Happy memories intertwine with great sorrow and heartache at the death of a mother. There are no words that can express the soul-shaping grace of a mother’s love, but you have to choose some words to honor Mom — after all, paying tribute with words is what a funeral or celebration of life is all about.
If anything can begin to express the precious gift that your mother was for you, the prime place that she held in your life, it would be poetry.
We’ve carefully curated some of the best funeral readings which you can use in the funeral program or during the service itself.
Here are over 40 of the most beautiful funeral poems for Mom, to help you shape the service and provide a wonderful tribute to the woman who always occupied that most special part of your life.
10 Beloved Funeral Poems for Mom
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We’ll begin with some of the best funeral poems for Mom that celebrate her love and help others see how she was one of life’s best gifts to you.
1. We Had a Wonderful Mother
We had a wonderful mother,
One who never really grew old;
Her smile was made of sunshine,
And her heart was solid gold;
Her eyes were as bright as shining stars,
And in her cheeks fair roses you see.
We had a wonderful mother,
And that’s the way it will always be.
But take heed, because
She’s still keeping an eye on all of us,
So let’s make sure
She will like what she sees.
Anonymous
2. Dreams
I dream that you come and sit by me
And you hold my hand and ruff my hair;
Your eyes shine with a sweet delight
That I used to see so often there.
Then my heart is filled with a hallowed love
And I know t’is but a little way
To the spirit land, and I know that I
Shall meet you there some glad sweet day.
Alan L Strang
3. The Magic of a Mother’s Touch
There’s magic in a Mother’s touch,
and sunshine in her smile.
There’s love in everything she does
to make our lives worthwhile.
We can find both hope and courage
Just by looking in her eyes.
Her laughter is a source of joy,
her works are warm and wise.
There is a kindness and compassion
to be found in her embrace,
and we see the light of heaven
shining from a Mother’s face.
Anonymous
4. Do Not Stand at My Grave & 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 glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!
Mary Frye
5. Rock Me To Sleep
Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue,
Mother, O Mother, my heart calls for you!
Many a summer the grass has grown green,
Blossomed and faded, our faces between:
Yet, with strong yearning and passionate pain,
Long I tonight for your presence again.
Elizabeth Akers Allen
6. Full of Grace
Her mem’ry does remain;
Her suff’ring now is gain:
She lived a life so full of grace
This world cannot contain.
Anonymous
7. Funeral Hymn
Dust unto dust,
To this all must;
The tenant hath resign’d
The faded form To waste and worm
Corruption claims her kind.
Through paths unknown
Thy soul hath flown,
To seek the realms of woe,
Where fiery pain
Shall purge the stain
Of actions done below.
In that sad place,
By Mary’s grace,
Brief may thy dwelling be
Till prayers and alms,
And holy psalms,
Shall set the captive free.
Waler Scott
8. Joy in Heav’n
The sun, the moon, and all the stars:
These will always come around,
To remind me of sweet times of ours
And the joy in heav’n she’s found.
Anonymous
9. Only One Mother
You can only have one mother
Patient kind and true;
No other friend in all the world,
Will be the same to you.
When other friends forsake you,
To mother you will return,
For all her loving kindness,
She asks nothing in return.
As we look upon her picture,
Sweet memories we recall,
Of a face so full of sunshine,
And a smile for one and all.
Sweet Jesus, take this message,
To our dear mother up above;
Tell her how we miss her,
And give her all our love.
Anonymous
10. Death
Mourn not, my friends, that we are growing old:
A fresher birth brings every new year in.
Years are Christ’s napkins to wipe off the sin.
See now, I’ll be to you an angel bold!
My plumes are ruffled, and they shake with cold,
Yet with a trumpet-blast I will begin.
—Ah, no; your listening ears not thus I win!
Yet hear, sweet sisters; brothers, be consoled:—
Behind me comes a shining one indeed;
Christ’s friend, who from life’s cross did take him down,
And set upon his day night’s starry crown!
Death, say’st thou? Nay—thine be no caitiff creed!—
A woman-angel! see—in long white gown!
The mother of our youth!—she maketh speed.
George Cooper
Funeral Poems for Mom from Daughters
These particular funeral poems for Mom can give voice to a daughter’s heart toward her mother.
11. Only One Mother
Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of birds in the sunny weather.
Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.
George Cooper
12. Away
I cannot say and I will not say
That she is dead, she is just away.
With a cheery smile and a wave of hand
She has wandered into an unknown land;
And left us dreaming how very fair
Its needs must be, since she lingers there.
And you-oh you, who the wildest yearn
From the old-time step and the glad return-
Think of her faring on, as dear
In the love of there, as the love of here
Think of her still the same way, I say;
She is not dead, she is just away.
James Whitcomb Riley
13. As We Look Back
As we look back over time
We find ourselves wondering…
Did we remember to thank you enough
For all you have done for us?
For all the times you were by our sides
To help and support us…
To celebrate our successes
To understand our problems
And accept our defeats?
Or for teaching us by your example,
The value of hard work, good judgment,
Courage and integrity?
We wonder if we ever thanked you
For the sacrifices you made.
To let us have the very best?
And for the simple things
Like laughter, smiles and times we shared?
If we have forgotten to show our
Gratitude enough for all the things you did,
We’re thanking you now.
And we are hoping you knew all along,
How much you meant to us.
Anonymous
14. I Hold It True
I hold it true, whate’er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
15. There Are No Tears
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
Funeral Poems for Mothers from Sons
The following verses offer a beautiful way for sons to express what Mom meant to them.
16. Gone
Another hand is beckoning us,
Another call is given;
And glows once more with Angel-steps
The path which reaches Heaven.
Our young and gentle friend, whose smile
Made brighter summer hours,
Amid the frosts of autumn time
Has left us with the flowers.
John Greenleaf Whittier
17. When The Long Day Has Faded
When the long day has faded to its end,
The flowers gone, and all the singing done,
And there is no companion left save Death –
Ah! there is one,
Though in her grave she lies this many a year,
Will send a violet made of her blue eyes,
A flowering whisper of her April breath,
Up through the sleeping grass to comfort me,
And in the April rain her tears shall fall.
Richard Le Gallienne
18. The Reading Mother
I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings—
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be—
I had a Mother who read to me.
Strickland Gillilan
19. Mother o’ Mine
If I were hanged on the highest hill,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I know whose love would follow me still,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I know whose tears would come down to me,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
Rudyard Kipling
20. Made This World So Fair
If God hath made this world so fair
Where sin and death abound,
How beautiful beyond compare
Will paradise be found.
James Montgomery
Related: How To Write A Tribute To A Mother Who Passed Away
Best Scripture for Loss of a Mother
These Bible verses offer a poetic, inspired tribute to the woman whose life was defined by her unwavering faith in Christ.
21. 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?”
22. 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
23. Psalm 48:14
For this God is our God forever and ever.
He will be our guide even to death.
24. Proverbs 31:31
Give her of the fruit of her hands!
Let her works praise her in the gates!
25. Psalm 71:18-23
Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me,
until I have declared your strength to the next generation,
your might to everyone who is to come.
God, your righteousness also reaches to the heavens.
You have done great things.
God, who is like you?
You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles,
you will let me live.
You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
Increase my honor
and comfort me again.
I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God.
I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
My lips shall shout for joy!
My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you!
More: The 50 Best Bible Verses for Funerals
Short Funeral Poems for Mothers
26. Dearest Mum
Memories unfold as we think of you,
A real mum, through and through.
You suffered in silence everyday,
An illness that would not go away.
But now you have no more pain
For God’s loving arms have healed you again.
Anonymous
27. Funeral Hymn
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
28. Mother In Heaven
If roses grow in Heaven, Lord,
Please pick a bunch for me.
Place them in my Mother’s arms
And tell her they’re from me.
Tell her that I love and miss her,
And when she turns to smile,
Place a kiss upon her cheek,
And hold her for a while.
Because remembering her is easy,
I do it everyday,
But there’s an ache within my heart
That will never go away.
Anonymous
29. Felt With The Heart
The best and most beautiful
Things in the world cannot
Be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.
Helen Keller
30. Wonderful Mother
God made a wonderful mother,
A mother who never grows old;
He made her smile of the sunshine.
And He moulded her heart of pure gold;
In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,
In her cheeks fair roses you see;
God made a wonderful mother,
And He gave that dear mother to me.
Anonymous
Related: Best Sympathy Quotes for Loss of Mother
Beautiful Memorial Poems for Loving Mothers
31. I Never Saw Your Wings
How is it that I never saw your wings
when you were here with me?
When you closed your eyes and soared
to the Heavens I could hear the
faint flutter of your wings as you left.
Your body no longer on this side
your spirit here eternally I see your halo shine.
I close my eyes and see the multi-colored wings
surround me in my saddest moments and my happiest times.
Mother my angel God has given you your assignment
always my mother forever my angel.
You fly into my dreams and when I am asleep
I feel your wings brush against my face wiping away
the tears I shed since I can no longer hold
you in my arms but in my heart.
You earned those wings dear mother
and you will always be me angel eternal.
Anonymous
32. The Harp of Broken Strings
A stranger in a stranger land,
Too calm to weep, too sad to smile,
I take my harp of broken strings,
A weary moment to beguile;
And tho no hope its promise brings,
And present joy is not for me,
Still o’er that harp I love to bend,
And feel its broken melody
With all my shattered feelings blend.
John Rollin Ridge
33. If I Should Go
If I should go tomorrow
It would never be goodbye,
For I have left my heart with you,
So don’t you ever cry.
The love that’s deep within me,
Shall reach you from the stars,
You’ll feel it from the heavens,
And it will heal the scars.
Anonymous
34. All Is Well
Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of 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 ever the household world that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It it the same as it ever was, there is 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.
Henry Scott Holland
35. Gone From Us
Gone from us that smiling face,
The cheerful pleasant ways,
The heart that won so many friends,
In bygone, happy days.
A life made beautiful by kindly deeds,
A helping hand for others’ needs.
To a beautiful life,
Comes a happy end,
She died as she lived,
Everyone’s friend.
Anonymous
36. In Memory of My Mother
I do not think of you lying in the wet clay
Of a Monaghan graveyard; I see
You walking down a lane among the poplars
On your way to the station, or happily
Going to second Mass on a summer Sunday–
You meet me and you say:
‘Don’t forget to see about the cattle —‘
Among your earthiest words the angels stray.
And I think of you walking along a headland
Of green oats in June,
So full of repose, so rich with life —
And I see us meeting at the end of a town
On a fair day by accident, after
The bargains are all made and we can walk
Together through the shops and stalls and markets
Free in the oriental streets of thought.
O you are not lying in the wet clay,
For it is harvest evening now and we
Are piling up the ricks against the moonlight
And you smile up at us — eternally.
Patrick Kavanagh
37. Shall Last Eternally
O how glorious and resplendent,
fragile body, shalt thou be,
when endued with so much beauty,
full of health and strong and free,
full of vigor, full of pleasure
that shall last eternally.
Thomas á Kempis
38. For All The Times
For all the times you gently picked me up,
When I fell down,
For all the times you tied my shoes
And tucked me into bed,
Or needed something
But put me first instead.
For everything we shared,
The dreams, the laughter,
And the tears,
I love you with a Special Love
That deepens every year.
Thank You Mom
Anonymous
39. Dirge
Boys and girls that held her dear,
Do your weeping now;
All you loved of her lies here.
Brought to earth the arrogant brow,
And the withering tongue
Chastened; do your weeping now.
Sing whatever songs are sung,
Wind whatever wreath,
For a playmate perished young,
For a spirit spent in death.
Boys and girls that held her dear,
All you loved of her lies here.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
40. A Dead Friend III
Dear in death, thou hast thy part
Yet in life, to cheer
Hearts that held thy gentle heart
Dear.
Time and chance may sear
Hope with grief, and death may part
Hand from hand’s clasp here:
Memory, blind with tears that start,
Sees through every tear
All that made thee, as thou art,
Dear.
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Bonus: My Mother Kept a Garden
My Mother kept a garden, a garden of the heart.
She planted all the good things that gave my life its start.
She turned me to the sunshine; encouraged me to dream;
Fostering and nurturing the seeds of self-esteem.
And when the winds and rain came, she protected me enough;
But not too much because she knew I would stand strong and tough.
Her constant good example well taught me right from wrong:
Markers for my pathway that will last a lifetime long.
I am my Mother’s garden; I am her legacy.
And I hope she feels great love, reflected back from me.
Anonymous
More: 101 Popular Funeral Poems
How & When to Use Poetry in Your Mother’s Service
Memorial poetry can be a beautiful element to add to your mother’s funeral or life celebration service. The right words have an indefinable ability to express emotion, evoking a nostalgic sense of yearning along or perhaps a comforting feeling that everything is all right — or even, somehow, both of those things at the same time.
So if you’ve found the perfect funeral poem for your mom, you will certainly want to include it as part of the memorial. Here are some suggestions on how you can incorporate a poetry reading into the funeral service.
Welcome. Open the service with a short funeral poem that suits your mother and sets the tone for the service.
Eulogy. A beautiful poem will complement the narrative elements of the eulogy, and a word or phrase from the reading can often serve as a motif as you are writing the eulogy.
Open mic. Set aside a time for friends and family members to share memories, stories, prayers, and readings. Select a lovely poem to read, or ask someone to read it for you, and encourage everyone to participate.
Transitions. Use any interlude or transition time as an opportunity to include your poetry selections. This can be a wonderful way to include people in the service who may not want to speak extemporaneously.
Closing. Bring the memorial service to a close by reading a stirring or celebratory poem in loving memory of your mother. Then be sure and provide instructions for the committal or reception, whichever comes next.
Read Next: Everything You Need to Know About the Funeral Order of Service
Daniel has been working in the funeral industry since 2010, speaking directly to grieving families as they made funeral arrangements.
He began researching and publishing funeral articles on this website as part of his role as product and marketing manager at Urns Northwest.
Having written hundreds of articles and growing the site to multiple millions of views per year, Daniel continues to write while providing editorial oversight for US Urns Online’s content team.