40 Best Funeral Poems for Your Brother (In Loving Memory)

Today we’ll be taking a moment to look at the forty best funeral poems for your brother.

The loss of a brother can cause such pain, and it can leave us searching for something to ease that pain. We may also need reminders that though current days seem dark and we face many sleepless nights, there is still hope, love, and joy to be found — even in the midst of our grieving. 

As you wade through these potentially unfamiliar waters, there are actually a lot of things that can help bring comfort and relief to your heart. 

Sometimes talking about his beautiful life and memories with family members can help. Other times looking through old photographs, wrapping yourself in his jacket, making his favorite meal, or watching his favorite movie can give an almost unprecedented amount of relief.

Two other common things that people find comfort in during times of sorrow are music and poetry. The latter is what we’ll be focusing on today. 

Poetry is a time honored means by which humans can give voice to their sorrow, find rest and hope for their broken heart, and pay tribute to those who have passed on before them. 

Whether you’re looking specifically for a beautiful poem to be read at the funeral or included in your heartfelt eulogy, or you’re simply seeking that comfort that only the right words can provide; we hope that within this collection of funeral poems you can find one that speaks to your heart.

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15 Best In Loving Memory Funeral Poems for Your Brother

We’ll start with this selection of fifteen of the best memorial poems we’ve found. 

Some are short poems, sweet and direct. Others are longer and encompass a greater scope of emotions that you may be experiencing following the loss of your brother.

At the close of day, what makes a memorial poem good isn’t necessarily its length or eloquence, but the way it speaks to you or honors your loved one.

1. Love Lives On

You went away so suddenly

We did not say goodbye

But brothers can never be parted

Precious memories never die.

Anonymous 

2. Do Not Stand By My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

Mary Elizabeth Frye

3. Weep Not for Me

I am at peace, my soul’s at rest

There is no need for tears

For with your love I was so blessed

For all those many years

There is no pain, I suffer not

The fear is now all gone

Put now these things out of your thoughts

In your memory I live on.

Anonymous 

4. Consolation 

He is not dead, this friend — not dead,

But in the path we mortals tread

Got some few, trifling steps ahead

And nearer to the end;

So that you too, once past the bend,

Shall meet again, as face to face, this friend

You fancy dead.

Robert Louis Stevenson

5. Easter

Death held our Lord in prison

For sin that did undo us;

But he hath up arisen

And brought our life back to us.

Therefore must we gladsome be,

Praise our God, and thankful be,

And sing out hallelujah! Hallelujah!

George MacDonald

6. Miss Me But Let Me Go

When I come to the end of the road

And the sun has set for me,

I want no rites in a gloom-filled room,

Why cry for a soul set free!

Miss me a little – but not for long

And not with your head bowed low.

Remember the love that we once shared,

Miss me, but let me go.

For this journey that we all must take

And each must go alone;

It’s all a part of the Master’s plan

A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick at heart

Go to the friends we know,

And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.

Miss me, but let me go.

Anonymous 

7. Death Is Nothing At All

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you, for an interval,

somewhere very near,

just round the corner.

All is well.

Nothing is hurt; 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!

Henry Scott-Holland

8. Remember 

Remember me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land;

When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

Remember me when no more day by day

You tell me of our future that you planned:

Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

For if the darkness and corruption leave

A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

Than that you should remember and be sad.

Christina Rossetti

9. Fleeting Breath

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When mine eyes shall close in death,

When I soar to worlds unknown,

See thee on thy judgment throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in thee.

Augustus Toplady

10. On Joy and Sorrow

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Kahlil Gibran

11. Gone

Alone unto our Father’s will

One thought hath reconciled;

That He whose love exceedeth ours

Hath taken home His child.

John Greenleaf Whittier

12. Good-Bye

Oh, I will think of bygone days of glee,

Though on each point of bitter sorrow driven;

I will not bid thee to remember me,

But oh! see to it that we meet in Heaven.

Nora Pembroke

13. Gone 

We tarry yet, we are toiling still,

He is gone and he fares the best,

He fought against odds, he struggled up hill,

He has fairly earned his season of rest;

No tears are needed, fill out the wine,

Let the goblets clash, and the grape juice flow;

Ho! pledge me a death-drink, comrade mine,

To a brave man gone where we all must go.

Adam Lindsay Gordon

14. Funeral Hymn 

“Man dieth and wasteth away,

And where is he?”— Hark! from the skies

I hear a voice answer and say,

“The spirit of man never dies:

His body, which came from the earth,

Must mingle again with the sod;

But his soul, which in heaven had birth,

Returns to the bosom of God.”

No terror has death, or the grave,

To those who believe in the Lord—

We know the Redeemer can save,

And lean on the faith of his word;

While ashes to ashes, and dust

We give unto dust, in our gloom,

The light of salvation, we trust,

Is hung like a lamp in the tomb.

George Pope Morris

15. No Tears in Heaven

There are no tears in heaven, nor grief of any kind

I leave this final tear drop to those I left behind

Though absent from the body I’m present with the Lord

The joy of my salvation is now my full reward.

Anonymous 

Short Funeral Poems for Brother

This selection of poems would be appropriate to include in your brother’s funeral program or memorial service as they are short, beautiful tributes to his memory. 

16. My Brother

You are my brother not by choice,

but by the nature of our birth

I could not have chosen a better one

you were the best on earth.

Anonymous 

17. Intimations of Immortality

What though the radiance which was once so bright

Be now for ever taken from my sight,

Though nothing can bring back the hour

Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;

We will grieve not, rather find

Strength in what remains behind.

William Wordsworth

18. Farewell

Farewell to thee! but not farewell

To all my fondest thoughts of thee:

Within my heart they still shall dwell;

And they shall cheer and comfort me.

Anne Bronte

19. Parting

So huge, so hopeless to conceive

As these that twice befell.

Parting is all we know of heaven,

And all we need of hell.

Emily Dickinson

20. Homesick in Heaven

Then spread your folded wings, and leave to earth

The dust once breathing ye have mourned so long,

Till Love, new risen, owns his heavenly birth,

And sorrow’s discords sweeten into song!

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Best Funeral Poems for Older Brothers

Older brothers are such wonderful gifts, aren’t they? 

If your big brother and you were especially close, you may feel like there’s an empty place in your heart. That’s totally normal, and there’s no need to try to fill that space.

No one can replace the sibling, the best friend, the confidant and advisor that he was. 

We think these poems below are especially well suited to honoring your dear brother and his beautiful memory. 

21. Epitaph On A Friend

An honest man here lies at rest,

The friend of man, the friend of truth,

The friend of age, the guide of youth;

Few hearts like his, with virtue warm’d,

Few heads with knowledge so inform’d;

If there’s another world, he lives in bliss;

If there is none, he made the best of this.

Robbie Burns

22. Our Love For You

Our love for you echoes

Throughout eternity

And sings along with those

With whom you now are free

Anonymous 

23. Warm Summer Sun

Warm summer sun,

Shine kindly here,

Warm southern wind,

Blow softly here.

Green sod above,

Lie light, lie light.

Good night, dear heart,

Good night, good night.

Mark Twain

24. Family Tree

A limb has fallen from the family tree

I hear a voice that whispers, ‘Grieve not for me’

Remember the best times, the laughter, the songs

The good I lived while I was strong

Continue my heritage, I’m counting on you

Keep on smiling, the sun will shine through.

My mind is at ease, my soul is at rest

Remembering all…how I was truly blessed

Continue traditions, no matter how small

Go on with your lives, don’t stare at the wall

I miss you all dearly so keep up your chin

Until that fine day we’re together again.

Anonymous 

25. Lost and Found

I missed him when the sun began to bend;

I found him not when I had lost his rim;

With many tears I went in search of him,

Climbing high mountains which did still ascend,

And gave me echoes when I called my friend;

Through cities vast and charnel-houses grim,

And high cathedrals where the light was dim,

Through books and arts and works without an end,

But found him not–the friend whom I had lost.

And yet I found him–as I found the lark,

A sound in fields I heard but could not mark;

I found him nearest when I missed him most;

I found him in my heart, a life in frost,

A light I knew not till my soul was dark.

George McDonald

Related: Best Funeral Poems for Anyone

Best Funeral Poems for Younger Brothers

The death of a sibling, any sibling, is extremely difficult. But when that sibling was your baby brother, well, there’s something about it that can land especially heavy on your heart. 

He wasn’t meant to go before you — at least that’s how it can feel. You may have helped raise him, and he may have looked to you as a source of wisdom, encouragement, or advice. You shared a special bond, and he deserves a special tribute. 

We think the poems below would be well suited.

26. His Peaceful Grave

Our brother lives with us in memory

Before our eyes he grew weaker every day

Doing all we could to save him

Until God took him away

Never shall his memory fade

Our sweetest love lingers

Forever round his peaceful grave.

Anonymous 

27. To Laugh Often and Much

To laugh often and much to win the respect of intelligent people

And the affection of children.

To earn the appreciation of honest critics

And endure the betrayal of false friends

To appreciate beauty, to leave the world a bit better,

Weather by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition

To know even one life has breathed easier, because you have lived,

This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

28. Be Still My Soul

Be still, my soul; when dearest friends depart

and all is darkened in the vale of tears,

then you will better know his love, his heart,

who comes to soothe your sorrows and your fears.

Be still, my soul; your Jesus can repay

from his own fullness all he takes away.

Kathrina Von Schlegel

29. Separation

Oh, my brother fair to see!

Idol of my lonely heart,

Parting is a time of test,

Father, give him what is best,

Father keep him from the rest,

Bless him though we fall apart.

Well I know love will not die,

It will cause us bliss or pain;

We may part for many years,

But my loving prayers and tears,

Rising up to Him who hears

Nora Pembroke

30. In This World

Here in this world,

He bids us come;

There in the next,

He shall bid us welcome.

John Donne

Best Scripture for Your Brother’s Funeral

Scripture is poetic, too! 

While much of the Bible is composed of poetry, even the passages that aren’t can bring immense consolation.

These passages would be especially appropriate for a religious funeral service and an excellent way to honor your brother’s memory.

31. Romans 6:4

We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

32. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

33. John 14:1-3

Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you.

I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.

34. I Corinthians 15:54-55

But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“Death, where is your sting?

Hades, where is your victory?”

Related: Comforting Bible Verses for Grief and Loss

35. Ecclesiastes 7:1

A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death better than the day of one’s birth.

36. Romans 14:7-9

For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord.

If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

37. Isaiah 57:1-2

The righteous perish,

and no one lays it to heart.

Merciful men are taken away,

and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil.

He enters into peace.

They rest in their beds,

each one who walks in his uprightness.

38. Philippians 1:21-23

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don’t know what I will choose.

But I am hard pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

39. Psalm 23

Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil.

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.

40. John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

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