A Grief Poem
Death is nothing at all!
I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we are to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
speak to me in the easy way you always used.
Put no difference in your tone;wear no forced solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be forever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effort, without the ghost of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was; there is absolutely unbroken continuity.
Why should i be out of mind because i am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just around the corner.
All is well.
I was given this poem when my son died aged 22 on the 21st june 2007, it is a lovely poem and we wanted it read at his funeral but it hurt so much nobody could read it, so instead we printed it on the funeral sheet for people to read.
it really is a beautiful poem.
This is a popular poem written by Canon Henry Scott Holland called ‘Death is Nothing at All’ and has many adaptations. I share this poem with many bereaved people as I believe it gives great comfort at such a sad time of loss.
I lost my daughter, Miranda Denise on December 24, 2005 and I have never been the same and never will.
I say her anme every day but I cannot get over the sorrow. She was not just my child, she was my twin soul and my best friend. When she left, the best part of my sould went with her.
My son 47year old/young died on 23.07.08 and we also chose this poem for the service/celebration of his life,but our version had a bit more at the end :-
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
I think this poem is really beautiful, and so apt.
I miss him so much, I can’t believe this pain will ever go away.
It doesn’t make any difference how old your child is they will always be your ‘baby’
My therapist died suddenly on august18- I miss him so so so much because I used him for 22 years. any suggestions on how to make myself feel better?
I am so deeply saddenned.
I lost my 16 year old son Ellis on the 13/03/2008 we had this poem read out at the funeral,life is just not life anymore.each day i wake and think oh god im still here and im with out Ellis.he was a bright light in our family,so full of life himself.
A very moving poem indeed. Kind of uses language to go beyond language.