Funeral Poems for Friends
‘Impermanence’ by Nagual
Love life, love the world,
for it is all you have.
Love the stars, and the people,
and the breeze and the rain,
and the reflection
of the lights on the water.
Love because you exist.
Love because you can read this,
because you live in a time
that will one day be thought of
as romantic and golden.
Love because you won’t be forever.
Love because
everything is impermanent,
because this day will end,
and never
be visited again.
Love because all we have is enough,
and because
nothing we can imagine
can match it.
Love because there are others
you share the world with,
who love too.
Love the night,
the silence,
the shadow of the trees by the water.
Love the imminence of dawn,
and of things someday gone.
Love the light of a candle
and the warmth
of the earnest conversation lit by it.
Love the joy of sharing the world
with other beings as troubled
but as sensitive to beauty and love
as you are.
Love nature’s gentle rattle,
and its tempestuous outbreaks.
Love because you are all
you will ever be,
and life is immense
and beautiful, even in its darkness, and it is yours.
———-
An extract from ‘No Matter What’ by Debi Gliori
Small said: “But what about when you’re dead and gone? Would you love me then? Does love go on?”
Large held Small snug as they looked out at the night, at the moon in the dark and the stars shining bright.
“Small, look at the stars – how they shine and glow. Yet some of those stars died a long time ago. Still they shine in the evening skies… love, like starlight, never dies”.
—-
Farewell My Friends
It was beautiful
As long as it lasted
The journey of my life.
I have no regrets
Whatsoever said
The pain I’ll leave behind.
Those dear hearts
Who love and care…
And the strings pulling
At the heart and soul…
The strong arms
That held me up
When my own strength
Let me down.
At the turning of my life
I came across
Good friends,
Friends who stood by me
Even when time raced me by.
Farewell, farewell My friends
I smile and
Bid you goodbye.
No, shed no tears
For I need them not
All I need is your smile.
If you feel sad
Do think of me
For that’s what I’ll like
When you live in the hearts
Of those you love
Remember then
You never die.
Rabindranath Tagore
———
You Meant So Much
You meant so much to all of us
You were special and that's no lie
You brightened up the darkest. day
And the cloudiest sky
Your smile alone warmed hearts
Your laugh was like music to hear
I would give absolutely anything
To have you well and standing near
Not a second passes
When you're not on our minds
Your love we will never forget
The hurt will ease in time
Many tears I have seen and cried
They have all poured out like rain
I know that you are happy now
And no longer in any pain.
———
Since the loss of you,
I've learned to live for each day
And take it as a blessing,
Knowing it may not always be this way.
Since the loss of you,
I've learned that when everything goes wrong
To never give up on what is right
Because it can only make you strong.
Since the loss of you,
I've learned that even when you're in a lot of pain
You've got to hold yourself together
So you won't feel like you're going insane.
Since the loss of you,
I've learned how to hold the tears when I want to cry
Because all I have is memories
And just want to ask God why.
But mostly, since the loss of you,
I've learned a life can be taken in the blink of an eye
And only Heaven really knows when
That person will have to say "Goodbye."
——-
Live A Life That Matters – Author Unknown
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours, days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you came from,
or on what side of the tracks you lived.
At the end, whether you were beautiful or brilliant, male or female,
even your skin colour won’t matter.
So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;
not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched,empowered or encouraged others.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew,
but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter is not your memories,
but the memories that live in those who loved you.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.