Poem to Be Read at a Funeral

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 sun 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 circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

I am so very sorry for your loss.
I have written many things for funerals and it's so wrenching to get the words right and convey the right message.

One of our clients passed away recently and her husband shared a book about grieving with his caregiver. She asked me to mail it to him after she'd read it. On the back was one of the most beautiful things I've come across in a long time......

Gone From My Sight~

I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white
sails to the morning breeze and starts
for the blue ocean.

She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come
to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says;
"There, she is gone!"

"Gone where?"
Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull
and spar as she was when she left my side
and she is just as able to bear her
load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone
at my side says, "There, she is gone!"
there are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad
shout;
"Here she comes!"

And that is dying.

~by Henry Van Dyke, a 19th Century clergyman, educator, poet, and religious writer

Best wishes and condolences to you and your family.

This is my all-time favorite.

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 sun 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 circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

Im sorry you have lost your grandmother. She must have meant a lot to you. A shortened version of this poem is on my moms headstone.

I thought of you with love today
But that is nothing new
I thought of you yesterday
And the days before that too
I think of you in silence
I often speak your name
Now all I have are memories
And your picture in a frame
Each morning when I awake
I know that you are gone
And no one knows the heartache
As I try to carry on
My heart aches with sadness
And secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No one will ever know
My thoughts are always with you
Your place no one can fill
In life I loved you dearly
In death I love you still
There will always be heartache
And often silent tears
If tears could make a staircase
My heartache make a lane
I'd walk the path to heaven
And bring you home again
I hold you close within my heart
And there you will remain
And walk with me throughout my life
Until we meet again

Author Unknown

EDITED, I think this is what is on my moms headstone,, maybe this is more suitable or more what youd like.

We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday,
And days before that too.

We think of you in silence,
We often speak your name;
All we have now are memories,
And your picture in a frame.

Your memory is our keepsake,
With which we will never part;
God has you in his keep,
We have you in our heart.

It broke our heart to lose you.
But you didn't go alone,
For a part of us went with you...
The day God took you home.

{Author Unknown}

This is one they read at my grandmothers funeral
By Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on his tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of his birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered the most of all
Was the dash between those years

For the dash represents all the time
That he spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved him
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Do not stand at my grave and weep

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.

I'm so sorry about your grandmother.

Here's a site with a LOT of choices:
http://elegantmemorials.com/memorial-poems

Here's another:
http://www.funeralprogram-site.com/memorial-poems-for-fun...

I also like this O.:

She is Just Away
I cannot say, and I will not say
that she is dead - she is just away!

With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand,
She has wandered into an unknown land,

And left us dreaming how very fair
It needs must be, since she lingers there.

And you - O you, who the wildest yearn
For the old time step and glad return,

Think of her faring on, as dear
In the love of There as the love of Here;

Think of her still as the same, I say:
She is not dead - she is just away!!!

~J Whitcomb Riley~

This was on the inside cover of a journal I bought by Flavia (I think). I put it in our wedding program as part of our thank you to friends and family. It's actually been a favorite of mine for quite some time. It is short, and I think very appropriate. I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope just reading all of this suggestions helps you to remember her fondly and help you as you grieve and begin to heal.

Forever

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people more our souls to dance.
They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom, and make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.
Some people stay in our lives awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.

My Mom passed just over a month ago. This poem was on the memorial cards for her:

God saw she was getting tired,
And a cure was not to be.
So he put his arms around her
And he whispered "Come With Me";
With tearful eyes we watched her suffer,
And slowly fade away,
And although we loved her dearly,
We could not make her stay;
A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard working hands to rest;
God Broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the best.

My condolences about your grandmother. I lost one of mine back in 1969 and I still miss her.
If you and someone in England have skype or just the same messenger and a web cam maybe you can be there through the wonders of the internet.

When my mother in law passed away my son who was in 2nd grade recited the poem that Robin and ℜ❀$eღud❧ gave you. It is a wonderful poem.

Somebody beat me to it , kahlil Gibran has the best stuff for that sort of thing. My brother read his poem "on death" that shook me to my core at my dads funeral. I'll look it up and add it.

Updated

On Death
 Kahlil Gibran

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

If you cannot find a poem that you feel is right, why not write one yourself? Or, you could write a letter about how you feel about your grandmother. Sometimes when we can't find the words elsewhere, it means that their is something you want to say yourself. Words from the heart are more important and meaningful then anything you will find outside of yourself.
Very sorry for your loss. Grandmother's are such gifts.

At my grandmothers funeral my cousin did something like a poem. She talked about the one thing she will remember most about our grandmother. It was the way she hugged. My cousin described the hug and all that had been hugged by her could remember it perfectly. In her poem she also gave the definition of Hug and brought that back around to grandma as well. All who heard almost felt as if they too had been hugged one more time. So maybe think of the one thing you will remember the most and write your own few lines about that. So sorry for you loss and the distance between you and your family.

Kahlil Gibran has a whole book of poetry. I don't have time to look it up but I think you might find something written by him.