Expressing love for a deceased mother at her funeral is a special opportunity. Poetry readings are one of many ways to pay tribute to your mom while giving her the send-off she deserves.
Our team has selected the following verses about losing a mother that would be perfect for reading at her funeral service:
Funeral Poem Resources
Funeral Poems for Dad
Funeral Poems for Mom
Short Funeral Poems
Uplifting Funeral Poems
Hope in Grief Poetry
1. If Roses Grow In Heaven
If roses grow in Heaven, Lord,
Please pick a bunch for me.
Place them in my Mother’s arms
And tell her they’re from me.
Tell her that I love and miss her,
And when she turns to smile,
Place a kiss upon her cheek,
And hold her for a while.
Because remembering her is easy,
I do it everyday,
But there’s an ache within my heart
That will never go away.Author: Dolores M. Garcia
Note: We chose this poem because it expresses the deep love and longing that a child feels for their mother after she has passed away. The poem is simple and easy to understand, but it is also powerful and moving. The poem is personal and heartfelt.
2. What is a Mom?
A mom is one of life’s best gifts,
Someone to treasure all life through,
She’s caring and loving,
Thoughtful and true,
Someone who is always a special part of your life,
Someone who holds a prime place in your heart,
She’s a mentor, a confident and also a friend,
Someone on whose love you can depend.
A mom always has your best interests at heart,
She’s someone so dear and so good,
She’s a blessing, she’s a gift,
She’s a treasure like no other,
She’s someone that is truly wonderful.
Wherever you go, and whatever you do,
A mom’s love will always see you through,
A mom is truly invaluable,
Indispensable and unforgettable.
I wouldn’t want anyone but you,
And that’s why I’m so grateful,
that life picked you for me.
Author – Unknown
Note: This poem is a touching tribute to the mother who is gone, and the child who cherishes her memory with love and grief.
3. Wonderful Mother
God made a wonderful mother,
A mother who never grows old;
He made her smile of the sunshine,
And He moulded her heart of pure gold;
In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,
In her cheeks fair roses you see;
God made a wonderful mother,
And He gave that dear mother to me.Author – Pat O’Reilly
Note: The tone of this poem is perfect for a funeral reading because it is both beautiful and comforting. It speaks of the love and admiration that the speaker has for their mother, and it also offers hope and comfort in the face of death.
4. A Mother’s Love
A many splendored miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God’s tender guiding hand.Author – Helen Steiner Rice
Note: A short poem that symbolizes a mother’s love is beyond human comprehension.
5. A Mothers Touch
There’s magic in a mother’s touch,
and sunshine in her smile.There’s love in everything she does
to make our lives worthwhile.We can find both hope and courage,
just by looking in her eyes.Her laughter is a source of joy,
Her works are warm and wise.There is kindness and compassion
To be found in her embrace,And we see the light of heaven
shinning from a mother’s face.Note: This poem expresses personal emotions and feelings of loss, sorrow, and hope. It could be sung and accompanied by musical instrumentation to create a more emotional and moving experience.
6. In Remembrance
You gave me life
To live as I please,
You gave me love and
Support to follow my dreams.Your beauty lives
Forever deep in my soul,
The memory of your love
Fills my heart
And I am never alone.Author – Christine Currah
Note: The Funeral Poem “You Gave Me Life” is a captivating and moving tribute to a mother. The poem expresses the speaker’s gratitude for the love and support that their mother has given them throughout their life.
7. Tribute to Mom
You can only have one mother Patient, kind and true –
No other friend in all the world will be the same to you.When other friends forsake you to mother you will turn –
For all her loving kindness, she asks nothing in return.As I look upon her picture, sweet memories I recall –
Of a face so full of sunshine and a smile for one and all.Sweet Jesus, take this message to my dear mother up above –
Tell her how I miss her and give her all my love.Note: I heard this Irish funeral prayer in church, and the beautiful expression of “Sweet Jesus, take this message to my dear mother up above” moved everyone in the congregation.
8. We Had A Lovely Mother
We had a wonderful mother
One who never really grew old
Her smile was made of sunshine
And her heart was solid gold
Her eyes were as bright as shining stars
And in her cheeks fair roses you see
We had a wonderful mother
And thats the way it will always be
9. She Is Gone
You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she has livedYou can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has leftYour heart can be empty because you can’t see her
Or you can be full of the love that you sharedYou can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterdayYou can remember her and only that she is gone
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live onYou can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.Author – David Harkins
10. If Roses Grow In Heaven
If Roses grow in Heaven
Lord, please pick a bunch for me.
Place them in my Mother’s arms
and tell her they’re from me.Tell her that I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for awhile.Because remembering her is easy,
I do it every day,
but there’s an ache within my heart
that will never go away.Author: Unknown
11. Rain And Roses
I will lay roses on your grave, mother,
Every day the whole year through,
And pray with every rain that falls
That some drops are reaching you.I will pray the rain that soaks your grave,
Will soak my roses too;
That in the spring, when life begins,
So, our roses, too, will bloom.
12. Following Me
When I was just a little tot, I followed after you.
I asked to help by saying, “Me do, me do, me do.”I suppose I was a nuisance, a problem in many ways,
But I hung around and learnt from you
Like most little girls would do.For years, you showed me love and care
And taught me right from wrong,
But now the years have passed us by,
And the little girl years are gone.Now it’s my turn, Mom,
To give you love and care,
To do for you what you did for me
When I followed you everywhere.I’ll comb your hair,
I’ll help you dress,
And I’ll even tie your shoes.I’ll paint your nails,
I’ll help you eat, and I’ll tell you a story or two.I’ll sing to see you happy, I’ll give you lots of hugs,
I’ll take your hand to keep you safe,
And I’ll tell you how much you’re loved,
And when you follow after me and become
A nuisance in many ways,
I’ll give you lots of love and care,
As you did in my little girl days.They say that mom and child trade places,
And that may very well be,
But as long as God allows me to live,
I’ll take care of thee.Author – Jac Judy A. Campbell
13. Rose Garden
If I grew a rose garden,
It would have bush for Mom
Of the whitest roses I could find,
The whitest, purest, most perfect roses in the world.
But in the center, I would grow,
A single red rose,
The pulsing, living heart of the garden.
The white roses I would pluck, occasionally,
To leave on her grave,
But the red rose would stay protected,
Guarded by loving thorns,
A heart living on.
14. Away
I cannot say and I will not say
That she is dead, she is just away.
With a cheery smile and a wave of hand
She has wandered into an unknown land;
And left us dreaming how very fair
Its needs must be, since she lingers there.
And you-oh you, who the wildest yearn
From the old-time step and the glad return-
Think of her faring on, as dear
In the love of there, as the love of here
Think of her still the same way, I say;
She is not dead, she is just away.
15. A Poem for Mother
Mother, you were just a girl,
So many years ago.
You had your loves and had your dreams,
You watched us come and go.You watched us make the same mistakes,
That you had made before,
But that just made you hold us tight,
And love us all the more.We haven’t always thought about
The things that you have seen.
To us you’ve just been ‘Mother’,
No thought of who you’ve been.But we remember now in love,
Your life from start to end,
And we’re just glad we knew you,
As Mother, and as Friend.
16. One Less Stocking on the Wall
Mom loved Christmas almost as much as she loved her kids,
So, every December, without fail, this is what she did:
She hung our stockings on the wall, each one in a line,
And every Christmas morning, filled them with something divine.
Whether that be chocolate, toys, or just a mother’s love,
I know this Christmas those bright mornings are what we will be dreaming of.
This year Christmas will be different, and will somehow just feel small,
Because of an empty armchair, and one less stocking on the wall.
17. My Mother Kept A Garden
My Mother kept a garden.
A garden of the heart;
She planted all the good things,
That gave my life it’s start.She turned me to the sunshine,
And encouraged me to dream:
Fostering and nurturing
The seeds of self-esteem.And when the winds and rains came,
She protected me enough;
But not too much, she knew I’d need
To stand up strong and tough.Her constant good example,
Always taught me right from wrong;
Markers for my pathway
To last my whole life long.I am my Mother’s garden,
I am her legacy.
And I hope today she feels the love,
Reflected back from me.
18. Richer Than Gold
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.Richer than I, you can never be –
I had a mother who read to me.
19. We Had a Wonderful Mother
We had a wonderful mother,
One who never really grew old;
Her smile was made of sunshine,
And her heart was solid gold;
Her eyes were as bright as shining stars,
And in her cheeks fair roses you see.We had a wonderful mother,
And that’s the way it will always be.
But take heed, because
She’s still keeping an eye on all of us,
So let’s make sure
She will like what she sees.
20. Lilacs
Lilacs bloom in the springtime,
And for a few weeks, they are everywhere.
You cannot turn a corner without being overwhelmed
With the smell of the vibrant lilacs
Like the heavy mist before a rain.My grief is like the lilacs.
It grows, and blooms, and overwhelms,
Then fades into the distance,
Until I turn the next corner,
The corner where Mom and I used to jump over cracks
And pick up worms that had squiggled out in the rain,
And I am overwhelmed again
With the smell of lilacs and love.
21. Child and Mother
O mother-my-love, if you’ll give me your hand,
And go where I ask you to wander,
I will lead you away to a beautiful land,–
The Dreamland that’s waiting out yonder.
We’ll walk in a sweet posie-garden out there,
Where moonlight and starlight are streaming,
And the flowers and the birds are filling the air
With the fragrance and music of dreaming.There’ll be no little tired-out boy to undress,
No questions or cares to perplex you,
There’ll be no little bruises or bumps to caress,
Nor patching of stockings to vex you;
For I’ll rock you away on a silver-dew stream
And sing you asleep when you’re weary,
And no one shall know of our beautiful dream
But you and your own little dearie.And when I am tired I’ll nestle my head
In the bosom that’s soothed me so often,
And the wide-awake stars shall sing, in my stead,
A song which our dreaming shall soften.
So, Mother-my-Love, let me take your dear hand,
And away through the starlight we’ll wander,–
Away through the mist to the beautiful land,–
The Dreamland that’s waiting out yonder.Author – Eugene Field
22. Lost and Found
When I was young and lost my mittens,
It was you who brought them back.
And when I almost lost my mind,
You always kept me on the track.But now I have lost another,
That I will never find again.
I have lost you, loving mother,
Who was my oldest, dearest friend.
23. Wilting Flowers
When all of this is over, and the flowers have started to fade,
When the condolence cards are in the trash and we have gone back to our regular days,
There will still be moments of sorrow, when the grief and the memories feel fresh,
Where we think of Mom as she would want us to do, in the days when she was her best.When we were young, and the world full of sunshine,
When she was young, and her heart full of pride,
We will compost the flowers and throw out the cards, but she will always live on, inside.
24. Goodbye Mom
Seeing you draped in white
My heart breaks, hope out of sight.Mom you left too soon
I hadn’t loved you enough.
Our relationship was never ideal
Our journey very tough.
My love for you hasn’t died
So I will not entomb its heart.
I’ll let it manifest in things
Let this be a new start.As you leave today
Let me cry, let me say
My mom was my hero.
Leading me to right
Forgiving and loving
A star so bright.
So I lose today
My support, my light.
My dear Mom.
Making my life bright.Losing my mom, I lost myself today
In darkness so deep
I try to find light, just a ray
Just enough to hold on
Hold on to life.The final goodbye said
They bury her – before my eyes.
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