Saying goodbye to your husband is hard to put into words. He was your partner, the one who knew the everyday ordinary version of you that nobody else got to see. And now you’re being asked to stand up and somehow sum all of that up at his funeral.
This is where a poem can do lots of work for you. The right funeral poem says the things that you find hard to get out.
So I’ve got some of the most touching funeral poems for a husband, from classics that have comforted people for over a hundred years through to shorter verses you can use on a card or headstone. I’m sure one of them will feel like it was written for the two of you.
Touching Funeral Poems for a Husband
These are the longer poems. They work beautifully as a funeral reading or woven into a eulogy for your husband.
Death Is Nothing At All
By Henry Scott Holland
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.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
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Remember
By Christina Rossetti
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.
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Crossing the Bar
By Alfred Lord Tennyson
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 tho’ 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.
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Miss Me But Let Me Go
By Unknown
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 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.
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Feel No Guilt in Laughter
By Unknown
Feel no guilt in laughter, he’d know how much you care.
Feel no sorrow in a smile that he’s not here to share.
You cannot grieve forever; he would not want you to.
He’d hope that you could carry on the way you always do.
So talk about the good times and the way you showed you cared,
The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared.
Let memories surround you, a word someone may say
Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour, a day,
That brings him back as clearly as though he were still here,
And fills you with the feeling that he is always near.
Short Funeral Poems and Verses for a Husband
Sometimes you don’t need a whole reading. You just need a few lines for a memorial card, the order of service, the headstone etc. These shorter verses say a lot in very little.
Warm Summer Sun
By Mark Twain
Warm summer sun, shine kindly here;
Warm southern wind, blow softly here;
Green sod above, lie light, lie light —
Good night, dear heart, good night, good night.
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A few short original verses you’re welcome to use or adapt:
You were my husband, my best friend, my home.
Though you’ve gone on ahead, you are never far.
I carry you with me in everything I do.
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Forever my husband, forever my love,
watching over me now from heaven above.
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A devoted husband, a faithful friend,
loved in this life, and loved without end.
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He gave me a lifetime of love and of laughter.
I’ll hold it close, now and ever after.
For more like these, take a look at our short funeral verses for cards.
Religious Poems for a Husband
If your husband was religious then a blessing or a scripture based verse can bring real comfort to everyone in the room.
An Irish Blessing
Traditional
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
You’ll find more scripture options in our collection of comforting Bible verses, many of which read beautifully as a funeral reading.
A Few More Well Loved Poems Worth Looking Up
There are a few of poems that come up again and again at funerals for husbands. We don’t reproduce them here because they’re still under copyright but they’re easy to find and well worth reading in full:
- Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye
- She Is Gone (He Is Gone) by David Harkins, the one that begins “You can shed tears that he is gone”
- Footprints in the Sand, the well known faith poem about being carried
Any of these can be read aloud or printed in the program once you’ve found a copy through a licensed source.
How to Choose and Use a Poem at His Funeral
There isn’t really a way to choose the wrong poems. The right one is just the one that makes you think, yes, that’s him. A few tips though as you decide:
- Read it out loud first. A poem can look perfect on the page and then be difficult for you to say and read. Practice it so you know what you’re in for.
- Think about who’s reading. If you’re not sure you can get through it that’s completely fine (and understandable). Ask a friend or family member to read on your behalf.
- Match it to him, not to the occasion. If he had a dry sense of humor then a lighter poem like Feel No Guilt in Laughter might fit him far better than something solemn.
- Use it in more than one place. A poem can appear in the eulogy, on the order of service, inside thank you cards and later on the headstone. It becomes a thread that runs through everything.
When you’re ready for the next steps our guides on writing an obituary for a husband and a eulogy for a husband will help you through them.
Final Thoughts
A poem can give you the words on a day when your own won’t come and give everyone who loved him something to hold on to.
Don’t rush to choose one though. Pick the one that sounds like the two of you.
If you’re looking for more comfort right now our inspirational quotes for widows and our poems about grief may help you through the harder days ahead. And if someone you know has lost their husband, here’s what to say to them.
