A library of resources for funerals

The Suicides

Janet Frame

It is hard for us to enter
the kind of thing they must have known
and because it is hard we must get in by breaking
the lock if necessary for we have not the key,
though for them there was no lock and the surrounding walls
were supple, receiving them as waves, and they drowned
though not lovingly; it is we only
who must enter this way.

Temptations will beset us, once we are in.
We may want to catalogue what they have stolen.
We may feel suspicion; we may even criticise the decor
of their suicidal despair, may perhaps feel
it was incongruously comfortable.

Knowing the temptations then
let us go in
deep to their despair and their skin and know
they died because the words they had spoken
returned always homeless to them.

The Tempest, Act 4, Scene 1

William Shakespeare

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

They Are Not Dead

They are not dead,
Who leave us this great heritage of remembering joy.

They still live in our hearts,
In the happiness we knew, in the dreams we shared.

They still breathe,
In the lingering fragrance,windblown, from their favourite flowers.

They still smile in the moonlight's silver,
And laugh in the sunlight's sparking gold.

They still speak in the echoes of the words we've heard them say again and again.

They still move,
In the rhythm of waving grasses, in the dance of the tossing branches.

They are not dead;
Their memory is warm in our hearts, comfort in our sorrow.

They are not apart from us, but part of us,

For love is eternal,
And those we love shall be with us throughout all eternity.

Though I am Dead

Though I am dead, grieve not for me with tears

Think not of death with sorrowing and fears

I am so near that every tear you shed

Touches and torments me though you think me dead

But when you sing and laugh in glad delight

My soul is uplifted to the light

laugh and be glad for all that life is giving

And I, though dead, will share your joy in living.

Today Is A Gift

Eleanor Roosevelt

Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays you twice, it is your fault
Great minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses much more;
He who loses faith, loses all.
Beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others
You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
Friends, you and me ... You brought another friend ... and we started our group ... our circle of friends ... and like a circle ... there is no beginning or end ...
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.

Treya, My Guardian Angel

Ken Wilber

Treya, my guardian angel, you were a star on earth and gave us all warmth and light, but every star must die to be born again, this time in the heavens above, dwelling with the eternal lightness of the soul.
I know you are dancing upon the clouds right now, and I'm lucky enough to feel your joy, feel your smile.
I look at the sky and I know you're shining, with your brilliant, radiant soul.
I love you Treya and I know I'll miss you here, but I'm so happy for you! You have shed your body and your pains, and are able to dance the dance of true life, and that is the life of the soul. I can dance with you in my dreams, and in my heart.
So, you are not dead, your soul still lives, lives on in a higher plane, and in your loved one's hearts.
You've taught me the most important lesson, what life and love is.
Love is complete and sincere respect for another being... It is the ecstasy of the true self...
Love extends beyond all planes and is limitless...After a million lives, and a million deaths it still lives...And it only dwells in the heart and soul..
Life is of the soul, and of nothing else...love and laughter ride with it, but so do pain and anguish.

We Bereaved Are Not Alone

Helen Keller

We bereaved are not alone.
We belong to the largest company in all the world, the company of those who have known suffering.
When it seems that our sorrow is to great to be borne, let us think of the great family of the heavy hearted into which our grief has given us entrance, and inevitably, we will feel about us their arms, their sympathy, their understanding.
Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world.
So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain.

We Remember Him

The Yizkor Service

In the rising of the sun, and in its going down
We remember him
In the blowing of the wind, and in the chill of winter
We remember him
In the opening of buds, and in the warmth of summer
We remember him
In the rustling of leaves, and in the beauty of the autumn
We remember him
In the beginning of the year, and when it ends
We remember him.

When I Have Fears

Noel Coward

When I have fears, as Keats had fears, Of the moment I'll cease to be I console myself with vanished years, Remembered laughter, remembered tears, And the peace of the changing sea.

When I feel sad, as Keats felt sad, That my life is so nearly done It gives me comfort to dwell upon Remembered friends who are dead and gone And the jokes we had and the fun.

How happy they are I cannot know But happy am I who loved them so.

When I Think Of Death

Maya Angelou

When I think of death, and of late the idea has come with alarming frequency, I seem at peace with the idea that a day will dawn when I will no longer be among those living in this valley of strange humors.
I can accept the idea of my own demise, but I am unable to accept the death of anyone else.
I find it impossible to let a friend or relative go into that country of no return.
Disbelief becomes my close companion, and anger follows in its wake.
I answer the heroic question 'Death, where is thy sting? ' with ' it is here in my heart and mind and memories.'

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The Gate of the Year

Minnie Louise Haskins

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:

“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

And he replied:

“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

If I Had A Voice

Anonymous

If I had a voice today,
I'd say, "Dear ones, please don't cry.
Still love me, but don't grieve for me".
It's easy, if you try.

Don't think of all that I won't see,
Just think of what I've seen.
Think not of places I won't go,
But remember where I've been.

I've lived, I've loved, I've laughed, I've cried,
I've worked hard, that's for sure.
I've done my best, I'm satisfied,
I couldn't ask for more.

I know not what becomes of me.
Now what's beyond today.
If I had a chance, I'd use my voice,
But alas, I've gone away.

You have memories of me to enjoy.
Smile, laugh be tough.
You have loved me and enriched my life.
I was happy - and that's enough!

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