Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). Song: "When I am dead, my dearest." J. C. Squire, ed. 1921. A Book of Women's Verse

J. C. Squire, ed. A Book of Women’s Verse. 1921.

Song: “When I am dead, my dearest”

By Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)


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	5
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;	10
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,	15
And haply may forget.