Funeral Poems For Friends

Published: January 5, 2023

Friend Funeral Poems - Tributes For A Friend's Funeral

There are many traditions from around the world that determine what a funeral looks like. In some cultures the body is cremated and the ashes may be kept in an urn. In other cultures, the body is put into the ground itself without a coffin. Some traditions have people who are designated wailers who are there to help people cry. Eulogies may be said in honor of the departed. What these cultures all have in common is the desire to mark the importance of the individual's life and to mourn for the loss of the departed.

Looking for the perfect words to honor a dear friend who has passed away? Our collection of memorial poems includes poems for eulogies, speeches, and tributes. From short poems for funerals to longer, more personal tributes, you'll find the perfect poem to express your love and grief. Use these poems to help you say goodbye to a dear friend who will be greatly missed."

Friend Funeral Poems - Tributes For A Friend's Funeral

  1. Death Is Nothing At All

    Famous Poem

    This poem is often read at funerals. The author, Henry Scott-Holland (1847 - 1918), a priest at St. Paul's Cathedral of London, did not intend it as a poem, it was actually delivered as part of a sermon in 1910. The sermon, titled, "Death the King of Terrors" was preached while the body of King Edward VII was lying in state at Westminster.

    in Famous Death Poems

    Death is nothing at all.
    It does not count.
    I have only slipped away into the next room.
    Nothing has happened.

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    Hello Everyone, Reading the comments here, I just felt that I "belonged." This year has been very hard - in March my father passed and in October my dear brother. I feel so lost now without...

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  2. Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

    Famous Poem

    "Do not stand at my grave and weep" is the first line and popular title of this bereavement poem of disputed authorship. This extremely famous poem has been read at countless funerals and public occasions. There are in existence many slightly different versions of the poem. Written in the 1930's, it was repopularized during the late 1970s thanks to a reading by John Wayne at a funeral. Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004), a florist from Baltimore, MD claimed to have composed this poem in 1932 in a moment of inspiration to comfort a family friend who had just lost her mother and was unable to even visit her grave. However, the poem was only first formally published in the December 1934 issue of The Gypsy poetry magazine where it was titled "Immortality", with the author as Clare Harner (1909–1977) from Kansas. Several of Harner’s other poems were published and anthologized.
    The poem below is the version published in 1934 in The Gypsy poetry magazine.

    in Famous Death Poems

    Do not stand
    By my grave, and weep.
    I am not there,
    I do not sleep-

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    It's what we want to believe. We don't cry because our loved one is dead, we cry because we won't ever see or talk to them again and we will miss them. We are crying for ourselves. Someone...

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  4. When Tomorrow Starts Without Me

    • By David Romano

    Famous Poem

    When Tomorrow Starts Without Me is a heartfelt poem that aims to comfort and console those who will be left behind after their death. The poet expresses their love and concern for their loved ones, and reassures them that they will be with God in heaven. The poem uses simple and moving language to convey its message of hope and comfort, and the use of rhyme and repetition helps to reinforce the emotional impact of the poem. It serves as a reminder that death is a natural part of life, and that the memories of those we love will always be with us.

    in Famous Death Poems

    When tomorrow starts without me
    And I’m not here to see
    If the sun should rise and find your eyes
    All filled with tears for me

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  5. Requiem

    Famous Poem

    In this short and powerful poem, Robert Louis Stevenson's writes from the perspective of the deceased who calmly faces death with peace and contentment. The poem's message is one of comfort and acceptance, viewing death as a return home. It can serve as a touching tribute and funeral reading for families whose loved one have lived a full and complete life. The poem's use of imagery and metaphor reinforces the theme of death as a journey and offers comfort to those who are grieving.

    in Famous Death Poems

    Under the wide and starry sky,
    Dig the grave and let me lie.
    Glad did I live and gladly die,
    And I laid me down with a will.

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  7. Remember

    Famous Poem

    Christina Rossetti was an English poet who lived from 1830-1894. In this poem, she wants her loved one to remember her after death. The word “remember” is shared five times, bringing attention to the importance of holding onto those memories, but the tone changes at the end. She then gives her loved one the permission to move on after her death. She hopes to be remembered, but she doesn’t want those memories to cause sadness to those she leaves behind. The form of Remember is a Petrarchan Sonnet.

    in Famous Death Poems

    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.

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    In 2022, my 2-year-old cousin passed of covid, and I'm only 13, so it's hard to go through that, so this really hits home.

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  8. Song

    Famous Poem

    In this poem, the narrator urges others not to do the typical things of remembrance when she passes away. Instead, the narrator encourages the reader to endure - just as grass does through droughts and famine. Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) uses alliteration throughout the poem: dead/dearest, sing/sad/songs, and green/grass. She struggled with her physical and mental health and experienced various bouts of depression. Through this poem, it's possible to see the process of working through difficult thoughts and emotions.

    in Famous Death Poems

    When I am dead, my dearest,
    Sing no sad songs for me;
    Plant thou no roses at my head,
    Nor shady cypress tree:

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    Christina Rossetti was my main inspiration for taking up poetry in 1972. This poem was a standout to me. I have 3 self-published books of poetry that I put together. The third one, Poetry in...

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  9. The Celebration Of Your Life

    • By Jodi L. Daly
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2014 with permission of the Author.

    This poem is about losing someone very close to you and going to services and discovering how many lives that person touched outside of those you knew and coming together to pay your last respects.

    in Loss of a Friend Poems

    We are here to celebrate your life
    And the measure of its worth
    And every single life you touched
    While you were on this earth.

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  10. My Wish For You

    • By Debra Chesnoff
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2011 with permission of the Author.

    This poem was written for a very dear family friend. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and was told that she had only several months to live. I wanted her to know how I felt and how much she meant to me. When I finished the poem, I gave it to her to read. Just a few months later, she passed. I was asked to read it at her funeral. I was able to share it with all her family and friends.

    in Loss of a Friend Poems

    I wish I could give you many more years.
    I wish I could erase away all of your tears.

    I want to take away all of your pain.

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    On this very same day, I lost a friend who was more like a sister to me. She has been suffering from kidney failure for more than 4 years now, and only today God decided to snatch her away...

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  11. Farewell My Friend

    • By Judy Marriott
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2011 with permission of the Author.

    A Farewell Poem. Carol was my best friend from first grade right through our golden years. We shared many happy times and many sad times. She was the best friend that I have ever had, and I wrote this poem for her family. I will never forget Carol - she was a wonderful friend.

    in Loss of a Friend Poems

    Farewell my friend, you're leaving.
    It's time for you to go.
    Your friendship was a blessing,
    And I will miss you so.

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    On MAY 9, 2017, around 04:00 in early hours of the morning heaven couldn't wait for Lindo. May 8th is my birthday. I celebrated it all by myself and planned that on the coming weekend Lindo...

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  12. Dear Friend

    • By Stephanie Solis
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2015 with permission of the Author.

    My friend Nick passed away a few days ago. He was an awesome person with such an incredible personality. The cause of death is still undetermined, although some speculate that he took his own life. His family is keeping everything silent, so writing this poem was a grieving process that I went through. I wish I could have told him how much I valued his friendship; I wish I could have seen the pain he was hiding inside. I just wish I could have been there to stop him, if the speculations are true.

    in Loss of a Friend Poems

    Today is the day you will be laid to rest,
    But you know what they say,
    God only takes the best.
    Everything happens for a reason,

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    I lost a dear friend and very close colleague of mine during the Easter Break precisely April 25, 2019 (Easter Sunday) in a ghastly motor accident while visiting family at country home....

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  13. MaryAnn's Eternal Garden

    • By Sherry Rockhill
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2014 with permission of the Author.

    I wrote this poem for my very special friend MaryAnn who lost her battle with cancer on 4/28/12. She was so full of life and always there to help anyone who was in need. The mornings of our birthdays and holidays would start with a phone call from MaryAnn and Bobby singing us a song - Happy Birthday, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and even Here Comes Peter Cottontail :) No day will ever be the same without her here -- can't wait to see her garden!

    in Loss of a Friend Poems

    You can no longer see me, but please know that I am there
    I am the flowers in the garden, I am the wind beneath your hair
    The memories that I left behind, shall forever be with you
    As for me I am in heaven now, where my life will start anew

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    Poem In Memory Of A Special Friend, MaryAnn's Eternal Garden

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    I am a breast cancer survive. Out lived two beautiful women in my life my mother and co-worker they both had stage 4 breast cancer. Please don't blame them because cancer gave no signs the...

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  14. My Little Butterfly

    • By Barbara Ann Rogers
    • Published by Family Friend Poems January 2009 with permission of the Author.

    My Little Butterfly was written the night of the day my boss, who was a good friend of mine died from a brain aneurysm. The doctors said she had born with it and she never knew it was there. It was a time bomb waiting to go off. She had been in our office that day and was getting ready to attend a meeting. She was humming and laughing as she always did. The poem is word for word what came to me that night. I had to rush to get a pen and paper. I had never written anything before this poem.

    in Loss of a Friend Poems

    Today a little butterfly flew by me.
    I thought to myself where have you been little butterfly.
    You come into this world as a cocoon all by yourself and blossom into
    this beautiful butterfly and fly off to see the world.

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    On August 7, 2004, my darling daughter Lisa and her friend, was instantly killed in a car accident, by a guy driving over 130 mph. She was a very special type of a person. She volunteered her...

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