Funeral Poems, Readings, Music, Quotations & Thoughts

Ashes in the Wild West Wind

Published on Apr 23, 2013

I recently heard the last cantos of Shelley's Ode to the West Wind used at a funeral. How wonderful the lines were with their references to death, rebirth and the scattering of words and ashes in the wind, and how perfect for cremation or for a ceremony with ashes.

By By Alfred Clint (died 1883), after Amelia Curran (died 1847), and Edward Ellerker Williams (died 1822); cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 07:07, 16 September 2012 (UTC) [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsO wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
* * *
Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
Like wither'd leaves to quicken a new birth!
And, by the incantation of this verse,
Scatter, as from an unextinguish'd hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unawaken'd earth
The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

Tags: Shelley wind funeral Autumn ashes poem

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