Poems

These are the two poems that mum asked to be read during her funeral.

"Instructions" by Reverend Arnold Crompton (slightly modified and read by Shelagh Herbert)

When I have moved beyond you in the adventure of life,
Gather in some pleasant place
And there remember me with spoken words,
old and new.         

Let a tear fall if you will,
but let a smile come quickly
For I have loved the laughter of life.

Do not linger too long with your solemnities,
Go eat, and drink, and talk
And when you can –
Follow a cliff path walk     
Climb a high mountain
Walk along the wild sea shore
Swim in a cool blue sea
Chew the thoughts of some book that challenges your soul
Use your hands some bright day
to make a thing of beauty -
or to lift someone’s heavy load.

Though you mention not my name,
Though no thought of me crosses your mind- I shall be with you

For these have been the realities of life to me.
And when you face some crisis with anguish -
When you walk alone with courage
When you choose your paths of right
When you give yourself in love

I shall be very close to you.

I have followed the valleys,
I have climbed the heights of life.

"The Dash" by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral of a friend.  He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own, the cars..the house...the cash.  What matters is how we lived and loved and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard; are there things you'd like to change?  For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged.

To be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile...remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read, with your life's actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you lived your dash?