The Dash

Who This Poem Suits

The Dash is one of the most widely used poems at Australian funerals — and one of the most straightforward in its message. Where other funeral poems focus on grief, nature, or the afterlife, this one focuses on how a life was lived. Its central image — the small line between the birth date and death date on a gravestone — is immediately understandable to everyone gathered, regardless of age, background, or belief.

It suits Celebrations of Life particularly well, especially for people who lived actively and fully — someone known for their generosity, their relationships, their contribution to community. The poem invites those gathered to reflect on what the person's dash contained: the people they loved, the values they held, the way they spent their time. That reflection is both a tribute to the deceased and a quiet invitation to the living.

It works equally well for religious and secular services. The poem contains no specific theological content — its wisdom is universal rather than doctrinal. A Christian service and a secular celebration of life can both accommodate it without tension. For families who want a reading that bridges different beliefs among those attending, The Dash is a reliable choice.

It is also one of the more accessible poems for younger readers. A grandchild, a niece or nephew, or a young family friend can deliver it confidently — the language is clear, the metaphor is simple, and the message is one they can genuinely connect with. Many families specifically choose it for this reason, giving a younger person a meaningful role in the service.

Delivering the Poem at a Service

The Dash is narrative in structure — it tells a small story about a speaker at a funeral, then draws a lesson from that story. A reader who understands this delivers it as a story first, not as a recitation. The opening lines establish a scene; the later lines draw the meaning out. Allow that movement to happen naturally rather than reading every line at the same register.

The central word — "dash" — carries the entire poem's weight. When it appears, give it a beat of emphasis. Not theatrical, just deliberate. The audience will feel the shift from the literal (a punctuation mark on a gravestone) to the metaphorical (everything a life contains) if the reader gives the word room to land.

Because the poem is narrative rather than lyrical, it reads well at a slightly more conversational pace than poems like Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep or The Irish Blessing. It should feel like someone speaking directly to those gathered — which, in its conceit, is exactly what it is.

The Story Behind The Dash

Linda Ellis wrote The Dash in 1996. At the time she was working in a corporate environment and feeling disconnected from what truly mattered — the poem emerged from a period of personal reflection about purpose, relationships, and how time is spent. Its central image came to her as a simple observation: on any gravestone, the most significant thing is the smallest — the dash between two dates that contains an entire life.

The poem circulated widely through the late 1990s and 2000s, passed between people by email, printed in order of service booklets, and read at funerals across the English-speaking world. It became one of the most shared pieces of writing in early internet culture, which is both a testament to its resonance and the source of its copyright complications — it spread so freely that many people assumed it was public domain.

Ellis has been vocal about protecting her work, and the poem is now owned and managed by Southwestern Family of Companies. A free licence is available for live recitation at funerals and memorial services, which means families across Perth can continue to use it at services without any charge or permission required. The restriction is specifically on print and online reproduction.

In Australia, The Dash became a regular presence at funerals through the 2000s and has remained consistently popular. Its appeal is in part its accessibility — it asks nothing of its audience in terms of literary knowledge or religious belief — and in part its directness. At a time when many people struggle to find words for grief, the poem provides a framework that is both simple and genuinely meaningful.

Related Readings and Poems

If The Dash resonates with your family, these readings share a similar focus on how life is lived and what love leaves behind:

• She Is Gone (He Is Gone) — Remember Me by David Harkins — like The Dash, this poem focuses on what remains after loss and invites those gathered to carry love forward rather than dwell in grief. A natural companion piece.
• Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep — Mary Elizabeth Frye's poem of continuing presence, for families who want a reading that finds the person they've lost still present in the world around them.
• The Irish Blessing — a traditional Celtic prayer offering warmth and the hope of reunion, well suited alongside The Dash for services that want to close on a note of peace.
• All Is Well (Death Is Nothing At All) — a spiritual reading for families who want a faith-based text with a similar message of continuity and love beyond death.

Browse our full Funeral Readings and Poems collection for more options across religious, secular, and contemporary styles.

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