Jigsaw funeral reading
Here’s the next in my series of funeral readings you might like to consider for your loved one’s funeral or memorial ceremony. Some are sad, some are uplifting, some are comforting; there’s something for everyone here.
Readings are absolutely not a compulsory part of a funeral or memorial ceremony. Sometimes family members or friends desperately want to speak at their loved one’s funeral, but they haven’t got the wherewithal to write something themselves. Readings are a perfect stand-in: your emotions and feelings right there on the page ready for you to contribute.
Remember readings can be adapted – if your favourite reading is written for him, you can change it to her! If it’s written for Mum, you can change it to Dad or Grandma or Grandpa, whatever fits for you. Take out lines that don’t fit your circumstances. I just make sure to introduce such a reading as an adaptation.
Jigsaw, by Gwyn Davies
Gwyn Davies is a fellow funeral celebrant in the UK who generously offers up his poetry for other celebrants to use.
Wouldn’t stay without you, couldn’t bear to be apart,
We shared so much together we shared a beating heart.
Lover, partner, best friend, the true light of my life,
So fortunate to find you, and have you as my wife [or be your loving wife]
We were a two piece jigsaw, a real perfect fit,
Whatever gave us trouble, we’d both face up to it.
A stronger bond, you’d never find, joined from head to toe,
Couldn’t be without you, couldn’t cope to see you go.
So our loved ones now will miss us, and tears passed, no doubt,
But I hope it gives them comfort now, for now I’m not without.
I’m back there with my lover, the one I did adore,
Two pieces back together, again a whole jigsaw.