Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! –
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, — act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Funeral Poems & Readings
Footprints On The Sands Of Time
A funeral poem for comfort during unsettling times
Footprints On The Sands Of Time
More Funeral Poems
Tribute To My Dad
A special dad is hard to find. You, Dad, I’m keeping in my mind. I wished you could have stayed forever, But I will never …
The Tombs In Westminster Abbey
Mortality, behold and fear What a change of flesh is here! Think how many royal bones Sleep within these heaps of stones; Here they lie, …
The Death Bed
We watch’d her breathing thro’ the night, Her breathing soft and low, As in her breast the wave of life Kept heaving to and fro. …
Your Grief For What You’ve Lost Holds A Mirror
Your grief for what you’ve lost holds a mirror Up to where you’re bravely working. Expecting the worst, you look and instead, Here’s the joyful …
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 …
Love Shines Through
Like a shadow in the moonlight Like the whisper of the seas Like the echoes of a melody Just beyond our reach In the shadow …
She Is Gone (He Is Gone)
You can shed tears that she is gone Or you can smile because she has livedYou can close your eyes and pray that she will …
Seasons Of Grief
Shall I wither and fall like an autumn leaf, From this deep sorrow – from this painful grief? How can I go on or find …
Heaven’s Rocking Chair
Are there rocking chairs in Heaven where little babies go? Do the angels hold you closely and rock you to and fro? Do they talk …
Missing You
I sit alone now in the darkness of despair. I cry my silent tears. My heart is broken into a million tiny pieces. The silence …
Remembrance
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past, I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought, …
From ‘The Excursion’
And when the stream that overflows has passed,A consciousness remains upon the silent shore of memory;Images and precious thoughts that shall not beAnd cannot be …
Reality
I have nightmares and can’t sleep. The loss of you is a wound so deep. My mind recorded the times we had. Knowing there will …
My Lost Love
I have only just lost you; the pain is hard to bear. Do I have to go through life knowing you’re not there? Please, someone …
Crossing the Bar
Sunset and evening star And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, …
