribed on a headstone. The perfect graveside poem -- addresses the natural elements surrounding the burial.
Warm summer sun, Shine kindly here, Warm southern wind, Blow softly here.
Most Popular Graveside Poems
The 15 most-read graveside poems, ranked by how often they are chosen for funeral services.
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 sun 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.
— Mary Elizabeth Frye
The most popular funeral poem worldwide, offering comfort through the idea that the deceased lives on in nature.
Best moment: Read at graveside or during the service
Pairs with: What a Wonderful World, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Here Comes the Sun
Warm Summer Sun
Mark Twain / Robert Richardson
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
Mark Twain's adaptation used on his daughter Susy's gravestone — only 8 lines of tender farewell.
Best moment: At the graveside or engraved on a headstone
Pairs with: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Here Comes the Sun
Do Not Stand (shortened)
Mary Elizabeth Frye
Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there; I do not sleep. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there; I did not die.
— Mary Elizabeth Frye
The first two and last two lines of the world's most popular funeral poem — perfect as a four-line headstone inscription.
Best moment: Engraved on a headstone or printed on memorial cards
Pairs with: What a Wonderful World, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Crossing the Bar
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 tho' 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 crost the bar.
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Tennyson's final poem, written 1889
Tennyson's final poem — death as putting out to sea at sunset, hoping to meet his 'Pilot face to face' on the other side.
Best moment: Read during the service or at the graveside
Pairs with: Abide With Me, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
The Old Astronomer (excerpt)
Sarah Williams
Though my soul may set in darkness, It will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too truly To be fearful of the night.
— Sarah Williams
Four lines from Williams' poem — 'I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night' is one of the most quoted funeral lines.
Best moment: Engraved on a headstone or printed on memorial cards
Pairs with: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, What a Wonderful World
Requiescat
Oscar Wilde
Tread lightly, she is near Under the snow, Speak gently, she can hear The daisies grow. All her bright golden hair Tarnished with rust, She that was young and fair Fallen to dust. Lily-like, white as snow, She hardly knew She was a woman, so Sweetly she grew. Coffin-board, heavy stone, Lie on her breast, I vex my heart alone, She is at rest. Peace, peace, she cannot hear Lyre or sonnet, All my life's buried here, Heap earth upon it.
— Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde's exquisitely tender poem written for his sister Isola, who died at age nine.
Best moment: At the graveside or printed on memorial cards
Pairs with: Ave Maria, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Abide With Me
Henry Francis Lyte
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide! When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day; Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me. I need Thy presence every passing hour; What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power? Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if Thou abide with me. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
— Henry Francis Lyte
One of the best-known hymns, often read as a poem at funerals — 'Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?'
Best moment: Read or sung during the service
Pairs with: Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art
Gone From My Sight (Parable of Immortality)
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...
— Henry Van Dyke
An extended metaphor comparing death to a ship sailing beyond the horizon — gone from sight but not from existence.
Best moment: Read during the service or at the graveside
Pairs with: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, You Raise Me Up
Gone From My Sight (Christian)
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. 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...
— Henry Van Dyke
The Parable of Immortality tagged for the Christian poems collection — a ship sailing to heaven's shore.
Best moment: Read during a Christian funeral service
Pairs with: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, You Raise Me Up
The Soldier
Rupert Brooke
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)
Brooke's iconic war sonnet — if I die abroad, know that a corner of that field is forever England, enriched by an English heart.
Best moment: Read at Remembrance services or funerals for military personnel
Pairs with: Danny Boy, Abide With Me
Epitaph on a Friend
Robert Burns
An honest man here lies at rest, The friend of man, the friend of beast, If there is another world, he lives in bliss; If there is none, he made the best of this.
— Robert Burns
Burns' witty four-line epitaph covering both believers and non-believers with wry warmth.
Best moment: Engraved on a headstone or read at the graveside
Pairs with: My Way, What a Wonderful World
Immortality
Clare Harner
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 circling 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.
— Clare Harner
Clare Harner's 1934 version of the famous poem — often confused with Frye's version (ID 1) but published first.
Best moment: Read during the service or at the graveside
Pairs with: What a Wonderful World, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Epitaph on a Friend (for a Friend)
Robert Burns
An honest man here lies at rest, The friend of man, the friend of beast, If there is another world, he lives in bliss; If there is none, he made the best of this.
— Robert Burns
Burns literally titled this for a friend — 4 lines of witty, warm tribute covering believers and non-believers.
Best moment: Engraved on a headstone or read at the graveside
Pairs with: My Way, What a Wonderful World
On My First Son
Ben Jonson
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
Ben Jonson's heartbreaking elegy for his seven-year-old son Benjamin, calling him 'his best piece of poetry.'
Best moment: During the eulogy for a son
Pairs with: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, You Raise Me Up
Gone From My Sight (last lines)
Henry Van Dyke
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!'
— Henry Van Dyke
The final lines of the Parable of Immortality that work powerfully as a standalone short reading.
Best moment: At the graveside or printed on memorial cards
Pairs with: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, You Raise Me Up
Frequently Asked Questions
What poems are best for a graveside service?
"Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep" is the most fitting graveside poem -- it was literally written about a grave. "Warm Summer Sun" by Mark Twain is just four lines and was originally a headstone inscription. Choose poems that are short (under 20 lines), direct, and work without a microphone.
How long should a graveside reading be?
Graveside readings should be brief -- 4 to 12 lines is ideal. Mourners are standing, often in weather, and the emotional intensity of watching a burial means attention spans are short. One short, powerful poem is more effective than a longer reading.
Who reads poems at a graveside service?
The officiant or minister usually leads the graveside service, but family members often read a poem as part of the committal. The closest family member -- spouse, child, or grandchild -- typically reads. Have the text printed large so it is readable through tears and in outdoor light.
Is a graveside service different from a funeral?
Yes. The graveside service (also called committal) is the portion at the burial site, usually following the main funeral service at a church or chapel. Some families choose a graveside-only service, skipping the chapel entirely. Graveside services are shorter, more intimate, and outdoors.
Can you read a non-religious poem at a graveside?
Yes. Even at religious funerals, the graveside committal often allows for personal readings. "Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep" is secular and read at gravesides worldwide. Check with the officiant if you are unsure about what is appropriate at your specific service.