Farewell Service

Hymns, readings and a printed program for a Christian funeral

Non-religious funeral poems

Public-domain poems for a funeral or memorial that don’t speak of God or faith.

14 poemsPublic domainFree to print

How these were chosen. Sorted by what each poem is about and whom it speaks of, with AI help, then checked against the text.

14 poems

  1. ’Tis Better to Have Loved and Lost (In Memoriam XXVII)

    Alfred Tennyson, 1850 · 16 lines

    I envy not in any moods
    The captive void of noble rage,…

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  2. Away

    James Whitcomb Riley, 1887 · 24 lines

    I cannot say, and I will not say
    That he is dead.—He is just away!…

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  3. Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun

    William Shakespeare, 1623 · 24 lines

    Fear no more the heat o' th' sun,
    Nor the furious winter's rages;…

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  4. For the Fallen

    Laurence Binyon, 1914 · 28 lines

    With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
    England mourns for her dead across the sea.…

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  5. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers

    Emily Dickinson, 1891 · 12 lines

    Hope is the thing with feathers
    That perches in the soul,…

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  6. If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking

    Emily Dickinson, 1890 · 7 lines

    If I can stop one heart from breaking,
    I shall not live in vain;…

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  7. In Flanders Fields

    John McCrae, 1915 · 15 lines

    In Flanders fields the poppies blow
    Between the crosses, row on row,…

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  8. Mother o’ Mine

    Rudyard Kipling, 1891 · 11 lines

    If I were hanged on the highest hill,
    Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!…

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  9. O Captain! My Captain!

    Walt Whitman, 1865 · 24 lines

    O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
    The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,…

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  10. Only a Dad

    Edgar A. Guest, 1916 · 24 lines

    Only a dad with a tired face,
    Coming home from the daily race,…

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  11. Remember

    Christina Rossetti, 1862 · 14 lines

    Remember me when I am gone away,
    Gone far away into the silent land;…

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  12. Requiem

    Robert Louis Stevenson, 1887 · 8 lines

    Under the wide and starry sky,
    Dig the grave and let me lie.…

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  13. Rock Me to Sleep

    Elizabeth Akers Allen, 1860 · 48 lines

    Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,
    Make me a child again just for to-night!…

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  14. When I Am Dead, My Dearest

    Christina Rossetti, 1862 · 16 lines

    When I am dead, my dearest,
    Sing no sad songs for me;…

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