Funeral readings that aren't religious

Remember, by Christina Rossetti (1862)

Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by the hand, Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay. Remember me when no more day by day You tell me of our future that you planned: Only remember me; you understand It will be late to counsel then or pray. Yet if you should forget me for a while And afterwards remember, do not grieve: For if the darkness and corruption leave A vestige of the thoughts that once I had, Better by far you should forget and smile Than that you should remember and be sad.

Often chosen when the family wants permission to grieve and then to smile again.

Requiem, by Robert Louis Stevenson (1887)

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

Short and steady; suits someone who loved the outdoors, travel or the sea.

Crossing the Bar, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1889)

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,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar.

Gently spiritual rather than religious; a long-standing favorite for sailors and anyone with a love of the sea.

Other public-domain choices

• "Death Is Nothing at All", Henry Scott Holland (from a 1910 sermon), often read in shortened form.
• Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"), William Shakespeare.
• "Because I could not stop for Death", Emily Dickinson.

Modern readings (title and author only)

These are widely used but may still be under copyright; print them in full only if you have permission or your printer or venue holds a license:

• "Funeral Blues", W. H. Auden
• "Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep", usually attributed to Mary Elizabeth Frye
• "She Is Gone (He Is Gone)", David Harkins

Choosing a reading

Read it aloud before deciding. A good funeral reading is easy to say, short (under two minutes) and sounds like something the person would have liked. Readings go in the funeral program or order of service; see funeral program wording ideas.