On Saying Goodbye

My grandad died earlier this month, and it’s been a really sad time for our family. But I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to say goodbye to him by sharing a poem at his funeral service. This is the poem I wrote. I hope that, if he heard the service at all, he liked it.

Bird Box Love 
for Grandad Ged 

You fixed a bird box to a shaky branch,
and welcomed all the sparrows there to nest.
You gave us baby birds a fighting chance;
your garden was the one we liked the best.

We sparrows sung your praises in our songs
because you loved us all, and love abounds.
This garden feels so empty, now you've gone;
a feather floating gently to the ground.

The sun has set on all your summer days,
but though your presence fades, we hold you dear.
For death is just a parting of the ways,
and grief is simply love that perseveres.

The garden feels so empty, now you're gone,
but we can still remember you in song.




Image via Unsplash.com 


Comments

  1. Janet2 July 2025 at 07:29

    Sorry to hear about your grandad.
    I'm a Catholic so most of the funerals I attend are traditional requiem masses. However, the poet immediately put me in mind of St Francis who reached a sermon to the birds; see -

    God.https://www.stjosephsbrackenridge.com/uploads/3/7/8/4/37843139/st_francis_preaching_to_the_birds.pdf

    Seamus Heaney also wrote a poem about St Francis; preaching.to be birds -
    https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2023/9/26/saint-francis-and-the-birds-by-seamus-heaney

    ReplyDelete

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