Funeral poems and verses for programs, prayer cards and signs

Every poem, passage and verse on this page is free to print. The poems are in the public domain, and the Bible verses are from the King James Version. Choose what sounds like the person and like your family. Some families want scripture, some want a poem, some want one plain line. All of those are here.

Prayer cards with room for a verse, in three styles

Edit in Canva (a free account works) or Microsoft Word, print at home or at a print shop. Instant download.

What fits where

  • A welcome sign or a program cover: one or two lines.
  • The back of a prayer card: about 12 short lines.
  • The back cover of a program: up to about 16 short lines, or a short passage.
  • A longer poem: read it aloud at the service, or give it a page of its own.

To add one, type it into your template in Canva or Word. Our how-to guide shows where each piece goes.

Short lines for a sign, a cover or a card

  • "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." Thomas Campbell, from Hallowed Ground, 1825
  • "We will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind." William Wordsworth, from Ode: Intimations of Immortality, 1807
  • "Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room." Henry Scott Holland, 1910
  • "I hope to see my Pilot face to face when I have crost the bar." Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from Crossing the Bar, 1889
  • "Better by far you should forget and smile than that you should remember and be sad." Christina Rossetti, from Remember, 1862
  • "Home is the sailor, home from sea, and the hunter home from the hill." Robert Louis Stevenson, from Requiem, 1887
  • "One short sleep past, we wake eternally." John Donne, from Death, be not proud, 1633
  • "Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand." Traditional Irish blessing
  • "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Psalm 23:1
  • "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4
  • "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7
  • "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1
  • "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee." Numbers 6:24

Poems

Remember

Christina Rossetti, 1862. Gentle and plain-spoken. Fourteen lines, so it fits a program back cover.

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 our future that you plann'd:
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.

Crossing the Bar

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1889. Quiet and hopeful, and a favourite for anyone who loved the water.

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.

Requiem

Robert Louis Stevenson, 1887. Eight lines, short enough for a prayer card. It is written as "here he lies"; families often change it to "she".

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.

This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

Death is nothing at all

Henry Scott Holland, 1910, from a sermon. The passage most often chosen for a prayer card. The first lines fit a card; the whole fits a program page.

Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and 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 difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
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 an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident?
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 round 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!

From Ode: Intimations of Immortality

William Wordsworth, 1807. Four lines that fit anywhere.

Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind.

Death, be not proud

John Donne, 1633. Strong and defiant, for a family that wants courage rather than softness.

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Fear no more the heat o' the sun

William Shakespeare, from Cymbeline, around 1611. The first verse, for someone whose work is done.

Fear no more the heat o' the sun,
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

A traditional Irish blessing

Author unknown; spoken and sung for generations. Fits a sign or a card.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rains fall soft upon your fields,
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Bible verses (King James Version)

These verses are from the King James Version, the traditional English text, so they can go straight onto a card or a sign. If your family reads another translation, you can print the citation, for example "Psalm 23", and have the passage read aloud.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Shorter verses

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalm 34:18

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1–2

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:1–2, 4

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:10

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
John 11:25–26

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14:1–3

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1 Corinthians 15:55

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:4

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Numbers 6:24–26

About poems that are not here

Many well-loved modern poems are still under copyright, so we don't reprint them. If your family has a favourite, you can add it to your template yourself.

Where to put it

Not sure what fits, or want help shortening a passage? Email hello@memorialpaper.com.