Funeral reading
Woodland Burial
Pam Ayres
“Woodland Burial” by Pam Ayres is a poem read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about a minute and a half read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is still in copyright, so the words are not reprinted here — the reader brings a printed copy.
Why the words are not printed here
Still in copyright — it is in Surgically Enhanced (2006). Print it from that, and check the family have heard it: it is specific about the body going into the ground and feeding the wood, which is the point of it and not what everyone expects.
Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.
What it is about
Warmly wry rather than laugh-out-loud — say so, if the family asked for something funny.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: woodland burial · a natural or green burial · don’t lay me in some gloomy churchyard · a gardener · warmly wry rather than laugh-out-loud · returning to the earth.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Woodland Burial” take to read aloud?
“Woodland Burial” takes about a minute and a half read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Woodland Burial”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “Woodland Burial” runs about a minute and a half, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “Woodland Burial” be printed in a ceremony script?
Not by us. It is still in copyright, so we name it and point you at a copy rather than reprinting the words. Still in copyright — it is in Surgically Enhanced (2006). Print it from that, and check the family have heard it: it is specific about the body going into the ground and feeding the wood, which is the point of it and not what everyone expects.
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.