As a letter carver and a lover of poetry, I’m always looking for great poems to carve in stone and slate. I’ve read and written poetry for the last twenty or so years and as such, I feel obliged to keep an eye out for poetry worthy enough to be inscribed in stone. I was put through a formal four-year letter carving apprenticeship so I’m part of that formal letter carving lineage: trained by a master, who was trained by a master, who was trained by a master, stretching back to the days of the Arts & Crafts Movement. And so I feel duty-bound to match beautiful poetry with a beautiful piece of stone as frequently as I can.
Poetry is important in many moments in life - both the big moments and the small ones. We often turn to poetry at funerals, using the power of language to express how we feel about the passing of a loved one. I’ve read many a powerful poem over the years, but in this article I’ll pay particular attention to the ones that do a really good job at remembering and honouring a friend or relative.
I always wonder how many times W.H Auden’s ‘Stop all the Clocks’ has been read at funerals since Four Weddings and a Funeral was released in 1994. I’ve written about the poem and its influence on my blog here, along with a clip of John Hannah’s recital of it in the film. It’s certainly a great poem and it’s tailor-made to be read at a funeral. A few years ago I was asked to read at my great uncle’s funeral. My reading was straight after a long eulogy and in hindsight I think a short poem was a good choice. As strange as it sounds, a poem can sometimes be a good palette-cleanser for its mourners. The best ones show rather than tell. Here’s the poem I wrote especially for my great uncle Ernst:
A Poem for Ernst
Sun, moon, sea, land:
a head for business,
a helping hand.
Sea, land, sun, moon:
a feast at midnight,
a feast at noon.
Moon, sun, land, sea:
kindness upon kindness
a guarantee.
Land, sea, moon, sun:
he was a gentle man
and a gentleman.
Reflecting on it now, I can see the influence of the Auden poem, but also the influence of the 19th century poet Thomas Hood, whom I was reading a lot at the time. He’s been lost to time a little bit, but his work deserves to be regarded alongside some of the very best poetry that has every come out of England. I discovered one of his at around the time of my uncle’s funeral that I read and re-read. Like all great poems, it deserves to be read aloud and I read it aloud to myself many times.
"The Stars Are With The Voyager"
The stars are with the voyager
Wherever he may sail;
The moon is constant to her time;
The sun will never fail;
But follow, follow round the world,
The green earth and the sea,
So love is with the lover's heart,
Wherever he may be.
Wherever he may be, the stars
Must daily lose their light;
The moon will veil her in the shade;
The sun will set at night.
The sun may set, but constant love
Will shine when he's away;
So that dull night is never night,
And day is brighter day.
Hood was a contemporary of Alfred Lord Tennyson. While Hood is undervalued, the former Poet Laureate is still considered to be one of the best poets this country has ever produced. Like Hood, Tennyson was a prolific poet. With over 900 poems to his name, Tennyson was no slouch. But most of the interest is concentrated on four or five of his poems and his others don’t seem to get a look-in. One of his poems - The Throstle - is one of my favourite poems of all time. It is hopeful and upbeat - perhaps not the right tone for some funerals, but perfect for others. For sheer poetic beauty, it’s hard to beat this one.
The Throstle
‘Summer is coming, summer is coming.
I know it, I know it, I know it.
Light again, leaf again, life again, love again,’
Yes, my wild little Poet.
Sing the new year in under the blue.
Last year you sang it as gladly.
‘New, new, new, new’! Is it then so new
That you should carol so madly?
‘Love again, song again, nest again, young again,’
Never a prophet so crazy!
And hardly a daisy as yet, little friend,
See, there is hardly a daisy.
‘Here again, here, here, here, happy year’!
O warble unchidden, unbidden!
Summer is coming, is coming, my dear,
And all the winters are hidden.
This tone of poem might be more suitable as an inscription on a headstone rather than being read at a funeral, but a strong case could still be made for it. Something of such sheer beauty is worthy of being heard anywhere. One Tennyson poem that would fit is called ‘A Farewell’ and while more sombre in tone, it contains the same levels of lyrical splendour as The Throstle.
A Farewell
Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
Thy tribute wave deliver;
No more by thee my steps shall be,
Forever and forever.
Flow, softly flow by lawn and lea,
A rivulet then a river;
Nowhere by thee my steps shall be,
Forever and forever.
But here will sigh thine alder tree
And here thine aspen shiver;
And here by thee will hum the bee,
Forever and forever.
A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver;
But not by thee my steps shall be,
Forever and forever.
And finally, a poem by Carola Luther, a poet I was lucky enough to meet back in 2016 and hear it being read by her - a real spine-tingling moment. I cannot praise this poem highly enough. It’s got everything I look for in a funeral poem: profound, inventive, reflective and truly, truly extraordinary. It’s entitled Mourning and can be found on the poet Kim Moore’s blog here.
I urge you to seek out more of Carola’s work by going to her website here.