Sonnet · Death & Loss

Remember

by Christina Rossetti · 1862

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1Remember me when I am gone away,

2Gone far away into the silent land;

3When you can no more hold me by the hand,

4Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

5Remember me when no more day by day

6You tell me of our future that you plann'd:

7Only remember me; you understand

8It will be late to counsel then or pray.

9Yet if you should forget me for a while

10And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

11For if the darkness and corruption leave

12A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

13Better by far you should forget and smile

14Than that you should remember and be sad.

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“Remember” by Christina Rossetti — quilloak.com/poems/remember

Quick facts

Poem: Remember
Poet: Christina Rossetti
Published: 1862
Length: 14 lines
Form: Sonnet
Themes: Death & Loss, Love, Sad

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 14 lines · one 14-line stanza
End rhyme: ABBAACBADEFGDG.
Line length: Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).

The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on a United States term-expiry review; status can differ elsewhere.

Author record: Christina Rossetti1830–1894
Source record: QuillOak curated editionRemember (1862) by christina-rossetti
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: 1862
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 f40b5e2900de0315…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Sonnet Death & Loss Love Sad

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