Sunset and evening star,And one clear call for me!And may there be no moaning of the bar,When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,Too full for sound and foam,When that which drew from out the boundless deepTurns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,And after that the dark!And may there be no sadness of farewell,When I embark;
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and PlaceThe flood may bear me far,I hope to see my Pilot face to faceWhen I have crost the bar.
Text from en.wikisource.org. Public domain in the US and UK.
Where it comes in the service
At a Catholic funeral Mass the readings must come from Scripture, so a poem belongs at the vigil or in the words of remembrance. A Church of England funeral can include poetry; the Church prints poems on its own funeral planning page. In a humanist ceremony, readings of poetry and prose follow the tribute.
Add Crossing the Bar to your booklet, typeset in full, with the order of service around it. You can see the whole booklet before paying anything.
Put Crossing the Bar in my bookletCopyright
Crossing the Bar is in the public domain in the United States (first published 1889) and in the United Kingdom (author died 1892), so the words can be printed in a booklet without permission or a fee.