Short Funeral Poems: 7 Brief Verses for a Service or Keepsake

July 6, 2026

When a few lines say more than a long reading, a short funeral poem is perfect. These short funeral poems - original verses and timeless public-domain classics - work beautifully read aloud, printed in a memorial program, or engraved on a keepsake. Choose the one that feels true.

7 Short Funeral Poems

1. Until We Meet Again (original)

Rest now, dear one, rest at last,
your work of love is done.
We will carry every story on
until our days are run.

2. A Light Remains (original)

A candle does not lose its light
by lighting one nearby;
so love, once given, carries on
and does not say goodbye.

3. Gone, Yet Near (original)

Those we love do not go far -
they walk beside us still,
a gentle hand, a whispered word,
a presence soft and still.

4. 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.
- Mary Elizabeth Frye (public domain)

5. Requiem (Robert Louis Stevenson)

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.
- Robert Louis Stevenson (public domain)

6. Remember (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.
- Christina Rossetti (public domain)

7. Farewell (original, very short)

Not gone, just gone ahead -
still loved, still here, still near.

Using a Short Funeral Poem

Short verses fit where space is limited: a memorial program, a thank-you card, a headstone, or an engraved keepsake. Read it aloud to be sure of the rhythm, and personalize it with a name if you like.