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by Adela Florence Nicolson (1865 - 1904)

Unforgotten
Language: English 
Do you ever think of me? you who died
    Ere our Youth's first fervour chilled,
With your soft [eyes]1 and your pulses stilled
    Lying alone, aside,
Do you ever think of me, left in the light,
From the endless calm of your dawnless [night?]2

I am faithful always: I do not say
    That the lips which thrilled to your lips of old
To lesser kisses are always cold;
    Had you wished for this in its narrow sense
    Our love perhaps had been less intense;
But as we held faithfulness, you and I,
    I am faithful always, as you who lie,
    Asleep for ever, beneath the grass,
    While the days and nights and the seasons pass,—
        Pass away.

I keep your memory near my heart,
    My brilliant, beautiful guiding Star,
Till long live over, I too depart
    To the infinite night where perhaps you are.

Oh, are you anywhere?  Loved so well!
I would rather know you alive in Hell
Than think your beauty is nothing now,
With its deep dark eyes and tranquil brow
Where the hair fell softly.  Can this be true
That nothing, nowhere, exists of you?
Nothing, nowhere, oh, loved so well
    I have never forgotten.
                     Do you still keep
Thoughts of me through your dreamless sleep?

Oh, gone from me! lost in Eternal Night,
    Lost Star of light,
Risen splendidly, set so soon,
    Through the weariness of life's afternoon
          I dream of your memory yet.
My loved and lost, whom I could not save,
My youth went down with you to the grave,
Though other planets and stars may rise,
I dream of your soft and sorrowful eyes
        And I cannot forget.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   H. de Lange 

H. de Lange sets stanza 1

View original text (without footnotes)
1 de Lange: "eyes closed"
2 de Lange: "night?/ / I dream of your soft and sorrowful eyes" (from the final stanza)

Text Authorship:

  • by Adela Florence Nicolson (1865 - 1904), "Unforgotten", appears in India's Love Lyrics [later Garden of Kama and Other Love Lyrics from India] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Huub de Lange (b. 1955), "Unforgotten", published 2006, stanza 1 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Indian Love Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-02-28
Line count: 40
Word count: 278

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