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by Adela Florence Nicolson (1865 - 1904)

I shall never forget you, never. Never...
Language: English 
I shall never forget you, never. Never escape
Your memory woven about the beautiful things of life.

The sudden Thought of your Face is like a Wound
          When it comes unsought
On some scent of Jasmin, Lilies, or pale Tuberose.
Any one of the [sweet white fragrant]1 flowers,
Flowers I used to love and lay in your hair.

Sunset is terribly sad. I saw you stand
Tall against the red and the gold like a slender palm;
The light wind stirred your hair as you waved your hand,
Waved farewell, as ever, serene and calm,
To me, the passion-wearied and tost and torn,
Riding down the road in the gathering grey.
          Since that day
The sunset red is empty, the gold forlorn.

Often across the Banqueting board at nights
Men linger about your name in careless praise
The name that cuts deep into my soul like a knife;
And the gay guest-faces and flowers and leaves and lights
Fade away from the failing sense in a haze,
          And the music sways
Far away in unmeasured distance....
          I cannot forget —
I cannot escape.  What are the Stars to me?
Stars that meant so much, too much, in my youth;
Stars that sparkled about your eyes,
Made a radiance round your hair,
          What are they now?

Lingering lights of a Finished Feast,
Little lingering sparks rather,
          Of a Light that is long gone out.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   H. de Lange 

H. de Lange sets stanzas 2-3

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with India's Love Lyrics by Laurence Hope, et al., from gutenberg.org

1 de Lange: "sweet fragrant"

Text Authorship:

  • by Adela Florence Nicolson (1865 - 1904), "Reminiscence of Mahomed Akram", 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), "The Gold Forlorn", published 2006, stanzas 2-3 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Indian Love Songs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-02-28
Line count: 31
Word count: 234

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