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Warm Summer Sun

Reading time: 10 seconds

Gentle Plain English Outdoorsy Non-religious Gone too soon Tear jerker

Robert Richardson · 1893

Warm Summer Sun

Robert Richardson · 1893

Warm summer sun, shine friendly here; Warm western wind, blow kindly here; Green sod above, rest light, rest light. Good-night, Annette! Sweetheart, good-night!

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

What Serany thinks about this poem

Gentle Plain English Outdoorsy Non-religious Gone too soon Tear jerker

Background

Richardson published it in Australia in 1893. Mark Twain used an adapted version on his daughter's gravestone, and when people started crediting him with it he had Richardson's name cut into the stone underneath.

Meaning

It asks the sun, the wind and the grass to be gentle with someone who has been buried. Then it says goodnight to her, twice, the way you would to someone going to sleep.

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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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.

GentleNon-religiousOutdoorsyTear jerker

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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.

Non-religiousNot about deathOutdoorsyPlain EnglishUplifting

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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.

A classicA long lifeComfortingGentleOutdoorsyPeace at lastReligiousTraditional

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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 classicComfortingGentleModernNon-religiousOutdoorsyPlain English

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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.

A long lifeNon-religiousOutdoorsyPlain EnglishStoic

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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.

For an adventurerNon-religiousOutdoorsyPlain EnglishUplifting

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Requiem

Robert Louis Stevenson · 1887

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

25 sec

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.

A classicNon-religiousOutdoorsyPlain EnglishStoic

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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.

A classicGentleNot about deathOutdoorsyPlain EnglishReligious

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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 friendGentleGone too soonNon-religiousOutdoorsyTear jerker

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Epitaph on a Friend

Lord Byron · 1807

Oh, Friend! for ever lov'd, for ever dear! What fruitless tears have bathed thy honour'd bier!

2 min

Who's it for

A best friend, especially one who died young. Right for a family who would rather the grief were said out loud than smoothed over.

For a friendGone too soonNon-religiousTear jerkerUnusual

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Epitaph on an Infant

Samuel Taylor Coleridge · 1794

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

10 sec

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.

ComfortingFor a babyFor a childGentleGone too soonPlain EnglishReligious

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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.

A classicFor a veteranGone too soonPlain EnglishTraditional

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It is not growing like a tree

Ben Jonson · 1640

It is not growing like a tree In bulk, doth make man better be;

35 sec

Who's it for

Anyone who died young, and a family who need to hear that a short life was still a whole one. Right for a person who packed a lot in.

ComfortingGone too soonUnusualUplifting

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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

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The Soldier

Rupert Brooke · 1915

If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field

55 sec

Who's it for

Someone who served, and especially anyone who died far from home. Right for a family who want something formal and proud.

A classicFor a veteranGone too soonTraditional

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When I have fears that I may cease to be

John Keats · 1848

When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,

50 sec

Who's it for

A writer, a painter, or anyone who had more they meant to make. It belongs to a person who died in the middle of their work.

For a writerFor an artistGone too soonNon-religiousTear 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 friendGentleGone too soonNon-religiousOutdoorsyTear jerker

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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.

GentleNon-religiousOutdoorsyTear jerker

Read the poem

Dirge Without Music

Edna St. Vincent Millay · 1928

I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground. So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:

1 min

Who's it for

A family who are angry about it and would rather not pretend otherwise. Right for a death that makes no sense to anyone who knew them.

ModernNon-religiousPlain EnglishTear jerkerUnusual

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Epitaph on a Friend

Lord Byron · 1807

Oh, Friend! for ever lov'd, for ever dear! What fruitless tears have bathed thy honour'd bier!

2 min

Who's it for

A best friend, especially one who died young. Right for a family who would rather the grief were said out loud than smoothed over.

For a friendGone too soonNon-religiousTear jerkerUnusual

Read the poem

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.

A classicFor a partnerModernNon-religiousSuddenTear jerker

About this 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

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.

ComfortingFor a musicianFor a partnerGentleNon-religiousTear jerker

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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.

A classicComfortingFor a fatherFor a motherFor a partnerGentleTear jerker

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When I have fears that I may cease to be

John Keats · 1848

When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,

50 sec

Who's it for

A writer, a painter, or anyone who had more they meant to make. It belongs to a person who died in the middle of their work.

For a writerFor an artistGone too soonNon-religiousTear jerker

Read the poem

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 friendGentleGone too soonNon-religiousOutdoorsyTear jerker

Read the poem

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