Short Urn Inscriptions
Inspiration for what to write on an urn can come from poems, lyrics, literature, or religion. It can be overwhelming to choose between so many options. Remember to follow your heart when selecting a meaningful goodbye quote and to consider how your loved one would like to be remembered. Below are a few short quotes and sayings for inspiration.
- Say not in grief ‘he is no more’ but live in thankfulness that he was. – Hebrew proverb
- There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love. – Washington Irving.
- As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. – Leonardo DaVinci
- Though lovers be lost, love shall not; And death shall have no dominion. – Dylan Thomas
- Tears water our growth. – William Shakespeare
- A death is not the extinguishing of a light, but the putting out of the lamp because the dawn has come. – Rabindranath Tagore
- Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends. – Richard Bach
- Memory nourishes the heart, and grief abates. – Marcel Proust
- To hold, you must first open your hand. Let go. – Lao Tzu
- Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be made strong, in fact. But the process is like all other human births, painful and long and dangerous. – Margery Allingham
- On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend’s life also, in our own, to the world. – Henry David Thoreau
- The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief – but the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love. – Hilary Stanton Zunin
Other urn engraving ideas include engravable artwork or commemorative short poems that can be featured on an urn or attached plaque. Engravings can be completed on a variety of materials, from metal urns to wooden urns. Poems are a powerful way to express emotions in few words. Here are some final goodbye poems that can be used to personalize a loved one’s urn.
Losing You
Our hearts still ache in sadness,
And secret tears still flow,
What it meant to lose you,
No one will ever know
Never Forget
Your presence we miss
Your memories we treasure
Loving you always
Forgetting you never
Butterflies to Heaven
If butterflies could fly to Heaven
they would bring my love to you
and yours right back to me
Forever in My Heart
Gone, yet not forgotten
Although we are apart
Your spirit lives within me
Forever in my heart
When Someone You Love
When someone you love
becomes a memory,
the memory becomes a treasure
No Farewell Words
No farewell words were spoken,
no time to say goodbye, you were
gone before we knew it,
and only God knows why
Those We Have Held
Those we have held
in our arms for a little while,
we hold in our hearts forever
Perhaps the Stars
Perhaps the stars in the sky,
are loved ones letting us know they are near,
by guiding us through the night
If Love Could Have Saved You
If love could have
saved you, you would
have lived forever
If Tears Could Build a Stairway
If tears could build a stairway
and memories a lane
I would walk right up to Heaven
and bring you home again
If you’ve been given the honor of writing an epithet or sentiment, we hope our guide has helped inspire your final words of farewell. A little creativity and a personal touch to your meaningful goodbye quote can make a plaque, urn, or gravestone even more special.
