But Not Forgotten

A bereavement poem by American poet and critic Dorothy Parker. A short funeral verse about remembering a loved one.

I think, no matter where you stray,
That I shall go with you a way.
Though you may wander sweeter lands,
You will not soon forget my hands,
Nor yet the way I held my head,
Nor all the tremulous things I said.
You still will see me, small and white
And smiling, in the secret night,
And feel my arms about you when
The day comes fluttering back again.
I think, no matter where you be,
You’ll hold me in your memory
And keep my image, there without me,
By telling later loves about me.

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After the service

Ways to keep them close

Words like these often stay with us long after the funeral. Some families also find comfort in a keepsake at home: an urn, a cuddle stone to hold, or jewellery with a little of their ashes inside.

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