The Rainbow Bridge poem: its meaning and history.
The Rainbow Bridge is a short prose poem about a green meadow just this side of heaven, where pets who have died wait — healthy and happy again — until their person arrives, and then cross the bridge together. It has comforted grieving pet owners since the 1980s. Its author is disputed: in 2023 National Geographic reported that a Scottish woman, Edna Clyne-Rekhy, wrote it in 1959.
What the poem says
The poem is told in three quiet movements. First, a pet who has died arrives at a place of meadows and hills, with food, water and warm sun, where every animal that was ill or old is “restored to health and vigor”. The animals play together, content — except that each one misses someone left behind.
Then, one day, a pet stops and looks into the distance. Its eyes are intent, its body quivers, and it breaks away from the group, running faster and faster across the grass. You have been seen. The reunion is joyful and tearful at once. And finally, the two of you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never to be parted again.
That ending — the pet that recognises its person from far away — is the line most people remember, and the reason the poem is read aloud at so many goodbyes.
Who wrote it? A disputed history
- 1959, Scotland: according to research by the art historian Paul Koudounaris, reported by National Geographic in February 2023, Edna Clyne-Rekhy wrote the poem as a young woman, grieving her dog Major. She kept a handwritten copy and never sought credit.
- 1980s, United States: Paul C. Dahm, a grief counselor from Oregon, said he wrote the poem in 1981 and later published it in a book. Several other people have also been named over the years.
- 1990s onward: the poem spread through pet-loss newsletters, early internet forums, sympathy cards and veterinary clinics, usually signed “author unknown”. Today “crossed the Rainbow Bridge” is simply how many people say a pet has died.
Because the authorship and copyright are unclear, we don’t reproduce the full poem here. You’ll find it shared by many pet-loss charities, and most vets keep printed copies for families.
Why the image of a bridge comforts people
The poem doesn’t ask anyone to believe a particular religion. It offers a picture: a pet that is no longer in pain, that is waiting rather than gone, and a reunion still to come. For many people, that picture makes it possible to say goodbye. You can read more about the idea itself in What is the Rainbow Bridge?
Make it into a video for your pet
Rainbow Bridge Videos turns the poem’s picture into a short video of your own pet: from one photo, your dog or cat walks across a soft meadow toward a rainbow bridge, stops to look back at you once, and walks on into the light. The last seconds show their name, their years and your own words. It costs $9.99, and your card is only charged once it’s ready.
Make a Rainbow Bridge video for your pet · $9.99 One photo of your pet · usually ready within about 10 minutes · charged only once the video is ready
Quick answers
Who wrote the Rainbow Bridge poem?
Nobody can say for certain. In 2023 National Geographic reported that Edna Clyne-Rekhy, an artist from Scotland, wrote it in 1959 after her dog Major died, and she had a handwritten manuscript. Others have claimed it too — most often Paul C. Dahm, a grief counselor in Oregon, who said he wrote it in 1981. For decades it circulated as “author unknown”.
What is the Rainbow Bridge poem about?
It describes a green meadow “this side of heaven” where pets who have died are well and young again, playing together in the sun. They miss only one thing: their person. One day a pet stops, looks into the distance and runs — and the two of them cross the Rainbow Bridge together.
Can I read the full poem here?
We don’t reproduce the full text, because its copyright status is unclear and its authorship is still disputed. It is widely shared by pet-loss charities and veterinary clinics, and most vets can give you a printed copy.
Is the Rainbow Bridge in the Bible?
No. The Rainbow Bridge comes from the modern prose poem, not from scripture, although the image of a bridge between worlds appears in older myths too — for example Bifröst, the rainbow bridge of Norse mythology.
Rainbow Bridge Videos is an independent memorial video service. It isn’t affiliated with the author of the Rainbow Bridge poem or any of its publishers, and we don’t reproduce the poem. Every example on this site shows an AI-generated, fictional pet — never a customer’s pet.
Source: “The Rainbow Bridge poem’s author has finally been revealed”, National Geographic, February 2023.