Poems and Prays for Burial at Sea
It is common a burial at sea ceremonies to have a poem read before the cremains are placed in the ocean. Something this is done by clergy but more commonly it is done by the captain or even a member of the family.
We several poems that you may select from or you may supply one of your own choosing.
Crossing the Bar
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 or farewell, When I embark;
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far,
Hope to see my Pilot face to face – When I have crossed the bar.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
When I am gone, release me – let me go
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 we had so many years
I gave you 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 alone
So grieve awhile 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 those memories within 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 “Welcome Home”
Anonymous
We therefore commit his body to the deep
We therefore commit his body to the deep,
to be turned into corruption,
looking for the resurrection of the body
(when the sea shall give up her dead),
and the life of the world to come,
through our Lord Jesus Christ;
who at his coming shall change our vile body,
that it may be like his glorious body,
according to the mighty working
whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself.
Common Prayer Book
Text of the Traditional Anglican Burial at Sea Service
Do not stand at my grave and weep
Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.
Mary Elizabeth Frye
Poem Written in 1932
Death is nothing at all
Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room,
I am I and you are you, whatever we were to each other that we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name; speak to 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 we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, and pray for me.
Let my name be forever the same as it always was,
let it be spoken without an effort,
without the ghost of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it always was;
there is absolutely unbroken continuity.
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near, just around the corner.
··· All is well.
Canon Scott Holland
Alone I will not be
Alone I will not be
my comfort will come from the sea.
The stillness of clam waves will gently drift by
I will be as one with the sea.
When the sun sets on the ocean blue,
remember me as I will always remember you.
As the sun rises…go live life as full as can be
Apart…you and me…but a peace for I am free.
Be Comforted
My life is ended here at peace with the sea.
The Lord has called me home and I am free
to go peacefully.
Don’t mourn my passing as I am now in the presence of the Glory of God,
His bright love is abundant and his promises are real.
I will wait here for you dear ones in Jesus’ arms and watch over you with him until you also come home.
Be comforted loved ones.
“I shall go the way of the open sea, To the Lands before you came, And the cool ocean breezes shall blow from me, The memory of your name.”
A Parable of Immortality
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud
Just where the sea and the sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone says, “There she goes!”
Gone where?
Gone from my sight, that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side
And just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There she goes”
There are other eyes watching her coming
And their voices ready to take up the glad shouts,
“Here she comes!”
By Henry Van Dyke