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2. 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 word 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 is 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, 1847-1918

Canon of St Paul's Cathedral London

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3. Life Goes On

If I should go before the rest of you

Break not a flower

Nor inscribe a stone

Nor when I am gone

Speak in a Sunday voice

But be the usual selves

That I have known

Weep if you must

Parting is hell

But life goes on

So .... sing as well

Joyce Grenfell, 1910-1979

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4. Autumn Rain

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there, I do not sleep

I am 1,000 winds that blow

I am the diamond glints on snow

I am the sun 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 light

I am the soft star that shines at night

Do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there; I did not die.

Mary Frye, 1932

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5. Untitled

You can shed tears that she is gone,

Or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back,

Or you can open your eyes and see all that she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her

Or you can be full of the love that you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,

Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she’s gone

Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back,

Or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

[anon]

Read the funeral of Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

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6. I am Not Gone

I am Not Gone

I am not gone, I am changed.

Have faith and please believe me.

God did not take me away from you,

He split the skies and received me.

Now…

I’m an echo in your laughter,

a reflection in your tears,

an extra thread of strength

to help you overcome your fears.

I’m an added ray of sunshine,

more joy for you to share,

a fragrance of the life you live.

Wherever you are—I am there.

Terri McPherson (2002)

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7. Untitled

In the time of daffodils (who know

the goal of living is to grow)

forgetting why, remember how

in time of lilacs who proclaim

the aim of waking is to dream

remember so (forgetting seem)

in time of roses (who amaze

our now and here with paradise)

forgetting if, remember yes

in time of all sweet things beyond

whatever mind may comprehend

remember seek (forgetting find)

and in a mystery to be

(when time from time shall set us free)

forgetting me, remember me

e e cummings 1894-1962

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8. High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth,

Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence, hovering there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air …

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue

I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace,

Where never lark, or even eagle flew –

And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod,

The high un-trespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Fl. Officer John Gillespie McGee, 1922-1941

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9. A Child Loaned

"I'll lend you for a little time

A child of Mine." He said.

"For you to love the while he lives

And mourn for when he's dead.

It may be six or seven year

Or twenty-two or three

But will you, till I call him back

Take care of him for Me?

He'll bring his charms to gladden you

And should his stay be brief,

You'll have his lovely memories

As solace for your grief.

I cannot promise he will stay

Since all from Earth return,

But there are lessons taught down there

I want the child to learn.

I've looked this wide world over

In my search for teacher's true,

And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes,

I have selected you;

Now will you give him all your love,

Nor think the labour vain

Nor hate Me when I come to call

And take him back again?

I fancied that I heard them say,

"Dear Lord, They will be done,

For all the joy Thy child shall bring,

For the risk of grief we'll run.

We'll shelter him with tenderness,

We'll love him while we may,

And for the happiness we've known,

Forever grateful stay.

But should the angels call for him

Much sooner than we planned,

We'll brave the bitter grief that comes

And try to understand."

[anon]

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10. 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.

Life seems more sweet that Thou didst live

And men more true Thou wert one;

Nothing is lost that Thou didst give,

Nothing destroyed that Thou hast done.

Anne Bronte, 1820-1849

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11. Death Be Not Proud

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost over throw

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure - then, from thee much more must flow;

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones and soul's delivery.

Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell;

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well,

And better than thy stroke.  Why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And death shall be no more.  Death thou shalt die.

John Donne, 1572-1631

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12. Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.

Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;

For nothing now can ever come to any good.                           

W. H. Auden 1907-73 

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13. Afterglow

I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one.

I'd like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done.

I'd like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways.

Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.

I'd like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun.

Of happy memories that I leave when life is done.

[anon]

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14. The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak

at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth

and spoke of the following date with tears,

but he said what mattered most of all

was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

that she spent alive on earth...

and now only those who loved her

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 live and love

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 can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

to consider what's true and real,

and always try to understand

the way other people feel.

And 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 spend your dash?

Linda Ellis, 1996

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15. Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rage at the close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas, 1914-1953

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16. Sweetest Love, I do not go

Sweetest love, I do not go,

For weariness of thee,

Nor in hope the world can show

A fitter love for me;

But since that I

Must die at last, 'tis best

To use myself in jest

Thus by feign'd deaths to die.

Yesternight the sun went hence,

And yet is here today;

He hath no desire nor sense,

Nor half so short a way:

Then fear not me,

But believe that I shall make

Speedier journeys, since I take

More wings and spurs than he.

O how feeble is man's power,

That if good fortune fall,

Cannot add another hour,

Nor a lost hour recall!

But come bad chance,

And we join to'it our strength,

And we teach it art and length,

Itself o'er us to'advance.

When thou sigh'st, thou sigh'st not wind,

But sigh'st my soul away;

When thou weep'st, unkindly kind,

My life's blood doth decay.

It cannot be

That thou lov'st me, as thou say'st,

If in thine my life thou waste,

That art the best of me.

Let not thy divining heart

Forethink me any ill;

Destiny may take thy part,

And may thy fears fulfil;

But think that we

Are but turn'd aside to sleep;

They who one another keep

Alive, ne'er parted be.

John Donne, 1572-1631

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17.  Sonnet 87

Farewell, thou art too dear for my possessing,

And like enough thou know'st thy estimate.

The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing;

My bonds in thee are all determinate.

For how do I hold thee but by thy granting,

And for that riches where is my deserving?

The cause of this fair gift in me is wanting,

And so my patent back again is swerving.

Thyself thou gav'st, thy own worth then not knowing,

Or me, to whom thou gav'st it, else mistaking;

So thy great gift, upon misprision growing,

Comes home again, on better judgment making.

Thus have I had thee as a dream doth flatter:

In sleep a king, but waking no such matter.

William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

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18. Footprints

One night I dreamed a dream.

I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

one belonging to me and one to my Lord.

When the last scene of my life shot before me

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

There was only one set of footprints.

I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life.

This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.

"Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You,

You would walk and talk with me all the way.

But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life

there is only one set of footprints.

I just don't understand why,

when I need You most, You leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you

and will never leave you, never, ever,

during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

Margaret Fishback Powers, 1964

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19. Gone only from our Sight

I am standing upon the seashore.

A ship at my side

spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and

starts for the blue ocean.

She is an object of beauty

and strength.

I stand and watch her until at length

she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where

the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says:

"There, she is gone!

"Gone where?"

Gone from my sight.

That is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar

as she was when she left my side and she is

just as able to bear her load of living freight to

her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me,

not in her. And just at the moment when

someone at my side says:

"There, she is gone!"

there are other eyes watching her coming, and

other voices ready to take up the glad shout:

"Here she comes!"

And that is dying.

Henry van Dyke

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20. The Ship of Life

Along the shore I spy a ship

As she sets out to sea;

She spreads her sails and sniffs the breeze

And slips away from me. 

I watch her fading image shrink,

As she moves on and on,

Until at last she’s but a speck,

Then someone says, “She’s gone.” 

Gone where? Gone only from our sight

And from our farewell cries;

That ship will somewhere reappear

To other eager eyes. 

Beyond the dim horizon’s rim

Resound the welcome drums,

And while we’re crying, “There she goes!

”They’re shouting, “Here she comes!”

John T. Baker

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21. Death is only an Horizon

We give them back to you, O Lord,

Who first gave them to us;

And as you did not lose them in the giving,

So we do not lose them in the return.

Not as the world gives do you give,

O lover of souls.

For what is yours is ours also,

If we belong to you.

Life is unending because love is undying,

And the boundaries of this life are but an horizon,

And an horizon is but the limit of our vision.

Lift us up, strong Son of God,

That we may see further.

Strengthen our faith that we may see beyond the horizon.

And while you prepare a place for us,

As you have promised,

Prepare us also for that happy place;

That where you are, we may be also,

With those we have loved, for ever.

Bede Jarrett

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22. Before I Sleep

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there's some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost, 1874-1963

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23. The Road not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, 

And sorry I could not travel both 

And be one traveler, long I stood 

And looked down one as far as I could 

To where it bent in the undergrowth;         

Then took the other, as just as fair, 

And having perhaps the better claim, 

Because it was grassy and wanted wear; 

Though as for that the passing there 

Had worn them really about the same,       

And both that morning equally lay 

In leaves no step had trodden black. 

Oh, I kept the first for another day! 

Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 

I doubted if I should ever come back.        

I shall be telling this with a sigh 

Somewhere ages and ages hence: 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— 

I took the one less traveled by, 

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost, 1874-1963

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24. Dying in order to live more fully

I believe in death.

I believe that it is part of life.

I believe that we are born to die,

To die that we may live more fully;

Born to die a little each day

To selfishness

To pretence,

And to sin.

I believe that every time we pass

From one stage of life to another,

Something in us dies

And something new is born.

I believe we taste death

In moments of loneliness, rejection,

Sorrow, disappointment, and failure.

I believe that we are dying before our time

When we live in bitterness,

In hatred,

And in isolation.

I believe that each day

We are creating our own death

By the way we live.

For those with faith,

Death is not extinguishing the light;

It is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.

[anon]

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25. The Road Ahead

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself.

The fact that I think

I am following your will

Does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you

Does in fact please you,

And I hope I have that desire

In all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do

Anything apart from that desire.

I know that if I do this

You will lead me by the right road,

Though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always,

Though I may seem to be lost

And in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me.

You will never leave me

To face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton

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26. When a Good Person Dies

Night is coming on.

The last birds fly hurriedly to their nests.

Slowly but surely darkness takes possession of the world.

However, no sooner has darkness fallen,

Than the lights begin to come on –

Below us, around us, above us,

Near us and far away from us –

A candle in a window, a lamp in a cellar,

A beacon in a lighthouse, a star in the sky.

And so we take heart and find our way again.

When a good person dies darkness descends on us.

We feel lost, bereft, forlorn.

But gradually the lights begin to come on

As we recall the good deeds done by the deceased.

They spring up all over the place.

We are amazed at how much light is generated.

In this strange and beautiful light

We not only find our way

But find the meaning of life itself.

[anon]

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27. Light a Candle

Light a candle for those we mourn.

Into a new life they will be born.

Do not look for them at the gravesite.

They are somewhere else radiating their beautiful light.

They have gone to a new world where there is no darkness, no pain.

Their light and essence will always remain.

Light a candle for those who have left this mortal place.

They are free to travel through time and space.

When we think of them, they are near.

When we sit in a beautiful garden. Their voices we hear.

When we listen to a divine symphony,

We close our eyes, their faces we see.

Light a candle for they have not really gone.

With each flickering flame, in your hearts they will always belong.

A. Pell, 2005

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28. The Broken Chain

We little knew that morning that God was going to all your name,

In life we loved you dearly, in death we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you, you did not go alone,

For part of us went with you, the day God called you home.

You left us peaceful memories, your love is still our guide,

And though we cannot see you, you are always at our side.

Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same,

But as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.

[unknown]

29. To Those I Love

When I am gone, release me, let me go.

I have so many things to see and do.

You mustn't tie yourself to me with tears,

Be thankful for our beautiful years.

I gave to you my love. You can only guess

how much you gave to me in happiness.

I thank you for the love you have shown,

But now it's time I traveled on alone.

So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must,

Then let your grief be comforted by trust.

It's only for a time that we must part

So bless the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away, for life goes on

So if you need me, call, and I will come.

Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near

And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear

All my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way alone,

I'll greet you with a smile, and say:

" Welcome Home," Welcome Home"!

[anon]

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30. Wish me Luck

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye

Cheerio – here I go – on my way

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye

Not a tear – but a cheer – make it gay

Give me a smile I can keep for awhile

In my heart while I'm away

Till we meet once again – you and I

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye.

Vera Lynn 1917- 

31. Untitled

Do not waste time regretting the things you cannot mend

Anticipate good fortune at every twist and bend

Keep going, never doubting the outcomes of your dreams

Have faith in their fulfillment, though dark the future seems

Believe that somewhere, somehow, God's purpose will unfold

And the grey horizons be turned to blue and gold

Give thanks for every blessing, your job, your home, your friends

Don’t take things for granted

A grateful spirit lends a glory and a meaning to pathways ahead

Expect a bright tomorrow and turn towards the sun.

[anon]

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32. 'Death' from 'The Prophet'

Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."

And he said:

You would know the secret of death.

But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;

And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.

Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honor.

Is the sheered not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?

Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Khalil Gibran, 1883-1931

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33. The Garden

God looked around his garden

And He found an empty place.

And then He looked down upon the earth,

And saw your tired face.

He put His arms around you,

And lifted you to rest.

God's garden must be beautiful,

He always takes the best.

He knew that you were suffering,

He knew you were in pain,

He knew that you would never

Get well on earth again.

He saw the road was getting rough,

And the hills were hard to climb,

So He closed your weary eyelids,

And whispered "Peace be thine."

It broke our hearts to lose you.

But you didn't go alone,

For part of us went with you,

The day God called you home.

[anon]

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34. Asleep

As far from pity as complaint,

As cool to speech as stone,

As numb to revelation

As if my trade were bone.

As far from time as history,

As near yourself to-day

As children to the rainbow's scarf,

Or sunset's yellow play

To eyelids in the sepulchre.

How still the dancer lies,

While color's revelations break,

And blaze the butterflies!

Emily Dickinson, 1830–1886

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35. I'm Free

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free

I'm following the path God has laid you see.

I took His hand when I heard him call

I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day

To laugh, to love, to work, to play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way

I found that peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void

Then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss

Oh yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow

I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full, I savoured much

Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief

Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.

Lift up your hearts, and peace to thee

God wanted me now; He set me free.

[anon]

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36. From 'The Tempest'

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,

As I foretold you, were all spirits, and

Are melted into air, into thin air;

And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,

The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,

The solemn temples, the great globe itself,

Yes, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,

And, like the insubstantial pageant faded,

Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff

As dreams are made of; and our little life

Is rounded with a sleep.

William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

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37. From 'The Book of the Dead'

As each day ends may I have lived,

That I may truly say:

I did no harm to human kind,

From truth I did not stray;

I did no wrong with knowing mind,

From evil I did keep;

I turned no hungry person away,

I caused no one to weep.

Ancient Egypt (ca. 4500 BC)

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38. 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 tears in a gloom filled room

Why cry for a soul set free

Miss me a little but not too long

And not with your head bowed low

Remember the love that once we shared

Miss me – but let me go.

For this is a journey we all must take

And for each must go alone

It's all a part of a bigger plan

A step on the road to home 

And when you are lonely and sick of heart

Go to the friends we know

And bury your tears in their loving arms

Miss me – but let me go.

[unknown]

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39. From 'Hamlet'

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;

No more; and, by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause. There’s the respect

That makes calamity of so long life;

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,

The pangs of dispriz’d love, the law’s delay,

The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of the unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscover’d country from whose bourn

No traveller returns, puzzles the will,

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all .

William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

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40. 'Little Gidding' from 'The Four Quartets'

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

Through the unknown, unremembered gate

When the last of earth left to discover

Is that which was the beginning;

At the source of the longest river

The voice of the hidden waterfall

And the children in the apple-tree

Not known, because not looked for

But heard, half-heard, in the stillness

Between two waves of the sea.

Quick now, here, now, always

A condition of complete simplicity

(Costing not less than everything)

And all shall be well and

All manner of thing shall be well

When the tongues of flame are in-folded

Into the crowned knot of fire

And the fire and the rose are one.

T. S. Eliot  1888-1965

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41. The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls

The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;

Along the sea-sands damp and brown

The traveler hastens toward the town,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;

The little waves, with their soft, white hands

Efface the footprints in the sands,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls

Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;

The day returns, but nevermore

Returns the traveler to the shore.

And the tide rises, the tide falls

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  1807-1882

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42. Remember Me

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 Georgina Rossetti 1830–94

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43. Fruits of Solitude

They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it.

Death cannot kill what never dies.

Nor can spirits ever be divided that love and live in the same

divine principle: the root and record of their friendship.

If absence be not death, neither is theirs.

Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the sea;

...they live for one another still.

This is the comfort of friends: that though they may be said to die,

yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense immortal,

because they are everpresent."

William Penn

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