Better late than never, they say,
and we know it to be true.
For it is better for a good man
to have been born and
lived long and passed
than never
have been at all.
And as we reflect
on a good man’s passing
(and passing us by)
we are grateful
that on his journey
he chose to pull over to the side of the road
and change our lives.
Author notes
I wrote this poem for a memorial service. Is saying "better late than never" in poor taste? By the time of the service, the man will have passed over a month ago, and he had been ill for a long time.
Is "better late than never" tasteless?
Comments
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Wonderful
It is always good when you can express your feelings even it in reflection. Thank you for sharing.
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Yes
I will not say it is tasteless in this situation, I would say that it is rather...inappropriate and could cause the family more...emotional distress than need be. I don't know unless they have a very good sense of humor, it would be best not to include a line such as that.
Perhaps something along the lines of: "A man with passion..." as funerals are a celebration of life, and not nessecarily a closing on it, but rather a note of finality that the person is gone from the world. It is a rather emotional and highly tense affair if around the wrong people.
Regardless, focus more on speaking about the man, and the effects of his time with his family. The last line was a good closing. Very appropriate and nice. Could use a bit of editing and tightening.
Good Luck. -
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You are absolutely right. With a fresh look after a few days, I can barely believe I even considered this. My family does not have nearly this good a sense of humor. Thanks for throwing some praise in there with your criticism. I will definitely try to find different words.
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yes
honestly and what do i think personally...?
yes i think it is a little tasteless and cliche...
this piece is 'nice' but not truly touching or heart warming.
i know nothing of this man or the situation but if you can make it touching to a complete stranger then you got it down.
i suggest adding details like instead telling me he is a good man or focusing on that he is dead and gone
but focus on personal happy memories or good things about the guy and write maybe about some good achievements of his past or just the life he lived, Make it personal.
this is very general it could be used for any guy.
and if u dont no the guy well it will be even harder
because you'll need, honesty, empathy, wisdom of living life, and true sincerity, to make it really believable which is needed even if you do really know him
so yup!
it needs some work. and please dont take my criticism as insults that is not my intention
^_^
-Kas K Bubbles -
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Thank you so much. I realize, on looking back at it, that this poem is inappropriate. I do not take your comments as an insult- I really respect that you told me your honest opinion. Thank you.
The man was my grandfather, but I didn't know him that well. Still, I will try to write a more personal poem. Thank you.
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