Friendship Quote by Christina Rossetti
““Go from me, summer friends, and tarry not: I am no summer friend, but wintry cold, A silly sheep benighted from the fold, A sluggard with a thorn-choked garden plot. Take counsel, sever from my lot your lot, Dwell in your pleasant places, hoard your gold; Lest you with me should shiver on the wold, Athirst and hungering on a barren spot. For I have hedged me with a thorny hedge, I live alone, I look to die alone: Yet sometimes, when a wind sighs through the sedge, Ghosts of my buried years, and friends come back, My heart goes sighing after swallows flown On sometime summer’s unreturning track.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “A Summer Night” by Christina Rossetti, 1868
The speaker warns that summer friendships are fleeting and warns against sharing hardships, urging others to seek comfort and security elsewhere.
In simple terms: Summer friends are unreliable; stay safe and alone.
Key Takeaway
Choose reliable companions and protect your well‑being.
Themes
friendship
seasonality
solitude
warning
Mood
reflective
melancholic
Type
poetic
advice.
When to use this quote
- planning relationships
- financial security
- emotional boundaries
- personal safety
Key Concepts
impermanence
self‑preservation
emotional resilience
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you prioritize safety over companionship?
- How can you balance self‑preservation with helping others?
A Different Perspective
The advice may isolate the speaker and ignore the value of mutual support during hardship.
