A Tender Farewell | William Shakespeare, Sonnet 71: “No Longer Mourn for Me When I Am Dead” (1609)

A daily love poem for February — with gentle commentary after each reading.February Love Poem Series – Day 28: Sonnet 71 — “No Longer Mourn for Me When I Am Dead” by William ShakespeareWelcome to the final day of The Porcupine Presents Love Poetry Month.Each day this February, we’ve shared a different poem exploring love in all its forms — joyful, wounded, wistful, playful, devoted, and enduring. Today we close the month with a poem about love that persists even as the poet imagines his own absence.Shakespeare’s Sonnet 71, beginning with the line “No Longer Mourn for Me When I Am Dead,” is a tender and selfless farewell. Instead of calling for eternal grieving, the speaker urges the beloved to let go — to avoid sorrow, to protect themselves from pain, and to continue living. It is a love poem shaped by generosity rather than despair, and by the quiet bravery of acceptance.After the poem, stay tuned for a final reflection discussinghow Shakespeare frames love as an act of release rather than clinging,why the poem’s imagined future heightens its emotional impact,and how this sonnet offers a fitting close to a month spent exploring love in all its beauty and complexity.Thank you for joining us each day of this February series. Your presence has made this journey through love poetry deeply meaningful.Originally published: 1609Approx. runtime: 6 minutesMusic: “A Very Brady Special” by Kevin MacLeod