#56 Christina Rossetti

CW: death

When I am dead, my dearest,

Sing no sad songs for me;

Plant thou no roses at my head,

Nor shady cypress tree:

Be the green grass above me

With showers and dewdrops wet;

And if thou wilt, remember,

And if thou wilt, forget.

I shall not see the shadows,

I shall not feel the rain;

I shall not hear the nightingale

Sing on, as if in pain:

And dreaming through the twilight

That doth not rise nor set,

Haply I may remember,

And haply may forget.

Hello, my lovelies,

I am once again here to share another poem which means a lot to me: When I am dead, my dearest by Christina Rossetti.

Rossetti has a vision unique to her, I feel like she is sometimes speaking to me directly. The pentameter is set with the shorter sentences to make a rhyme that one could sing easily. She paints a picture of simplicity, that there is no need for complexity in life. The idea is there that we may not remember this life, or we may, either way, “haply” it shall be. We must be still and be one with nature, in whatever form that may take.

The first time I read this, I was contemplating death: my own. It gave me a sense of peace, but when I calmed, I realised this peace was not yet for me. The calm, the sorrow, the Truth this poem brings to life, soared in my Spirit. This poem is an anthem of knowing what is to come. The acceptance of what could come. It helped me realise what I hoped for and made me determined to live whilst I could.

It helped me focus on simplicity, solidity, stability. And I hold these close as values even now. This poem is more for the living, to bring solace and comfort that the dead are okay, that they have accepted wherever they may be. I cannot say who would be the perfect reader. But allow it into your heart and may you sing as a nightingale in joy.