Farewell Service

Hymns, readings and a printed program for a Christian funeral

When I Am Dead, My Dearest

by Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)

Reads in about 1 minute16 linesNon-religious

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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.

About this text

Poet
Christina Rossetti, 1830–1894
Printing used
Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), as “Song”
First published
1862
Public domain
This printing 1862, before 1931
Often chosen
for mom, for grandma, for a woman, non-religious, short