My uncle was such an important part of my life. Losing him was harder than I first expected.
An uncle isn’t your father or grandfather so the bond can appear to be less special or deep. But for many of us that isn’t the case.
If you’re here looking for the right words to read at your uncle’s funeral I think you probably understand that.
Finding a funeral poem that fits an uncle can be hard because so many of them are written for parents.
So I’ve got these poems I’d read myself. Some of these I wrote for this site so you can use them freely and some are older public domain pieces that have comforted people for over a hundred years. There’s a few modern ones too. Take whatever fits the man you’re grieving and leave the rest.
Funeral Poems for an Uncle
These are original poems for an uncle. You’re welcome to read any of them at the service, print them in the order of service or use them in a eulogy. No need to credit anyone.
He wasn’t quite a father,
yet more than just a name,
the one who made us laugh out loud
when no one else quite came.
He showed up in the small ways,
a hand, a joke, a ride,
the kind of steady, easy love
you only feel inside.
So if you’re looking for him now,
don’t only look above,
he’s in the stories that we tell,
he’s in the way we loved.
By Sympathy Message Ideas
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Some men leave money,
some men leave land,
my uncle left fingerprints
on every hand.
He left us his laughter,
his patience, his way
of making a hard week
feel lighter by Saturday.
We don’t measure his life
in the years that he had,
but in all that he gave us,
and oh, we are glad.
By Sympathy Message Ideas
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You called me by my middle name,
the one nobody used,
and somehow in that small, daft thing
I always felt amused.
You were the one I’d call when life
got tangled up and hard,
the voice that never lectured me
and never kept its guard.
I’d give a lot for one more call,
one more of your bad jokes,
but I’ll carry you inside me now,
the best of all our folks.
By Sympathy Message Ideas
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A chair that no one fills the same,
a name we still call out,
a thousand little memories
we couldn’t live without.
He leaves us braver than we were,
and softer, somehow, too,
because a man who loved like that
shows you what love can do.
By Sympathy Message Ideas
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Short Funeral Poems for an Uncle
If you want something shorter maybe to use in a memorial card, the back of an order of service, a graveside reading etc. then these shorter verses will work.
Not gone, just quiet,
not lost, just still,
my uncle lives on
in laughter, and will.
By Sympathy Message Ideas
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For every ride, for every laugh,
for showing up the whole way through,
there aren’t enough goodbyes on earth
to say how much we thank you.
By Sympathy Message Ideas
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Go gently, Uncle,
rest your head,
we’ll hold your stories
where you led.
By Sympathy Message Ideas
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Classic and Public Domain Poems That Suit an Uncle
A lot of the most loved funeral readings are old enough to be public domain which means you can print and read them freely. None of these were written for an uncle specifically but they all will suit the kind of man so many uncles were.
Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that 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 an effort.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
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.
By Henry Scott Holland
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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.
By Christina Rossetti
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Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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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 too long,
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that we once shared.
Miss me, but let me go.
For this is a 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 of heart,
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.
Miss me, but let me go.
Traditional
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The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
King James Bible
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Modern Poems to Look Up
A few of the most requested funeral poems are still under copyright so I don’t want to reprint them here but they’re easy to find in full. If one of these speaks to you then search the title and read the whole thing before you decide.
- “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” by Mary Elizabeth Frye — about the wind, the snow and the stars, reassuring the living that the person isn’t really gone. It’s probably the most read funeral poem and works really well for an uncle who loved the outdoors.
- “He Is Gone” by David Harkins — sometimes printed as “She Is Gone.” It gives you a choice between grieving that he’s gone and being grateful that he lived.
- “Afterglow” by Helen Lowrie Marshall — a short poem asking to be remembered with a smile and a happy memory rather than tears.
- “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas — a more defiant reading rather than something soft. A good fit for an uncle who was stubborn or who fought hard at the end.
How to Choose a Funeral Poem for Your Uncle
If you’re having trouble deciding between some of these then try thinking about your uncle and the type of man he was rather than the poem.
You can make a list of questions to ask:
- What was he like? A quiet uncle suits something calm like “Remember.” A loud, funny one suits “Miss Me But Let Me Go” or “Afterglow.”
- Was he religious? If faith mattered to him then Psalm 23 or another piece of scripture will resonate with the people who knew him. If it didn’t then a non religious poem is more fitting.
- Who’s reading it? Pick something you know you’ll be able to get through. Shorter is a good option if you think your voice won’t make it.
- Where will it sit in the service? A gentler poem works early on. Something hopeful or even a little funny is a good way to close.
Reading a Poem at the Funeral
Reading aloud when you’re grieving is hard. But there are a few things that can help.
Print the poem in a large font on a single sheet so you’re not trying to read it off for your phone or a tiny order of service.
Read it through several times beforehand, out loud, so you get familiar with how it sounds and the words. Pause and breathe at the start. You aren’t in a rush.
And if you break down partway through, don’t worry about it. You can try taking a breath and composing yourself or if need be then ask someone to step in. People understand.
If you’d rather not read a poem at all then ask a relative or the celebrant to read on your behalf.
If you also need to speak about him our eulogy examples for an uncle can help you find the right words and our sympathy messages for the loss of an uncle are there if you’re the one writing to someone else who’s grieving him.
More Poems and Readings
If none of these feel quite right have a look at our collection of funeral poems and our sympathy poems for more options. Our poems about grief can also help in the weeks after when the funeral is over.
And if you’re choosing readings for more than one relative our funeral poems for dad are going to be worth looking at too.
