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Song

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A classic Gentle Non-religious Plain English Stoic

Christina Rossetti · 1862

Song

Christina Rossetti · 1862

When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet; And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear the nightingale Sing on, as if in pain: And dreaming through the twilight That doth not rise nor set, Haply I may remember, And haply may forget.

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

What Serany thinks about this poem

A classic Gentle Non-religious Plain English Stoic

Background

Rossetti wrote it at eighteen and published it in 1862, in the same book as "Remember".

Meaning

She doesn't want a fuss. No sad songs, no roses on the grave, just grass growing over her. Remember her or don't, whichever is easier for you.

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.

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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:

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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:

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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,

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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.

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Invictus

William Ernest Henley · 1888

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

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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.

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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:

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

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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.

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Requiem

Robert Louis Stevenson · 1887

Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie.

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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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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.

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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,

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

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Crossing the Bar

Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1889

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Epitaph on an Infant

Samuel Taylor Coleridge · 1794

Ere Sin could blight or Sorrow fade, Death came with friendly care;

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Who's it for

A baby, or a child who died very small. It is right where a family believe their child is somewhere safe and being looked after now.

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Little Boy Blue

Eugene Field · 1888

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

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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.

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Music, when soft voices die

Percy Bysshe Shelley · 1824

Music, when soft voices die, Vibrates in the memory;

20 sec

Who's it for

A musician or a singer, and anyone whose house was always full of music. It also fits a husband or wife, because what it says is that their love outlasts them.

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Remember

Christina Rossetti · 1862

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Warm Summer Sun

Robert Richardson · 1893

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

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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.

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · 1838

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

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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.

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Crossing the Bar

Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1889

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

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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.

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Death Is Nothing At All

Henry Scott Holland · 1919

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.

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Read the poem

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 classicReligiousStoicUnusualUplifting

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 classicComfortingGentleModernNon-religiousOutdoorsyPlain English

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 classicA long lifeAfter dementiaComfortingPeace at lastStoicTraditional

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.

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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.

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About this 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.

A classicFor a veteranFought to the endNon-religiousStoic

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.

A classicFor a childGentleGone too soonPlain EnglishTear jerker

Read the poem

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.

A classicComfortingUplifting

Read the poem

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.

A classicComfortingFor a fatherFor a motherFor a partnerGentleTear jerker

Read the poem

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