9-11

Remember

by Christina Rossetti*

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 plann'd:          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 (1830-1894) was born in London to an artistic family — her brother was the famous poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and her house was a regular meeting place for the group of artists later called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. As a devout Anglican, Rossetti called off a two-year engagement when her fiancé converted to Roman Catholicism. Despite a lifetime of illness, Rossetti continued to write poetry. Today she is best known for her collection Goblin Market and Other Poems.

Poem and biography taken from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=174266