Funeral Poems
After The Funeral (In Memory Of Ann Jones)
by Dylan Thomas
After the funeral, mule praises, brays,
Windshake of sailshaped ears, muffle-toed tap
Tap happily of one peg in the thick
Grave's foot, blinds down the lids, the teeth in black,
The spittled eyes, the salt ponds in the sleeves,
Morning smack of the spade that wakes up sleep,
Shakes a desolate boy who slits his throat
In the dark of the coffin and sheds dry leaves,
That breaks one bone to light with a judgment clout'
After the feast of tear-stuffed time and thistles
......
To Laugh Often And Much
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of the intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
......
A Monumental Column
by John Webster
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR ROBERT CARR, VISCOUNT ROCHESTER, KNIGHT OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER, AND ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL.
My right noble lord,
I present to your voidest leisure of survey these few sparks found out in our most glorious prince his ashes. I could not have thought this worthy your view, but that it aims at the preservation of his fame, than which I know not anything (but the sacred lives of both their majesties and their sweet issue) that can be dearer unto you. Were my whole life turned into leisure, and that leisure accompanied with all the Muses, it were not able to draw a map large enough of him; for his praise is an high-going sea that wants both shore and bottom. Neither do I, my noble lord, present you with this night-piece to make his death-bed still float in those compassionate rivers of your eyes: you have already, with much lead upon your heart, sounded both the sorrow royal and your own. O, that care should ever attain to so ambitious a title! Only, here though I dare not say you shall find him live, for that assurance were worth many kingdoms, yet you shall perceive him draw a little breath, such as gives us comfort his critical day is past, and the glory of a new life risen, neither subject to physic nor fortune. For my defects in this undertaking, my wish presents itself with that of Martial's;
O utinam mores animumque effingere possem!
Pulchrior in terris nulla tabella foret.
Howsoever, your protection is able to give it noble lustre, and bind me by that honourable courtesy to be ever
......
Corn Grinders
by Sarojini Naidu
O little mouse, why dost thou cry
While merry stars laugh in the sky?
Alas! alas! my lord is dead!
Ah, who will ease my bitter pain?
He went to seek a millet-grain
In the rich farmer's granary shed;
They caught him in a baited snare,
And slew my lover unaware:
Alas! alas! my lord is dead.
O little deer, why dost thou moan,
......
A Dirge
by John Webster
CALL for the robin-redbreast and the wren,
Since o'er shady groves they hover,
And with leaves and flowers do cover
The friendless bodies of unburied men.
Call unto his funeral dole
The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole,
To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm,
And (when gay tombs are robb'd) sustain no harm;
But keep the wolf far thence, that 's foe to men,
For with his nails he'll dig them up again.
......
bouquet of white flowers
by Ella Sophia
i never received flowers
there was none
, not even the color i like
no yellow , no pink , no purple
i never received flowers
only when i was buried
mind buried alive
body deep down at sea
......
If Only I Could Speak
by Everleigh Blackburn
Oh mother, oh father, if only I could speak
If only I could tell you all that I feel,
All that I wish I had said before it was too late.
I wish I could tell you that I love you,
That your laughter was the music of my heart,
That your smile was my guiding light in the darkest of nights.
I wish I could tell you that I'm sorry,
For the pain I caused, for the tears I made you cry,
......
In One City
by Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu
I know a funeral when I walk into one
I can tell between a funeral and a burial
They are two entirely different artworks
One is done on grand canvas, with drunken strokes
Of sashaying brush and bleeding paints;
The other is done on mere sand, with foot and hand,
Forming sandcastles built by toddlers.
I know too well because I have my senses
Intact after the last funeral I attended on a gambolling coast.
I should know because I participated in the burial of a
......
Saying Goodbye
by Haych Nano
Today we place you to final rest
know that with your presence we've been blessed.
six feet down in your grave
we shed a tear, goodbye we wave.
the time has come to let you go
the sound rings out of the graveyard crow.
the clouds may part, the sun may shine
the priest speaks out, its now the time.
family cuddle and hug as we walk away
i'll never forget such a painful day.
......
Fathers Funeral
by Haych Nano
Today we place you to final rest
know that with your presence we've been blessed.
six feet down in your grave
we shed a tear, goodbye we wave.
the time has come to let you go
the sound rings out of the graveyard crow.
the clouds may part, the sun may shine
the priest speaks out, its now the time.
family cuddle and hug as we walk away
i'll never forget such a painful day.
......
