A eulogy is one of the most beautiful and heartwarming funeral traditions in the United Kingdom. This part of the funeral ceremony is performed to celebrate the life and memories of the deceased person. It also offers comfort to loved ones and friends as they come to terms with the loss of the person who has spent a meaningful time with them. 

Even if the person who died is a family member or a very dear friend, giving a eulogy can be a nerve-wracking situation especially if you are not good with words or speaking in front of many people. Although there is no right or wrong way to give a eulogy, some people find reading poems to be more suitable and practical in these situations. Poems give us the chance to honour and give a touching tribute to our loved ones and show everyone what that person meant to us. 

If you are struggling to create your own poem, you may consider reading or citing a funeral poem that reflects what you feel and what you want to say. 

Here are some examples of heartfelt and inspiring funeral poems that you can read or use as an inspiration to write your own. 

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep 

(Mary Elizabeth Frye – 1930s) 

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 glint on snow. 

I am the sunlight on ripened grain. 

I am the gentle autumn rain.  

When you wake in the morning hush, 

I am the swift, uplifting rush 

Of quiet birds in circling flight. 

I am the soft starlight at night.  

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!) 

Love Shines Through 

Like a shadow in the moonlight 

Like the whisper of the seas 

Like the echoes of a melody 

Just beyond our reach 

In the shadow of our sorrow 

Past the whisper of goodbye 

Love shines through eternity 

A heartbeat from our eye 

Of Joy and Sorrow 

(Khalil Gibran) 

Then a woman said, ―Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. 

And he answered: 

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. 

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your 

And how else can it be? 

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. 

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter‘s oven? 

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with 

knives? 

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which 

has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. 

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you 

are weeping for that which has been your delight. 

Some of you say, ―Joy is greater than sorrow, and others say, ―Nay, sorrow is the 

Greater. But I say unto you, they are inseparable. 

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that 

the other is asleep upon your bed. 

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy. 

Only when you are empty are you at a standstill and balanced. 

When the treasure keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your 

joy or your sorrow rise or fall. 

On Pain 

(Khalil Gibran) 

Your pain is the breaking of the shell 

that encloses your understanding.  

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its 

heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.  

And could you keep your heart in wonder 

at the daily miracles of your life, your pain 

would not seem less wondrous than your joy;  

And you would accept the seasons of your 

heart, even as you have always accepted 

the seasons that pass over your fields.  

And you would watch with serenity 

through the winters of your grief.  

Much of your pain is self-chosen.  

It is the bitter potion by which the 

physician within you heals your sick self.  

Therefore trust the physician, and drink 

his remedy in silence and tranquillity:  

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided 

by the tender hand of the Unseen, 

And the cup he brings, though it burns your lips, 

has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter 

has moistened with His own sacred tears. 

Precious Memory 

The rain may wash my pain away 

The wind may dry my tears 

The Summer sun may heal my heart 

And time subdue my fears 

But nothing in the world below 

Or in the Heavens above 

Will ever take away 

The precious memory of your love. 

After Their Death 

(Judith Pordon) 

You might be covered 

By eyelids closed 

Over your whole being, 

Or reach with desperation 

For something alive 

To hold onto. 

Your fingertips will hide 

In a fist. No more palms 

Open to life. 

Humbled, the very ground 

Will seem so large. Someday 

The earth will own you. 

Or you see there’s no time 

To waste, and plough 

Into previously feared goals. 

Try to be patient 

If it takes you years 

To return. 

This is the exit from Eden, 

When you have chosen life 

While wanting to die. 

This is the fall that gives 

Wisdom, perspective, gratefulness. 

It is worth the crawl, back to life. 

The Best And Most Beautiful Things In The World 

(Helen Keller) 

The best and most beautiful 

Things in the world cannot 

Be seen or even touched. 

They must be felt with the heart. 

To Sleep 

(John Keats) 

O soft embalmer of the still midnight, 

Shutting, with careful 

Fingers and benign, 

Our gloom-pleas‘d eyes, 

Embower‘d from the light, 

Enshaded in forgetfulness divine: 

O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close 

In midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes, 

Or wait the ―Amen,‖ ere thy poppy throws 

Around my bed its lulling charities. 

Then save me, or the passed day will shine 

Upon my pillow, breeding many woes,– 

Save me from curious Conscience, 

That still lords 

Its strength for darkness, 

Burrowing like a mole; 

Turn the key deftly 

In the oiled wards, 

And seal the hushed 

Casket of my Soul. 

The internet offers a plethora of funeral poem samples that you can read or use as an inspiration to deliver a fitting eulogy to a loved one. However, giving tribute to your deceased loved one is not only limited to poems and other spoken words. They can also be done through special songs, slideshow videos, pre-recorded videos, and other alternative forms.