Tribute Texts & Verses

Helen Lowrie Marshall

I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an after glow
Of smiles when life is done.

I’d like to leave an echo
Whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing
Times and bright and sunny days.

I’d like the tears of those who grieve,
To dry before the sun of happy memories
That I leave when life is done.

Anonymous

Right now I’m in a different place
And though we seem apart
I’m closer than I ever was
I’m there inside your heart
I’m with you when you greet each day
And while the sun shines bright
I’m there to share the sunsets too,
I’m with you every night
I’m with you when the times are good
To share a laugh or two,
And if a tear should start to fall
I’ll still be there for you
And when that day arrives
That we no longer are apart,
I’ll smile and hold you close to me
Forever in my heart

Henry Scott Holland, Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral

Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me In the easy way
Which you always used to.
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes 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 effect,
Without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was,
There is unbroken continuity,
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?I am waiting for you, for an interval,
Somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.
All is well.

Anonymous

If I should go tomorrow,
It would never be goodbye,
For I have left my heart with you,
So don’t you ever cry.
The love that’s deep within me,
Shall reach you from the stars
You’ll feel it from the heavens,
And it will heal the scars.

Anonymous

Those we love remain with us.
For love itself lives on.
And cherished memories never fade
Because a loved one’s gone.

Those we love can never be
More than a thought apart,
For as long as there is memory,
They’ll live on in the heart.

Mary 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.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush.
I am the swift uplifting rush.

Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.

Anonymous

When you were born,
An angel smiled,
As you became a child,
An angel sat on your shoulder
When you became an adult,
An angel held your hand
As you grew old,
An angel walked down the road with you,
And, when you died,
Another angel got their wings.

Anonymous

In life there is no certainty,
No guarantees are given at birth,
No promise of longevity or fairness
In our time on earth.
Length in years is not a way to
Measure what a life is worth,
The butterfly lives only days,
But soars to heights with grace and mirth.

Christina Rosetti

When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom filled room.
Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little – but not too long.
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that we once shared
Miss me – but let me go.

For this is a journey that we all must take,
And each must go alone;
It’s all part of the Master’s plan,
A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely, and sick of heart,
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds,
Miss me – but let me go.

Anonymous

Feel no guilt in laughter,
He knows how much you care.
Feel no sorrow in a smile
That he’s not here to share.
You cannot grieve forever,
He would not want you to.
He’d hope that you would carry on
The way you always do.
So talk about the good times
And the ways you showed you cared.
The days you spent together,
All the happiness you shared.
Let the memories surround you,
A word someone may say
Will suddenly recapture
A time, an hour, a day.
That brings him back as clearly
As though he were still here,
And fills you with the feelings
That he is always near.
For if you keep those memories
You will never be apart
And he will live forever
Locked safe within your heart.

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

Anonymous

We think about you always,
We talk about you still,
You have never been forgotten,
And you never will.
We hold you close within our hearts,
And there you will remain,
To walk and guide us through our lives
Until we meet again.

Anne Bronte

Farewell to Thee!
But not farewell to all my fondest thoughts of Thee; Within my heart they still shall dwell
And they shall cheer and comfort me.
Life seems more sweet that Thou didst live
And men more true Thou wert one
Nothing is lost that Thou didst give,
Nothing destroyed that Thou hast done.

Anonymous

Dear friends I go, but do not weep
I’ve lived my life, so full and deep
Throughout my life, I gave my best
I earned my keep, I’ve earned my rest
I never tried to be great or grand
I tried to be a helping hand.
If I helped in a team, if I helped on my own
It was more than repaid
By good family and friends I have known.
And if I went the extra mile,
I did it with pleasure, it was all worthwhile.
If I brightened your path, then let it be
A small contribution from my loved ones and me,
Now sadly I leave you and travel alone
Through a mystic veil to the great unknown.
With such beautiful memories
That will forever be the way that I hope
You’ll remember me.

Anonymous

I had an angel here beside me,
Sent to Earth to help and guide me,
An angel always there for me
Sent to love and care for me.
She did the things that angels should:
She taught me what was bad and good,
She gave me hope when no one cared,
She held my hand when I was scared,
She cheered me up when I was down
(She could make a smile from a frown),
She doctored me when I was sick,
And many another angel trick.
Today my angel earned her wings
Her halo, harp and other things.
But today I’m lost and all alone
For today God called my angel home.

Anonymous

Although we are apart now
You’re always in our hearts,
In every single thing we do,
You play the biggest part.
When we have to make decisions
And we don’t know what to do,
Our thoughts, we find
Will go right back to you.
We think of how you’d handle it
And try to work it out,
It’s at times like this we’ll really miss
Having you about, not only for this reason
When things are going bad,
There’s a million different reasons
Why we’ll miss you Dad.

Anonymous

God made a wonderful mother,
A mother who never grows old;
He made her smile of the sunshine,
And He molded her heart of pure gold;
In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,
In her cheeks fair roses
You see; God made a wonderful mother,
And He gave that dear mother to me.

Jill Wolf

Feel no guilt in laughter,She knows how much you care.
Feel no sorrow in a smile
That she’s not here to share.
You cannot grieve forever,
She would not want you to.
She’d hope that you would carry on
The way you always do.
So talk about the good times
And the ways you showed you cared.
The days you spent together,
All the happiness you shared.
Let the memories surround you:
A word someone may say
Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour, a day.
That will bring her back
As clearly as though she were still here,
And fill you with the feelings that she is always near.
For if you keep those memoriesYou will never be apartAnd she will live foreverLocked safe within your heart.

Helen Steiner Rice

There is no night without a dawning
No winter without a spring
And beyond the dark horizon
Our hearts will once more sing
For those who leave us for a while
Have only gone away
Out of a restless, care worn world
Into a brighter day