Funeral reading
Afterglow — "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one"
Helen Lowrie Marshall
“Afterglow — "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one"” by Helen Lowrie Marshall is a poem read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about 30 seconds 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. Print it from a licensed source.
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
Gentle and short. Suits a service the family want kept light.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: a happy memory · an afterglow · short · a cheerful person · a celebration of life.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Afterglow — "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one"” take to read aloud?
“Afterglow — "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one"” takes about 30 seconds 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 “Afterglow — "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one"”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “Afterglow — "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one"” runs about 30 seconds, 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 “Afterglow — "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one"” 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. Print it from a licensed source.
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.