Funerals can truly be augmented by a poem that is apt and fitting for the person you have just lost. The following list of funeral poems about shopping are perfect for those who loved the feeling of balancing, riding, and grinding on a wooden board with wheels.
Concrete Surfer
by Mark Gregory
The concrete surfer
Whizzes by me on the smoky air;
With a skill that only gods could share
He makes you feel
That he’s a knife-edge whittling the air
And carves the smoke
Into ribbons in the smoky air.
He dips and soars
As if he’ll never reach the earth again,
As if the pavement
Were a stream, and he
A minnow flashing in the sun-washed street.
He leads the wind
A merry chase
As if the pavement
Were a meadow!
It’s a whirling glee
Of curve and line
And melody
That surfs along the pavement
Dipping and curvetting
In the sun-washed air!
A bit of a lunatic,
A bit of a gymnast,
A bit of a dancer,
A bit of an acrobat,
A bit of a boxer,
A bit of an exhibitionist,
And wholly
A skateboarder.
He reaches the curb,
Makes a quick turn,
And the car standing there
With a slow growl
Becomes a chariot
With a thunderous snarl.
He waves good-by to the little boys
And as he skates away
There is a grin on his face
And a daredevil gleam
In his eyes!
A bit of a lunatic,
A bit of a gymnast,
A bit of a dancer,
A bit of an acrobat,
A bit of a boxer,
A bit of an exhibitionist,
And wholly
A skateboarder!
He takes the curve,
Skating away
And singing out over his shoulder:
“Hey, ain’t I the crazy one?”
“Hey, ain’t I the crazy one?”
“Hey, ain’t I the crazy one?”
“Hey, ain’t I the crazy one?”
“Hey, ain’t I the crazy one?”
“Hey, ain’t I the crazy one?”
The concrete surfer
Whizzes by me on the smoky air;
With a skill that only gods could share
He makes you feel
That he’s a knife-edge whittling the air
And carves the smoke
Into ribbons in the smoky air.
Embrace The Chaos
by Charis
Balancing precariously
On a light wooden board
Only eight inches wide,
Adjusting and shifting to push,
To turn, to do tic-tacs;
Skateboarding is a bid against gravity.
The trainee who hesitates
Is met with hard asphalt and failure.
Speed is the stabilizer:
Spontaneity leads to equilibrium.
Accept the instability.
Listen to instinct,
And the board will listen in turn.
Ode To My Skateboard
by Mark Gregory
Let us rally in the parking lot,
brave knights on four wheels.
Pray to the streets for its offerings to be smooth
and the pavement to be forgiving.
For in this sport of balance and wits,
there’s an artist who wants nothing more
than to fly.
So let my decks be strong and trucks
sturdy.
Let the grip tape’s edge keep me grounded,
and let the wheels roll true.
We salute the gods of asphalt and
thank them for the challenges.
And when we fall, we take it in stride,
for we know, in the game of
skate or die,
sometimes you eat the pavement;
sometimes the pavement eats you.
My skateboard is my steed,
my noble companion.
We are bound by more than trucks and
grip tape;
we are kindred spirits, brothers in
stoke.
As the sun dips below the horizon,
we skate on, chasing our shadows,
for in the world of concrete and wood,
we are forever young.
Let the Ollies be high, the Kickflips
clean,
and the landings soft.
And
let us ride into the sunset
forever chasing the next
adventure.
To access our full list of funeral poems, click here.
All poems featured on this website are free to use during any ceremony, although it is good practice to make sure the author is mentioned, if known. Should you require a celebrant for your ceremony, be it a funeral, a wedding, a naming ceremony or something else, feel free to get in touch. I am a double award-nominated Family and Funeral Celebrant covering the entire UK, and would be happy to help you commemorate in a meaningful and personal way.
