To Those Whom I Love And Those Who Love Me

When I am gone, release me, let me go
I have so many things to see and do
You must not tie yourself to me with tears
Be happy that I have had so many years

I gave you my love, you can only guess
How much you gave me in happiness
I thank you for the love each have shown
But now it is time I traveled on alone

So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust
It is only for a while that we must part
So bless the memories in your heart

I will not be far away, for life goes on
So if you need me, call and I will come

Though you cannot see or touch me, I will be near
And if you listen with your heart, you will hear
All of my love around you soft and clear

Then, when you must come this way alone
I will greet you with a smile and a Welcome Home

Mary Alice Ramish

THIS LIFE MATTERED

This life mattered.Ready or not,someday it all comes to an end.

There are no more sunrises,no more minutes,hours or days.

All the things collected,treasured or forgotten,pass to someone else.

Wealth,fame and temporal power shrivel to irrelevance.

It matters not what was owned or owed.

Grudges,resentments,frustrations,and jealousies finally disappear.

Hopes,ambitions,plans,and to-do lists expire.

Wins and losses that once seemed so important fade away.

It no longer matters where you came from,or on what side of the tracks you lived.

No matter whether you were beautiful,or brilliant.

Gender and skin colour are irrelevant.

So what matters? How is the value of our days measured?

What matters is not what we bought,but what we built;

Not what we got,but what we gave.

What matters is not our success,but our significance.

What matters is not what we learnt,but what we taught.

What matters is every act of integrity,compassion,courage or sacrifice

that enriched,empowered or encouraged others to emulate our example.

What matters is not our competence,but our character.

What matters is not how many people we know,

But how many people will feel a lasting loss when we are gone.

What matters is not our memories,

But the memories that live in those who loved us.

What matters is how long we will be remembered,by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.

Its not a matter of circumstance,but a matter of choice.

Yes my friends.This life that we remember mattered.

Excerpt from

“FUNERAL BLUES”

4 Weddings & A Funeral

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

 W.H. Auden

A ray of light, a shining star,
That is truly what you are.
Flying way up in the sky,
Free as a bird you soar so high.
No more sadness, no more pain,
Time for sunshine, no more rain.
Be peaceful and happy my boss, my friend,
Not all good things must come to an end…

Many thanks to Natalie Neri for writing this poem.

Graham read the following poem at Simon Memorial full Eulogy

Not how did he die, but how did he live?
Not what did he gain, but what did he give?
These are the units to measure the worth
Of a man as a man, regardless of birth.
Not, what was his church, nor what was his creed?
But had he befriended those really in need?
Was he ever ready, with word of good cheer,
To bring back a smile, to banish a tear?
Not what did the sketch in the newspaper say,
But how many were sorry when he passed away.

The following are not poems but have nowhere else for them at the moment

I just can’t believe you’re gone
Still waiting for morning to come
Wanna see if the sun will rise even without you by my side
When we have so much in store tell me what it is I’m reaching for
When we’re through building memories I’ll hold yesterday in my heart
In my heart

Chorus
They can take tomorrow and the plans we made
They can take the music that we’ll never play
All the broken dreams take everything
Just take it away
But they can never have yesterday
They can take the future that we’ll never know
They can take the places that we said we would go
All the broken dreams take everything
Just take it away
But they can never have yesterday
You always used to say I should be thankful for every day
Heaven knows what the future holds or at least how the story goes
(But I never believed them till now)
I know I’ll see you again I’m sure no it’s not selfish to ask for more
One more night one more day
One more smile on your face but they can’t take yesterday

Chorus

I thought our days would last forever
(But it wasn’t our destiny)
‘Cause in my mind we had so much time
But I was so wrong
Now I can believe that I can still find the strength in the moments we made
I’m looking back on yesterday

Chorus

All the broken dreams take everything
But they can never have yesterday

A card  from Ben Shillingfords mum had the following text in it
One night a man had a dream.  He was walking along the beach with the Lord and across the sky flashed scenes from his life. In each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one made by him and the other by the lord.  When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the worst times of his life.  This bothered him very much, so he asked the Lord about it.  “Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way.  But I’ve noticed that during times of trouble, there is only one set of footprints.  I don’t understand why you left me when I needed you the most”  The Lord answered, “My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.  During your times of trial, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then when I carried you”

Simon sent a Christmas card to his mother with the following text inside

To mother a belated birthday card

with love from

Simon, Katy and Zac

Life is full of tests, lessons, happiness and sadness and only when we can see, that every day there is something to smile about and enjoy the life you breathe that it be understood, this is it, embrace it.

Thank you

Simon