Mystery surrounds anonymous poem

An anonymous poem chosen by the Queen for her mother's funeral has been passed on via the Internet for at least two years and may even have been written originally for a condolence card, it was reported today.

The 12-line poem, which starts "You can shed tears that she is gone/Or you can smile because she has lived" reflected the monarch's call to celebrate the Queen Mother's life.

But efforts to trace its author have so far drawn a blank, leading to speculation that it may only have been written recently, either as a message in a condolence card or for a magazine.

The Times claimed the Queen singled out the poem while leafing through old memorial service booklets and that its popularity has spread through word of mouth.

It has been used at the funeral of a 52-year-old Scottish alcoholic and a 15-year-old high school baseball star and to commemorate the early death of an obscure Australian glam rocker.

Research carried out by the paper found that the poem on dozens of websites, under various titles and different genders for the deceased but it is not thought to be in print anywhere in the English-speaking world.

The poem, which was criticised by Alan Jenkins, the poet and deputy editor of The Times Literary Supplement, as "a nothing piece of writing", was included in the order of service for Tuesday's funeral at Westminster Abbey.

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