This morning I was catching up on Andrew Sullivan’s weekend blogging (yes, I’m a Dishhead), and unusually I actually recognised the poem selected for his “A Poem For Sunday” segment.
This rarely happens; poetry has never really been my thing, but since I studied this particular poet at school I enjoyed her writing.
I thought I would reproduce this one in full on my blog, as a tonic from the caustic observations and dissents that I seem to have been producing a lot of recently. I don’t want to develop a reputation as a total grouch.
“Remember”, by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
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.
I found this much more understatedly moving and memorable than “Goblin Market“, which we also studied. But then unlike my own writing, in poetry I have always favoured brevity.
Semi-Partisan Politics 