Remember is a renowned sonnet by Christina Georgina Rossetti, a famous Victorian poet known for her lyrical and emotional exploration of themes such as love, loss, and the afterlife. Born in 1830, Christina Rossetti became one of the most popular poets of the Victorian Age. In Remember, the poet talks about the feelings of the speaker and the desire to be remembered after death. The poem beautifully captures the thoughts of a lover who wants to be remembered after death but on a good note.
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.