Poems To Remember A Loved One

Poems to Remember a Loved One: Honoring Their Memory

Losing a loved one is one of life’s most challenging experiences. In moments of grief, finding the right words to express our feelings can be difficult. This is where poetry can provide solace, offering a way to remember and honor those we’ve lost. Poems have a unique ability to capture the essence of a person, their impact on our lives, and the emotions we feel in their absence. Whether you’re seeking a poem to read at a funeral, include in an obituary, or simply to reflect on in private, here are some heartfelt remembrance poems to remember a loved one by.

1. “Remember Me” by Margaret Mead

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 leaf.

A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

 

Better by far you should forget and smil

Than that you should remember and be sad.

2. “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” by Mary Elizabeth Frye

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.

3. “Remember” by Christina Rossetti

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.

4. “She Is Gone” (He Is Gone) by David Harkins

You can shed tears that she is gone

Or you can smile because she has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back

Or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her

Or you can be full of the love you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember her and only that she’s gone

Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

Or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

5. “I Am Always With You” by Anonymous

I am always with you

When I am gone, release me, let me go.

I have so many things to see and do,

You mustn’t tie yourself to me with too many tears,

But be thankful we had so many good years.

I gave you my love, and you can only guess

How much you’ve given me in happiness.

I thank you for the love that you have shown,

But now it is time I traveled on alone.

So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must

Then let your grief be comforted by trust

That it is only for a while that we must part,

So treasure the memories within your heart.

I won’t be far away, for life goes on.

So if you need me, call, and I will come.

Though you can’t see or touch me, I’ll be near

And if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear

All my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way alone,

I’ll greet you with a smile and “Welcome Home.”

6. “Remembering You” by Trina Graves

Remembering you is easy

I do it every day

Missing you is the heartache

That never goes away.

I hold you tightly within my heart

And there you will remain

Life has gone on without you

But it never will be the same.

7. “Miss Me but Let Me Go” by Edgar Albert Guest

When I come to the end of the road

And the sun has set for me

I want no rites in a gloom-filled room

Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little, but not too long

And not with your head bowed low

Remember the love that we once shared

Miss me, but let me go.

For this is a journey we all must take

And each must go alone

It’s all a part of the Master’s plan

A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart

Go to the friends we know

And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds

Miss me, but let me go.

8. “Death Is Nothing at All” by Henry Scott-Holland

Death is nothing at all.

It does not count.

I have only slipped away into the next room.

Nothing has happened.

Everything remains exactly as it was.

I am I, and you are you,

And the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.

Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.

Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was.

There is absolute and unbroken continuity.

What is this death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you, for an interval,

Somewhere very near,

Just around the corner.

All is well.

9. “In Loving Memory” by Unknown

If I should go before the rest of you

Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone

Nor when I’m gone speak in a Sunday voice

But be the usual selves that I have known

Weep if you must

Parting is hell

But life goes on

So sing as well.

10. “Goodbye My Friend” by Linda Jo Jackson

Goodbye my friend, I bid you farewell

For today life has torn us apart