When you are planning a farewell service for someone very close, perhaps your father, who has died, you can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of amazingly beautiful and poignant funeral poems available on the web for funeral services and celebrations of life.
When I meet with a family to arrange a celebration of life or funeral service, I send my client a resumé email after our initial meeting and at the bottom of the email, I put an example order of service based on our chats and the choices the family have made or intend to make.
This usually means that I offer what I feel are suitable funeral poems for dad and perhaps some appropriate funeral music tracks and very often, my families decide to go with my suggestions which I always find such a compliment. Of course, many choose to go with their own favourites.
I also find it very common for people to wish to avoid some of the funeral poems written specifically for a dad and choose a more generalised funeral poem which could be assigned to anyone.
Here are a few examples of funeral poems which seem to relate well to the death of your father:-
Funeral Poems for Dad
Only a Dad by Edgar Guest
Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.
Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad but he gives his all
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim,
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.
Mirror – A Poem for Dad by J. Allen Shaw
Dad, I am often told I am just like you.
I am honoured beyond measure if that is true.
You were the best example of what a man should be.
I am overwhelmed that someone would say that of me.
I never told you enough, how proud I am to be called your son,
Now that you are gone, I want to tell everyone.
You gave me much more than a name,
Someday, I hope my son says the same.
Walk A Little Slower Daddy. Author unknown
“Walk a little slower, Daddy!” said a little child so small.
“I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast, sometimes they’re hard to see;
So walk a little slower Daddy, for you are leading me.
Someday when I’m all grown up, you’re what I want to be.
Then I will have a little child who’ll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy, for I must follow you!!”
However, as with the rest of the service, choosing a funeral poem for dad depends on what sort of feel you want for your service of celebration and farewell; some prefer poignant while others like amusing and uplifting poems. I am always happy to chat this through with you and generate some more ideas, once I have a feel for your vision.
