Readings and poems for Mum's funeral
Choosing a reading or poem for Mum's funeral isn't always easy. Explore some beautiful possibilities from famous poets through the ages.
Readings and poems are common at many funerals, whether religious or non-religious. They can provide people with a space to reflect on their grief and love for the person who died.
Sometimes, it's easy to choose a poem or reading – if, for instance, the person who died had a favourite poem, novel or other text.
But if it's left entirely up to you, you may find it a difficult choice to make. There are so many texts to choose from – and there's always the fear that you'll make the wrong choice.
In our opinion, there are no right or wrong ways to grieve. There are only different people with different relationships to the person who died. The same goes for arranging funerals and choosing what to read at them. As long as you put thought into the choice and think about the person who has died, you're unlikely to go wrong.
However, we understand that you may still want some guidance at a difficult time. Here, then, are some possible readings and poems for Mum's funeral.
How to choose
When choosing a reading or poem, you could first think about your mother's interests. Did she have any favourite poems, novels or other books? If so, you could flick through and see if a passage grabs your attention.
If not, you want to find something that
feels right. How would
she feel about this poem? In many ways, this is more important than how you would feel reading it out or how you imagine the other mourners will feel.
If you're still finding it hard to choose, open it up to friends, relatives and other people who knew your mum. They may be able to suggest a suitable reading.
Poems for a mother's funeral
Percy Bysshe Shelley: "Music, when soft voices die"
When a loved one dies, their presence lingers on. In this classic short poem, the Romantic poet Shelley compares this to music vibrating in the memory and the smell of flowers staying in our minds:
Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory—
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the belovèd's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
Rudyard Kipling: "Mother o' Mine"
Rudyard Kipling is perhaps most famous for his Just So Stories or his poem "If". This short poem could be a suitable choice for the funeral of a mother.
It describes how a mother's love can save you even in the most serious situations:
If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me mind,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
Read the full poem
here.
Walt Whitman: "A Clear Midnight"
Many poems about death contain natural imagery. It seems that death will always make us think about the passing of the seasons, the natural world and the cosmos.
This is apparent in Walt Whitman's short poem "A Clear Midnight". In it, he describes the soul leaving the world and "fully forth emerging" into the universe.
Read the full poem
here.
John Masefield: "CLM"
This long poem by the English poet John Masefield covers many topics, but focuses on a son's love for his mother. The opening verse could be a suitable tribute for a son to read:
In the dark womb where I began
My mother's life made me a man.
Through all the months of human birth
Her beauty fed my common earth.
I cannot see, nor breathe, nor stir,
But through the death of some of her.
Read the full poem
here.
Readings for Mum's funeral
A George Eliot quote from
Middlemarch
Was your mother someone who tried to do good? Then this famous quote from George Eliot's classic novel Middlemarch could resonate with you and the other people at the funeral:
"For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
This passage from the New Testament is often read at funerals. Sometimes, the word "charity" is translated as "love":
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Michel de Montaigne on death and gardening
The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne was a lover of the natural world in general and gardens in particular. In one of his essays, he describes how he would like to die:
"I agree that we should work and prolong the functions of life as far as we can, and hope that Death may find me planting my cabbages, but indifferent to him and still more to the unfinished state of my garden."
With its gentle humour, courage and resignation, this could be a fitting quote for the funeral of a mother who loved to garden.
Quotes for Mum's funeral
Along with readings and poems, you can also include quotations about grief in your tribute or eulogy. You can also include quotes in a sympathy card or with funeral flowers.
There are many lists of quotes online. One of the best ways to find a suitable quotation is to search by topic on
Goodreads. Here are a couple of our favourites:
"The song is ended but the melody lingers on" – Irving Berlin
"Only time and tears take away grief; that is what they are for" – Terry Pratchett
AFD is an
independent funeral director based in London. We work with people from all faiths and backgrounds, lending a listening ear and sensitive advice at all stages of the process. If you need our support to arrange a funeral, please call 020 8355 7876. Our lines are always open.
