Remember Me . . .

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 to 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.

Christina Rossetti:  "Remember"

Source:

Rossetti, Christina. Poems. London: Gresham Publishing Company, N.D.

Image:

Pol de Limbourg and Brothers (1415-1416): Book of the Hours of Duc de Berri: Month of April (Detail). Musée Conde, Chantilly. University Prints, Boston.