The reading of poetry and prose during a non-religious ceremony is a popular way of expressing the life of the deceased and the certainty of everyone's death. Below are few popular poems for funeral or memorial ceremonies.

Examples of Poetry

Requiem Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did U live an gladly die, And U laid me down with a will This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill. ~ R.L. Stevenson ~

I fall asleep in the full and certain hope That my slumber shall not be broken; And that though I be all-forgetting, Yet shall I not be all-forgotten, But continue that life in the Thoughts and deeds Of those I loved... ~Samuel Butler ~

From too much love of living, From hope and fear set free, We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be That no life lives for ever; That dead men rise up never; That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea. Then star nor sun shall waken, Nor any change of light: Nor sound of waters shaken, Nor any sound or sight: Nor wintry leaves nor vernal, Nor days nor things diurnal; Only the sleep eternal In an eternal night. ~ Swinburne ~

Remember Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by the hand, Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay. Remember me when no more day by day You tell me of our future that you planned: Only remember me; you understand It will be late to counsel then or pray. Yet if you should forget me for awhile And afterwards remember, do not grieve: For if the darkness and corruption leave A vestige of the thoughts that once I had, Better by far you should forget and smile Than that you should remember and be sad. ~ Christina Rossetti ~

References:

Memorials-an Anthology of Poetry and Prose, ed. June Benn(Ravette, 1986)
Willson, Jayne Wynne, Funerals Without God: A Practical Guide to Non-Religious Funerals. Prometheus Books. New York, 1990