Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
Originally published in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862) by Christina Rossetti. Public domain.
Analysis
Rossetti balances love’s longing with compassion, granting permission to forget if remembrance brings sorrow. The sonnet’s gentle volta reframes memory as a gift rather than a duty.