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Poems for Funerals by Glenys Rowe Here at Finepoets.com, we like to think that we an supply the right words for every occsion whether it be writing obituaries, finding poems for funerals or rescuing beautiful writing from oblivion just for posterity. A recent project has been the recording of a CD called Peoms for Funerasl with readings by the Australian singer/songwriter Paul Kelly, and favourite Australian actors Noni Hazlehurst and Jack Thompson. There are more than thirty beautiful readings on the CD but one which we omitted and are now regretting omitting is this one by John Oxenham: “Adieu and Au Revoir” As you love me let there be No mourning when I go, - No tearful eyes No hopeless sighs, No woe, - nor even sadness! Indeed I would not have you sad For I myself shall be full glad With the high triumphant gladness Of a soul made free Of God’s sweet liberty- No windows darkened. For my own Will be flung wide as ne’er before, To catch the radiant inpour Of Love that shall in full atone For all the ills that I have done; and the good things left undone; No voices hushed My own full flushed With an immortal hope will rise In ecstasies of newborn bliss And joyful melodies. Rather of your sweet courtesy Rejoice with me At my soul’s loosing from captivity Wish me Bon Voyage As you do a friend Whose joyous visit finds its happy end, And bid me both ‘ a Dieu’ And au revoir Since though I come no more I shall be waiting there to greet you at His door. And as the feet of The Bearers tread the ways I trod Think not of me as dead But rather Happy, thrice happy, he whose course is sped He has gone home to God His Father. Choosing Poems for Funerals is necessarily delicate and we omitted this one because of its sentimentality in relation to God, and we felt that it would only work for a certain kind of traditional Christian whereas the motivation in putting together the CD and booklet called Poems for Funerals was actually to help non religious people organise moving and memorable funerals that do justice to the deceased persons and that are satisfying for mourners who may not be religious at all. A sense of the sacred is required and this can be difficult for people to deliver outside of the rituals of a church. Our secular society does not offer many buildings for example that offer a sense of the sacred, unless you are in a cathedral. We’ve gone out of our way to find such buildings, and to write some funeral service templates, that accompany the booklet along with the CD Poems for Funerals. Poems For Funerals Famous Australian Poetry Jack Thompson
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