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Requiem

Reading time: 25 seconds

Outdoorsy Stoic A classic Plain English Non-religious

Robert Louis Stevenson · 1887

Requiem

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.

Public domain in the UK and the US · serany.app

What Serany thinks about this poem

Outdoorsy Stoic A classic Plain English Non-religious

Background

Stevenson published it in 1887. It's carved on his own grave in Samoa, on a hilltop he chose himself.

Meaning

He's asking to be buried under an open sky, and he's glad about the life he had. The last part says he's come home, the way a sailor comes back from sea.

Who's it for

Someone who travelled, or worked outdoors, or just loved a big view. Right for a person who was happy with the life they got.

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Afterwards

Thomas Hardy · 1917

When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay, And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings,

2 min

Who's it for

Someone who noticed things other people walked straight past. Right for a gardener, a birdwatcher, or anyone who was kind to animals.

OutdoorsyGentleTear jerkerNon-religious

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Barter

Sara Teasdale · 1917

Life has loveliness to sell, All beautiful and splendid things,

50 sec

Who's it for

A person who got a lot out of being alive: weather, music, food, their children's faces. Right where a family want the funeral to be about the living they did.

UpliftingNot about deathOutdoorsyPlain EnglishNon-religious

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Crossing the Bar

Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1889

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me!

45 sec

Who's it for

Someone who had a long life and was ready. Especially right for anyone who went to sea, or just loved being near it.

ReligiousTraditionalA classicComfortingGentleOutdoorsyA long lifePeace at last

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Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

Mary Elizabeth Frye · 1932

Not shown here, because the poem is still in copyright.

Who's it for

Almost anyone, honestly. It's best of all for someone who was always outside: out walking, in the garden, never in the house.

A classicComfortingOutdoorsyNon-religiousGentlePlain EnglishModern

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I strove with none

Walter Savage Landor · 1849

I strove with none, for none was worth my strife. Nature I loved, and, next to Nature, Art;

15 sec

Who's it for

Someone who reached a good age and stayed out of other people's arguments. Right for a person who loved being outdoors or worked with their hands, and was content by the end.

StoicNon-religiousPlain EnglishA long lifeOutdoorsy

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Joy, Shipmate, Joy!

Walt Whitman · 1871

Joy, shipmate, Joy! (Pleas'd to my soul at death I cry,)

20 sec

Who's it for

A sailor, or anyone who was happiest setting off somewhere new. Right for a family who want something glad said out loud at the funeral.

UpliftingFor an adventurerOutdoorsyNon-religiousPlain English

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Trees

Joyce Kilmer · 1913

I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.

35 sec

Who's it for

A gardener, a farmer, or anyone who planted things that are still growing. It also fits a believer who found God outdoors rather than indoors.

Not about deathOutdoorsyReligiousPlain EnglishGentleA classic

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Warm Summer Sun

Robert Richardson · 1893

Warm summer sun, shine friendly here; Warm western wind, blow kindly here;

10 sec

Who's it for

Someone who died young, and a family who want something very short and very tender. Right where a longer reading would be more than anyone could manage.

GentlePlain EnglishOutdoorsyNon-religiousGone too soonTear jerker

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With rue my heart is laden

A. E. Housman · 1896

With rue my heart is laden For golden friends I had,

20 sec

Who's it for

A friend, which is the one it is really for, and anyone who died young. Right for someone who was good company and quick on their feet.

For a friendTear jerkerGentleNon-religiousGone too soonOutdoorsy

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Death stands above me

Walter Savage Landor · 1853

Death stands above me, whispering low I know not what into my ear:

15 sec

Who's it for

A family who do not believe in anything particular and would rather not pretend they do. Right for someone who was not afraid at the end.

StoicNon-religiousComfortingGentlePlain EnglishPeace at last

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Death, be not proud

John Donne · 1633

Death, be not proud, though some have callèd thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so:

55 sec

Who's it for

A believer, and a family who want something with some fight in it rather than a quiet goodbye. It suits a person who argued back all their life.

A classicReligiousUpliftingStoicUnusual

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Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun

William Shakespeare · 1623

Fear no more the heat o' the sun, Nor the furious winter's rages:

50 sec

Who's it for

A person who worked hard all their life and had had enough by the end. It also fits someone who never cared much who was important and who wasn't.

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I Shall Not Care

Sara Teasdale · 1915

When I am dead and over me bright April Shakes out her rain-drenched hair,

25 sec

Who's it for

Someone who was their own person and never needed anyone's approval. Right for a woman who did things her own way and would have hated a fuss.

UnusualNon-religiousStoic

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I strove with none

Walter Savage Landor · 1849

I strove with none, for none was worth my strife. Nature I loved, and, next to Nature, Art;

15 sec

Who's it for

Someone who reached a good age and stayed out of other people's arguments. Right for a person who loved being outdoors or worked with their hands, and was content by the end.

StoicNon-religiousPlain EnglishA long lifeOutdoorsy

Read the poem

Invictus

William Ernest Henley · 1888

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

50 sec

Who's it for

Someone who got dealt a hard hand and never let it decide who they were. The person others called stubborn and you would call brave.

StoicA classicNon-religiousFought to the endFor a veteran

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No coward soul is mine

Emily Brontë · 1850

No coward soul is mine, No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere:

1 min

Who's it for

A person whose faith was entirely their own and who had no time for churches. Right for someone nobody could frighten.

StoicUpliftingReligiousUnusual

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Prospice

Robert Browning · 1864

Fear death?--to feel the fog in my throat, The mist in my face,

2 min

Who's it for

Someone who fought their illness all the way and wanted to know exactly what was happening. Also right for a person going back to a husband or wife who died first.

Fought to the endStoicUpliftingReligiousFor a partner

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Song

Christina Rossetti · 1862

When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me;

40 sec

Who's it for

Someone who hated fuss and wouldn't have wanted a big do. Right where the family want something plain and completely unsentimental.

StoicGentlePlain EnglishNon-religiousA classic

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The Life That I Have

Leo Marks · 1943

Not shown here, because the poem is still in copyright.

Who's it for

A widow or widower, and anyone who served. Right for a love that was certain, and someone who never went in for big words.

StoicPlain EnglishGentleNon-religiousFor a partnerFor a veteranModern

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A Psalm of Life

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · 1838

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream!

2 min

Who's it for

Someone who never sat still and left things behind them: a business, a trade, a houseful of people they taught. Right for a life spent being useful.

UpliftingA classicPlain EnglishReligiousTraditional

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Crossing the Bar

Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1889

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me!

45 sec

Who's it for

Someone who had a long life and was ready. Especially right for anyone who went to sea, or just loved being near it.

ReligiousTraditionalA classicComfortingGentleOutdoorsyA long lifePeace at last

Read the poem

Death Is Nothing At All

Henry Scott Holland · 1919

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.

2 min

Who's it for

Almost any funeral, and it is the reading most families have already heard. Right for someone whose house was full of easy talk and jokes.

ComfortingGentlePlain EnglishA classicReligious

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Death, be not proud

John Donne · 1633

Death, be not proud, though some have callèd thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so:

55 sec

Who's it for

A believer, and a family who want something with some fight in it rather than a quiet goodbye. It suits a person who argued back all their life.

A classicReligiousUpliftingStoicUnusual

Read the poem

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

Mary Elizabeth Frye · 1932

Not shown here, because the poem is still in copyright.

Who's it for

Almost anyone, honestly. It's best of all for someone who was always outside: out walking, in the garden, never in the house.

A classicComfortingOutdoorsyNon-religiousGentlePlain EnglishModern

About this poem

Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun

William Shakespeare · 1623

Fear no more the heat o' the sun, Nor the furious winter's rages:

50 sec

Who's it for

A person who worked hard all their life and had had enough by the end. It also fits someone who never cared much who was important and who wasn't.

A classicTraditionalComfortingPeace at lastStoicA long lifeAfter dementia

Read the poem

For the Fallen

Laurence Binyon · 1914

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old, Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

15 sec

Who's it for

Anyone who served, and especially someone who died young in uniform. Right for a family who want the words everybody in the room will already know.

For a veteranTraditionalA classicGone too soonPlain English

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Funeral Blues

W. H. Auden · 1936

Not shown here, because the poem is still in copyright.

Who's it for

Someone who was everything to one person. It's for a mourner who doesn't want cheering up yet, and there's nothing better for a partner.

Tear jerkerNon-religiousA classicSuddenFor a partnerModern

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Invictus

William Ernest Henley · 1888

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

50 sec

Who's it for

Someone who got dealt a hard hand and never let it decide who they were. The person others called stubborn and you would call brave.

StoicA classicNon-religiousFought to the endFor a veteran

Read the poem

Little Boy Blue

Eugene Field · 1888

The little toy dog is covered with dust, But sturdy and staunch he stands;

1 min

Who's it for

A small child, and a family who need the loss said simply rather than explained away. It is right where the toys are still in the house.

GentleA classicFor a childGone too soonTear jerkerPlain English

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On Death

Kahlil Gibran · 1923

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

40 sec

Who's it for

A family who want hope without a particular religion behind it. Right for someone curious about everything, who wasn't frightened of what came next.

UpliftingComfortingA classic

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Remember

Christina Rossetti · 1862

Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land;

50 sec

Who's it for

A long marriage, or a parent you were really close to. It's the person who died giving everyone permission to be happy again.

GentleComfortingA classicTear jerkerFor a partnerFor a motherFor a father

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